I received a 1099 from Amex for a referral bonus

February 1, 2020|AMEX

In 2019 someone got an Amex card by clicking through my referral link.  I received 20,000 bonus points.  Today, I received a 1099 from Amex claiming the referral bonus is taxable income.  They valued the 20,000 points as $200 of taxable income.

 

In the past, I had never received a 1099.   I guess they are counting referral bonuses as earned income as opposed to regular points postings which they consider rebates. 

They are valuing the points at 1 cent each which seems reasonable as you can get more than 1 cent per mile in value. 

Just not sure why all of a sudden this started this year.   Also, I’m not sure why they are issuing 1099’s for under $600 which is the usual threshold for issuing 1099’s.

Has anyone else received a 1099 from a credit card issuer for referral bonuses?