American Express Membership Rewards - Found a possible glitch in MR/Earn Mall

I debated posting this, because I don't think it's ethical and it will probably get shut down fast if enough people do it, but since I don't plan to use it--here goes! Use at your own risk and as always YMMV:

I ordered a product that has been backordered over 2 months now. The 4x points have already posted (this week; order was 8-9 weeks ago), so presumably I could cancel the order and keep the points. I'm not going to do that, I still want the item, if anyone is interested. This leads me to believe that any item on significant backorder could be ordered, Amex get the commission and then posts the points.

Disclaimer: I do not believe this is ethical and I do not personally plan to pursue this as a means of racking up points. I think guessing and finding items on such a significant backorder would be difficult and probably not worth the time. You also run the risk of taking delivery of the items should they come off backorder sooner than expected. This may vary by merchant as far as paying Amex a commission for orders that have not shipped.

EDIT: Just to be clear, my card was never charged for the original order. They say I won't be charged until the item ships.

I debated posting this, because I don't think it's ethical and it will probably get shut down fast if enough people do it, but since I don't plan to use it--here goes! Use at your own risk and as always YMMV:

I ordered a product that has been backordered over 2 months now. The 4x points have already posted (this week; order was 8-9 weeks ago), so presumably I could cancel the order and keep the points. I'm not going to do that, I still want the item, if anyone is interested. This leads me to believe that any item on significant backorder could be ordered, Amex get the commission and then posts the points.

Disclaimer: I do not believe this is ethical and I do not personally plan to pursue this as a means of racking up points. I think guessing and finding items on such a significant backorder would be difficult and probably not worth the time. You also run the risk of taking delivery of the items should they come off backorder sooner than expected. This may vary by merchant as far as paying Amex a commission for orders that have not shipped.

If you cancel the order what makes you think that AMEX wouldn't likewise cancel the points?

Forget about the glitch and miles The Amex vendor is near trouble with the Federal Trade Commsion......

FTC Seeks To Regulate Online Merchants With Proposed Changes To Mail Order Rule

The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) is proposing amendments to the Mail Order Rule that would result in its regulation of all sales made over the Internet regardless of how a buyer might initiate the purchase.

If you're an online merchant, the ramifications are significant.

The Mail Order Rule
The Mail Order Rule (Rule), actually The Mail or Telephone Order Merchandise Rule, was issued in 1975 and later updated in 1993 for purposes of clarifying a merchant's obligations regarding shipment of merchandise. The FTC passed the Rule to force merchants to consider and state the time of shipment, or at least to ship within 30 days. That's why the Rule is often referred to as the "30-Day Rule".

Under the current Rule, a merchant must have a reasonable basis to expect that they can ship merchandise within he time frame advertised, or at least within 30 days of the sale. If the merchant is not able to ship within the time frame originally promised, or within 30 days if no time frame is promised, the merchant is required to get the customer's consent to a later ship date or refund the purchase price.

The Rule originally covered mail order and telephone sales. In the early days of the commercialization of the Internet the Rule arguably covered online sales because dial-up modems using telephone lines were construed to be telephone sales. Fast forward to today, and the widespread use of high-speed broadband connections has cast doubt on the applicability of the Rule to most online sales.

The Proposed Changes
Concerned that their regulatory authority over online sales has been compromised by changing technology, the FTC recently proposed 4 changes to the Rule by:

* explicitly stating that it covers all sales placed over the Internet regardless of how the purchaser accesses the Internet;

* allowing merchants to provide refund notices and refunds to purchasers "by any means at least as fast and reliable as first-class mail" which could include notices by courier or email and refunds by electronic funds transfer (the current rule requires that refund notices be sent by first class mail);

* expanding the list of covered payment methods to cover debit cards, prepaid gift cards, and online payment services in general; and

* shortening the maximum allowable refund time to 7 working days for third party credit card purchases, and 1 billing cycle for the merchant's own credit card sales.

Conclusion
The FTC argues that the "proposed amendments are necessary to remedying unfair and deceptive acts or practices and ensuring that buyers receive timely delivery or timely refunds."

If you're an online merchant, it's recommended that you review your shipping policies and procedures now to make sure they are meeting the proposed new requirements, particularly regarding refunds for credit card purchases to be made within the 7 day limitation.

I'm not certain, that's why I said "possible glitch," but the points have already posted and I haven't been charged yet. I'm guessing based upon the fact that my card has not been charged yet, so the merchant would have to also claw back the commission from Amex for Amex to even know.

As to the issue of violating the law, while they have extended the back order date a couple times, they have not charged my card yet, and when I called to inquire they were clear that my card never will be charged should I decide to cancel the order.

Centurion's post is old news, and as far as I know this proposal has been stalled since October of last year when it was announced. I doubt we'll see any changes relating to this rule.

Further, as the OP points out, even if amended, they didn't violate the rule.

The AMEX mall is so unfriendly. I never can tell what post went with what merchant. At least the AAdvantage mall tells you if the purchase went thru etc. And follow up is hard too.