Go Back  FlyerTalk Forums > Miles&Points > Credit, Debit and Prepaid Card Programs > Manufactured Spending
Reload this Page >

Cashback on Amex GC through TopCashBack, BigCrumbs, etc.

Community
Wiki Posts
Search
Old Oct 25, 2013, 7:07 pm
FlyerTalk Forums Expert How-Tos and Guides
Last edit by: ericdabbs
Please read the wiki before posting a question.

UPDATE 01/17/15

BeFrugal: 1.5%
Big Crumbs: 0.9%
TopCashBack: 1.5%


For other cash back or airline portals, check here: http://www.cashbackmonitor.com/Cashb...erican+express

Public Service Announcement: Do NOT use fee-free codes if you want portal cashback / miles. CB/Miles will post and then be clawed back.

FAQ

Will it post as a cash advance (CA)?

Citi - Yes.

Cards from Chase, BoA, FIA, Barclay, AMEX, CapitalOne, US Bank, Discover, HSBC, etc., have posted as purchase. PNC Visa Cashbuilder - posts as purchase but does not earn CC rewards

Note: Some issuers (Discover, US Bank, etc.) will decline the authorization if it exceeds your CA limit. This does NOT mean it will post as CA. It simply means you need to lower the purchase amount below your CA limit for authorization, but it ultimately posts as a purchase.

How do I set PIN on AMEX Gift Cards and use as debit to load Bluebird, buy MOs, etc.
You cannot set PIN or use them as debit to load Bluebird, buy MOs, etc. You can only use them as credit where AMEX is accepted.

How do I cash out AMEX Gift Cards?
Use manufactured spend techniques (load RB, buy Visa/MC GCs, VRs, AP, AFT, etc.) or normal spend where AMEX is accepted.

Why buy AMEX Gift Cards then?
To reduce the cost of manufactured spend, to mask your manufactured spend (i.e unusual high spend at Target or CVS), earn additional cash back on spend, or meet minimum spend targets faster.

Next day shipping that isn't?
The next day shipping is from when they ship the cards to UPS, which can be as long as 10 days from the order submission if you order personalized cards (more recently this has been under a week). For next day shipping, you are notified late night (once your card finishes processing, see above) and the package arrive that same morning before 10:30AM in your area.

What is with the charge disappearing from my credit card?
Once the order is placed you will see a pending charge on your CC account. Quite often once the card ships this pending is removed but does not show as a charge. Don't panic (or celebrate) it will show up as a charge within a day or so.

Personalized GCs?
Either Biz or Personal GCs can be personalized with your name. This helps when shaky cashiers who demand to see your card are prevalent. These take approximately 4 biz days to arrive compared to the non personalized which arrives as quickly as the next day.

UPS Tracking?
If you logged in to your AMEX account when placing the order you can get tracking info by logging in to your AMEX account and clicking on cards > gift cards > order history > order details. Unfortunately tracking information may not appear until well after your order has shipped so it's best to sign up for UPS My Choice to get faster tracking info and reroute your package if needed. Since UPS may drop your package off at the door if you're not home, it will be useful to know when your package will arrive.

The portal terms indicate that coupon codes will invalidate cash back. Is this true?
Yes (as of July 2014)

What are the purchase limits? (Updated Dec 2014)
10K personal every 14 days
100K business every 14 days

Do declined orders count toward the purchase limits?
YMMV

Do fees and shipping count toward the purchase limits?
No

Why was my purchase declined by AMEX?
There are several possibilities:
- Your billing address does not match 100% with what the credit card company has on file. This could be anything from apt/suite/condo # on the wrong line to zip code requiring 9 digits instead of 5. If your first purchase does not go through, call your bank or login to your acct to verify that this matches what you used.
- You have gone over the $10k every 14 day limit on personal gift card purchase.
- Even if you are sure the first two are correct as you have ordered before on that card and it's been more than 14 days, you might still get declined. No one has any idea why.
- You placed a business order and you don't really have a business (at some point AMEX does a background check for a valid business) or you have exceeded the 14 day limit for business orders.

My order was declined but my credit card still shows a pending authorization. How long until this falls off and my credit line is freed up?
I typically takes 1 week for the pending authorization to fall off after a declined order.

Can I order from the business side using a personal card? Or does it need to be a business card?
You can use whatever credit card you want to pay for business or personal orders. About the only restriction is you can't use an AMEX GC to buy another AMEX GC.

How long will it take the portal to track my order and confirm the pending cash back or points?
For non-Cartera portals (TCB, BC, Befrugal, etc) your order will usually track within a day or two.
For Cartera portals (Barclay Reward Boost, Lucky Rewards, USAA, Alaska, Delta) it will take 3-4 weeks to track.

My orders are not tracking. How can I maximize the chances the portal will track my order properly?
Use a browser you do not normally use (Chrome, Firefox, Opera), reset all browser settings to defaults, clear all browser cookies, disable all browser add-ons, and close/re-start your browser before navigating to the portal and placing your order. Do NOT use promotional coupon codes. The vast majority of tracking issues result from use of coupon codes, a bad browser cookie, improperly configured browser settings, or add-ons that interfere with cookie tracking.
Print Wikipost

Cashback on Amex GC through TopCashBack, BigCrumbs, etc.

Thread Tools
 
Search this Thread
 
Old Jul 13, 2014, 11:29 pm
  #7501  
 
Join Date: Jul 2013
Posts: 120
Any data point for AGCs through TCB? Gonna make another purchase soon, and I'm wondering if I have to get all $500s? Or anything >1K is still tracking just fine? Thanks a lot!
babehwa is offline  
Old Jul 13, 2014, 11:58 pm
  #7502  
 
Join Date: May 2014
Location: PHL
Programs: SW CP, SPG Gold, Hilton Gold
Posts: 571
Originally Posted by babehwa
Any data point for AGCs through TCB? Gonna make another purchase soon, and I'm wondering if I have to get all $500s? Or anything >1K is still tracking just fine? Thanks a lot!
BF pays better. Tracked my last 3K and 2K fine.
ftomasze is offline  
Old Jul 14, 2014, 12:37 am
  #7503  
 
Join Date: May 2014
Location: Omaha, NE
Programs: SPG Gold, Marriott Gold, Amex Platinum
Posts: 54
How can I sign up for premium shipping without an american express card? I can't find a way to get the 90 day free trial. TIA
bthomas362 is offline  
Old Jul 14, 2014, 12:43 am
  #7504  
 
Join Date: Dec 2004
Location: SEA
Posts: 1,887
You can't, so stop asking.
HikerT is offline  
Old Jul 14, 2014, 5:13 am
  #7505  
 
Join Date: May 2014
Location: PHL
Programs: SW CP, SPG Gold, Hilton Gold
Posts: 571
FWIW Ebates is at 2%
ftomasze is offline  
Old Jul 14, 2014, 5:30 am
  #7506  
 
Join Date: Feb 2012
Posts: 396
Do Amex Gift Cards count towards Amex card spend bonuses?
mrmandel is offline  
Old Jul 14, 2014, 5:44 am
  #7507  
 
Join Date: Oct 2012
Location: DFW
Posts: 478
Originally Posted by mrmandel
Do Amex Gift Cards count towards Amex card spend bonuses?
Yes
spgbus is offline  
Old Jul 14, 2014, 6:49 am
  #7508  
 
Join Date: Oct 2013
Programs: Hyatt Globalist No More..., Hyatt Explorist, Hilton Diamond, SPG Platinum, Marriott Platinum
Posts: 4,375
Originally Posted by f0xx
lol...
We've said over and over again. Don't use the fee free codes.
I hate to be that person that says "I told you so...". Wait, who am I kidding?? LOL. I'm a woman. We love to do that. I heeded the warning and my last fee free purchase was 6/25. No issues for me.
cdancer20 is offline  
Old Jul 14, 2014, 6:50 am
  #7509  
 
Join Date: Oct 2013
Programs: Hyatt Globalist No More..., Hyatt Explorist, Hilton Diamond, SPG Platinum, Marriott Platinum
Posts: 4,375
FYI, TCB is back up to 3%!
cdancer20 is offline  
Old Jul 14, 2014, 8:04 am
  #7510  
 
Join Date: May 2014
Location: Omaha, NE
Programs: SPG Gold, Marriott Gold, Amex Platinum
Posts: 54
Originally Posted by HikerT
You can't, so stop asking.
I appreciate an answer. I tried to research it on my own, didn't get anywhere, and asked on here. I then had to read sob stories about losing portal CB from multiple people when we all already knew that would be the case...
bthomas362 is offline  
Old Jul 14, 2014, 8:44 am
  #7511  
 
Join Date: May 2014
Location: New York
Posts: 391
Originally Posted by cdancer20
FYI, TCB is back up to 3%!
^
smoothmunkey is offline  
Old Jul 14, 2014, 10:29 am
  #7512  
 
Join Date: Jan 2014
Posts: 114
TCB is payable for me until end of June.
Also FYI, I used fee free code on June 30th on a 500 gift card for test and it's payable now.
vah4883 is offline  
Old Jul 14, 2014, 10:32 am
  #7513  
 
Join Date: Dec 2004
Location: SEA
Posts: 1,887
Originally Posted by bthomas362
I appreciate an answer. I tried to research it on my own, didn't get anywhere, and asked on here. I then had to read sob stories about losing portal CB from multiple people when we all already knew that would be the case...
If you google "american express premium shipping" this will be the first hit:

https://www.americanexpress.com/us/c...ping-plan.html

Conditions: You must have an active Americanexpress.com MYCA Account and Gift Card Account to sign up for and use the American Express Premium Shipping Plan.
I don't think reloadable prepaid card accounts will work (the one I tried gave an error message after logging in and going to order gift cards). Not sure about serve but suspect it would meet the same fate. You need an AMEX card that goes thru the MYCA (my card account) login.
HikerT is offline  
Old Jul 14, 2014, 11:57 am
  #7514  
 
Join Date: Jun 2014
Posts: 319
ordered 5k through TCB 3 hours ago and still no approval/denial from amex....
Pecan Pie is offline  
Old Jul 14, 2014, 12:01 pm
  #7515  
 
Join Date: May 2014
Posts: 466
Originally Posted by Pecan Pie
ordered 5k through TCB 3 hours ago and still no approval/denial from amex....
Patience, grasshopper.
Tuppins is offline  


Contact Us - Manage Preferences - Archive - Advertising - Cookie Policy - Privacy Statement - Terms of Service -

This site is owned, operated, and maintained by MH Sub I, LLC dba Internet Brands. Copyright © 2024 MH Sub I, LLC dba Internet Brands. All rights reserved. Designated trademarks are the property of their respective owners.