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$200 airline fee reimbursement reports: AA only [2011-2016]

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Old Dec 31, 2013, 7:52 am
FlyerTalk Forums Expert How-Tos and Guides
Last edit by: mia
Reminder: you must enroll and select AA as your airline BEFORE making a reimbursable purchase. Click HERE.

Please wait a few days (up to 14) after purchase to post in this thread if you have not received reimbursement. Remember, you are purchasing a cash equivalent!


When you purchase your Gift Cards, you may wish to do it through one of these links; a portion of the purchase price will be donated to the applicable charity:

http://hub.aa.com/en/ju/komen-gift-card

Or alternatively put in the code KOMEN when you check out

to donate $5/$50 GC to Susan G. Komen for the Cure;

http://hub.aa.com/en/ju/uso-gift-card to donate to the USO;

or to donate to UNCF:
http://hub.aa.com/en/ju/american-air...uncf-gift-card

NOTE: Online gift cards are sent immediately but are subject to a 72-hour hold before they can be used.

American Airlines Gift Cards are easy to redeem on AA.com. If you received a plastic gift card and you're ready to redeem your gift card, be sure to gently scratch off the grey film covering the four-digit PIN # on the back of the card. If you received a virtual card you may retrieve your Card # and PIN # by clicking on the link sent to you via email.

On the payment screen, enter both the Card # and PIN # exactly as they appear on the back of the gift card. You may use up to eight gift cards at one time. If the total price of the ticket exceeds the value of your gift card(s), you may use a credit card for any remaining balance.

The gift cards can only be used to purchase tickets, nothing else.

Terms:
Gift cards are redeemable toward the initial electronic ticket purchase of air travel wholly on flights operated by American Airlines and American Eagle® carriers for itineraries sold and originating in the U.S., Puerto Rico and U.S. Virgin Islands. AA Gift Cards are also available for payment of air travel on any oneworld® partner codeshare flights designated in flight listings as AA*, which includes US Airways operated flights. For a complete list of American Airlines codeshare partners as well as other codeshare information, visit www.aa.com/codeshare. They cannot be used for payment of air travel on any other airline. Flights sold or originating outside the U.S., Puerto Rico or U.S. Virgin Islands or operated by other carriers are not eligible.

Gift cards are redeemable online at www.aa.com or by calling American Airlines Reservations. Gift cards cannot be redeemed at airport ticket counters or travel agents. Transactions through American Airlines Reservations are subject to an additional charge which must be paid separately by credit, debit or charge card.

Up to eight Gift Cards may be redeemed in a single transaction or purchase.

If the ticket price is greater than the value of the Gift Card(s), the difference may be paid only with a credit, debit or charge card with a billing address in the U.S., Puerto Rico or U.S. Virgin Islands. If the ticket price is less than the value of the Gift Card(s), the unused portion will remain on the gift card until it is decreased to zero, at which time the Gift Card will be deactivated.

Gift cards are redeemable toward the purchase of the base air fare and directly associated taxes, fees and charges that are collected as part of the fare calculation. Gift cards may not be used for products and/or services that are sold separately, such as upgrades; Admirals Club membership enrollments or One-Day Passes; baggage fees; pet fees; unaccompanied minor fees; oxygen fees; Preferred Seats charges; ticketing fees for transactions processed through American Airlines Reservations; taxes, fees or charges payable in connection with AAdvantage® award travel; American Airlines Vacations℠ or non-flight products and/or services sold by American Airlines.

Gift cards will not be accepted if the card number is invalid, has not been activated, or cannot be found within the American Airlines system.

General
Neither American Airlines nor US Airways Gift Cards have an expiration date nor lose their value over time.

Lost, stolen or damaged Gift Cards will not be replaced.

Customers may contact American Airlines for questions or help with their AA Gift Cards at [email protected]. Agents are also available by phone Monday through Friday from 8am to 5pm (Central Time) at 800-677-9555. Customers may contact US Airways for questions or help with their US Gift Cards by calling 800-428-4322.

Gift Cards purchased from sources other than American Airlines and participating retailers may not be valid or may have less redeemable value than promised by an unauthorized seller. American Airlines is not responsible for honoring invalid gift cards or values.
American Airlines reserves the right to deactivate or reject any Gift Cards issued or procured, directly or indirectly, in connection with fraudulent actions, unless prohibited by law.

http://www.aa.com/i18n/productsGifts/giftCard.jsp

Regarding New Jersey Residents Current and Former:

AA's system will not sell gift cards to anyone with New Jersey info in their AMEX profile (and possibly AA profile). Your purchase will usually appear to go through, but when you try to activate the card a few days later it will be invalid.

You need to either choose another airline for this reimbursement, or cleanse your AMEX profile of NJ addresses and phone numbers, and possibly your AA profile as well.

See post 1115 for first details of this.



Reminder: you must enroll and select AA as your airline BEFORE making a reimbursable purchase. Click HERE. REPORTS OF AMEX NOT ALLOWING CREDIT IF NOT SELECTED PRIOR.

Purchase cards HERE
.

The American Express terms and conditions explicitly exclude gift cards from the $200 fee reimbursement benefit:
Airline tickets, upgrades, mileage points purchases, mileage points transfer fees, gift cards, duty free purchases, and award tickets are not deemed to be incidental fees.
However, there are numerous reports of successful reimbursements of gift card purchases of $100 face value or less. There are numerous reports of unsuccessful reimbursements of gift cards purchases of more than $100.


Please wait a few days (up to 14) after purchase to post in this thread if you have not received reimbursement. Remember, you are purchasing a cash equivalent!

To review AA reimbursement reports from 2011-2014, click HERE.

NOTE: Online gift cards are sent immediately but are subject to a 72-hour hold before they can be used.

American Airlines Gift Cards are easy to redeem on AA.com. If you received a plastic gift card and you're ready to redeem your gift card, be sure to gently scratch off the grey film covering the four-digit PIN # on the back of the card. If you received a virtual card you may retrieve your Card # and PIN # by clicking on the link sent to you via email.

On the payment screen, enter both the Card # and PIN # exactly as they appear on the back of the gift card. You may use up to eight gift cards at one time. If the total price of the ticket exceeds the value of your gift card(s), you may use a credit card for any remaining balance.

The gift cards can only be used to purchase tickets, nothing else.

Terms:
Gift cards are redeemable toward the initial electronic ticket purchase of air travel wholly on flights operated by American Airlines and American Eagle® carriers for itineraries sold and originating in the U.S., Puerto Rico and U.S. Virgin Islands. AA Gift Cards are also available for payment of air travel on any oneworld® partner codeshare flights designated in flight listings as AA*, which includes US Airways operated flights. For a complete list of American Airlines codeshare partners as well as other codeshare information, visit www.aa.com/codeshare. They cannot be used for payment of air travel on any other airline. Flights sold or originating outside the U.S., Puerto Rico or U.S. Virgin Islands or operated by other carriers are not eligible.

Gift cards are redeemable online at www.aa.com or by calling American Airlines Reservations. Gift cards cannot be redeemed at airport ticket counters or travel agents. Transactions through American Airlines Reservations are subject to an additional charge which must be paid separately by credit, debit or charge card.

Up to eight Gift Cards may be redeemed in a single transaction or purchase.

If the ticket price is greater than the value of the Gift Card(s), the difference may be paid only with a credit, debit or charge card with a billing address in the U.S., Puerto Rico or U.S. Virgin Islands. If the ticket price is less than the value of the Gift Card(s), the unused portion will remain on the gift card until it is decreased to zero, at which time the Gift Card will be deactivated.

Gift cards are redeemable toward the purchase of the base air fare and directly associated taxes, fees and charges that are collected as part of the fare calculation. Gift cards may not be used for products and/or services that are sold separately, such as upgrades; Admirals Club membership enrollments or One-Day Passes; baggage fees; pet fees; unaccompanied minor fees; oxygen fees; Preferred Seats charges; ticketing fees for transactions processed through American Airlines Reservations; taxes, fees or charges payable in connection with AAdvantage® award travel; American Airlines Vacations℠ or non-flight products and/or services sold by American Airlines.

Gift cards will not be accepted if the card number is invalid, has not been activated, or cannot be found within the American Airlines system.

General
Neither American Airlines nor US Airways Gift Cards have an expiration date nor lose their value over time.

Lost, stolen or damaged Gift Cards will not be replaced.

Customers may contact American Airlines for questions or help with their AA Gift Cards at [email protected]. Agents are also available by phone Monday through Friday from 8am to 5pm (Central Time) at 800-677-9555. Customers may contact US Airways for questions or help with their US Gift Cards by calling 800-428-4322.

Gift Cards purchased from sources other than American Airlines and participating retailers may not be valid or may have less redeemable value than promised by an unauthorized seller. American Airlines is not responsible for honoring invalid gift cards or values.
American Airlines reserves the right to deactivate or reject any Gift Cards issued or procured, directly or indirectly, in connection with fraudulent actions, unless prohibited by law.

http://www.aa.com/i18n/productsGifts/giftCard.jsp

Regarding New Jersey Residents Current and Former:

AA's system will not sell gift cards to anyone with New Jersey info in their AMEX profile (and possibly AA profile). Your purchase will usually appear to go through, but when you try to activate the card a few days later it will be invalid.

You need to either choose another airline for this reimbursement, or cleanse your AMEX profile of NJ addresses and phone numbers, and possibly your AA profile as well.

See what is currently post 519 for first details of this.

Post 1126 proves to be current, regarding NJ residents. YMMV, until there are more DP's.

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$200 airline fee reimbursement reports: AA only [2011-2016]

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Old Nov 22, 2014, 11:37 am
  #1606  
 
Join Date: Oct 2014
Location: Salt Lake City, UT
Programs: AAdvantage Platinum, DL Diamond 1MM, Hyatt Platinum, SPG Gold, Hilton Diamond, AMEX 2015 Centurion
Posts: 323
Originally Posted by dcmike
I don't see this in the gift card FAQ on AA.com - how long are they valid for? Do I have to worry about it expiring?

Another stupid question - I bought a gift card like an idiot ten minutes before I enrolled my card with AA - any chance I'll get the credit? This was totally my fault, I can't believe I was so dumb.

AA gift cards never expire
http://www.aa.com/i18n/utility/FAQs/....jsp#Gift Card

AMEX will explicitly tell you that you MUST be enrolled before you redeem credit. Sorry my friend, but you are most likely out of luck on your GC purchase. It never, however, hurts to call and speak to CSR if, after 30 days, the credit does not auto post.
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Old Nov 22, 2014, 11:39 am
  #1607  
 
Join Date: May 2003
Location: TLL
Programs: OZ Diamond, BA Gold, Bonvoy Ambassador, HH Gold
Posts: 4,412
Originally Posted by RickyBobby
AA gift cards never expire
http://www.aa.com/i18n/utility/FAQs/....jsp#Gift Card

AMEX will explicitly tell you that you MUST be enrolled before you redeem credit. Sorry my friend, but you are most likely out of luck on your GC purchase. It never, however, hurts to call and speak to CSR if, after 30 days, the credit does not auto post.
Thank you so much!

I pretty much suspected that was the case. I'll buy another gift card tomorrow and have that be the test case to see if I get reimbursed or not. Looks like I'll have $300 in gift cards for 2014
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Old Nov 22, 2014, 1:58 pm
  #1608  
 
Join Date: Oct 2014
Posts: 141
dcmike, I did the same thing as you. About a day and a half before I realized. Credit came through automatically.

I think you'll be fine.
jft3 is offline  
Old Nov 22, 2014, 2:06 pm
  #1609  
 
Join Date: May 2003
Location: TLL
Programs: OZ Diamond, BA Gold, Bonvoy Ambassador, HH Gold
Posts: 4,412
Originally Posted by jft3
dcmike, I did the same thing as you. About a day and a half before I realized. Credit came through automatically.

I think you'll be fine.
Awesome! I'll keep my fingers crossed and see what happens.

It was so funny - I had on my to do list for the day buying the gift card and signing up for Global Entry. I did the Global Entry first, then panicked after I did it that I somehow needed to register before I paid, checked the terms and conditions and saw, nope, I was ok.

I then went to buy the gift card and cannot figure out why preregistration was NOT on my mind, since I had just freaked out about Global Entry. Good gravy.
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Old Nov 22, 2014, 10:35 pm
  #1610  
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Join Date: Jan 2005
Location: home = LAX
Posts: 25,933
Originally Posted by RickyBobby
AMEX will explicitly tell you that you MUST be enrolled before you redeem credit.
But are they able to see the hour and minute and second when the gift card was bought? And did they record the hour and minute and second when the enrollment occurred?

Ie, many systems only keep track of the date of purchase, the date of enrollment, etc, and if the two are done on the same day, they cannot tell whether one was done minutes before the other or vice versa (when one action came from outside the system but the other action occurred inside the system).
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Old Nov 23, 2014, 9:41 am
  #1611  
 
Join Date: Oct 2014
Location: Salt Lake City, UT
Programs: AAdvantage Platinum, DL Diamond 1MM, Hyatt Platinum, SPG Gold, Hilton Diamond, AMEX 2015 Centurion
Posts: 323
Originally Posted by sdsearch
But are they able to see the hour and minute and second when the gift card was bought? And did they record the hour and minute and second when the enrollment occurred?

Ie, many systems only keep track of the date of purchase, the date of enrollment, etc, and if the two are done on the same day, they cannot tell whether one was done minutes before the other or vice versa (when one action came from outside the system but the other action occurred inside the system).

That's a good point...I didn't think of that! I would imagine AMEX has a time-stamp for every transaction (more detail than we can see online). Being their whole reimbursement process seems to be automated, I wouldn't put it past a computer to be a real d-bag when it comes to determining the enrollment vs. time of purchase as amex's T&C say that you must be enrolled before you make the purchase. I am sure you are right though, the same day may be the only thing they will look for. JFT3 reported that he was more than a day apart from registering, and still got the reimbursement. Its quite possible that you must be registered by the time your purchase is posted?? Hopefully DCMIKE has luck getting reimbursement!
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Old Nov 23, 2014, 9:49 am
  #1612  
 
Join Date: Oct 2014
Location: Salt Lake City, UT
Programs: AAdvantage Platinum, DL Diamond 1MM, Hyatt Platinum, SPG Gold, Hilton Diamond, AMEX 2015 Centurion
Posts: 323
Originally Posted by dcmike
Awesome! I'll keep my fingers crossed and see what happens.

It was so funny - I had on my to do list for the day buying the gift card and signing up for Global Entry. I did the Global Entry first, then panicked after I did it that I somehow needed to register before I paid, checked the terms and conditions and saw, nope, I was ok.

I then went to buy the gift card and cannot figure out why preregistration was NOT on my mind, since I had just freaked out about Global Entry. Good gravy.
Originally Posted by jft3
dcmike, I did the same thing as you. About a day and a half before I realized. Credit came through automatically.

I think you'll be fine.



I wonder if you must be enrolled BEFORE the payment actually posts as a purchase rather than just the temp. charge?? Who knows with AMEX...I just purchased my yearly GC in November and reimbursement never came within the 4 week time period. Granted, I played Russian roulette and bought a 200$GC (had reports of someone a week prior to my purchase buying a 200$ GC and getting auto-reimbursement, so I thought it was semi-safe) however, I called in an CSR gladly gave me the credit, no questions asked. I would say if you have any problems after 4 weeks, call in and CSR will most likely just look at the date and see it was same day and be happy to give you credit! Good luck...cheers!
RickyBobby is offline  
Old Nov 23, 2014, 1:33 pm
  #1613  
 
Join Date: Oct 2014
Posts: 141
Yeah.

Card purchased 10/14/2014 @ 11:31 AM.

Realized I forgot and registered 10/15/2014 @ 4:10 PM.

Reimbursed 10/24.


Also, FYI if your reimbursement comes in the following billing period, you still have to pay the full amount of the gift card (unlike refunds, that usually reduce your payment due).
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Old Nov 23, 2014, 10:37 pm
  #1614  
 
Join Date: Aug 2012
Location: LAX,BUD
Programs: AA EXP,SPG G
Posts: 249
Originally Posted by jft3

Also, FYI if your reimbursement comes in the following billing period, you still have to pay the full amount of the gift card (unlike refunds, that usually reduce your payment due).
Actually it has nothing to do with closing dates or billing cycle.For me it took only four days.We'll see how it goes for my wife,i'll be buying some GCs tomorrow using her card.
olgsr is offline  
Old Nov 24, 2014, 3:20 am
  #1615  
 
Join Date: May 2003
Location: TLL
Programs: OZ Diamond, BA Gold, Bonvoy Ambassador, HH Gold
Posts: 4,412
I'll report back in 5-10 days and let you know if I see a refund.
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Old Nov 24, 2014, 8:30 am
  #1616  
 
Join Date: Oct 2014
Posts: 141
Originally Posted by olgsr
Actually it has nothing to do with closing dates or billing cycle.For me it took only four days.We'll see how it goes for my wife,i'll be buying some GCs tomorrow using her card.
Uh, thanks? No one ever said it did.
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Old Nov 28, 2014, 6:06 am
  #1617  
 
Join Date: Oct 2012
Location: Minnesota
Posts: 15
Used the AA Electronic Gift Card link in the Wiki above & chose "Purchase a Gift Card for a Cause".
-Purchased $100 on Nov. 20th.
- Fee Reimbursed by Amex on Nov. 27th (7 days).
ecs777 is offline  
Old Nov 30, 2014, 2:39 pm
  #1618  
 
Join Date: May 2003
Location: TLL
Programs: OZ Diamond, BA Gold, Bonvoy Ambassador, HH Gold
Posts: 4,412
So, just to report back - even though I signed up for the AA benefit 10 minutes after I bought my gift card, the kindly American Express muses took pity on me and I automatically received my refund today. I purchased the card on November 22 and got the credit on November 30 - eight days.

Thank you all for all of your insights! Thankfully I am now signed up for AA and shouldn't have to go through this again.
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Old Dec 1, 2014, 8:55 am
  #1619  
 
Join Date: Jan 2010
Location: NYC
Programs: IHG, RC, HH, AA, QF, UA, Aeroplan
Posts: 2,690
has anyone heard of any workarounds for Jersey residents, other than changing the address with Amex and the airline?
Tim O'Brien is offline  
Old Dec 1, 2014, 11:13 am
  #1620  
 
Join Date: Mar 2012
Location: PHL
Programs: AA ExP, Marriott Amb, National EAE, Hilton Diamond, SPG Plat (RIP), US CP (RIP)
Posts: 2,379
Originally Posted by Tim O'Brien
has anyone heard of any workarounds for Jersey residents, other than changing the address with Amex and the airline?
Vote for elected officials who are sympathetic?
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