Oct 25, 2013, 7:07 pm
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.
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.
Cashback on Amex GC through TopCashBack, BigCrumbs, etc.
Nov 30, 2012, 3:26 am
#1
Original Poster
Join Date: Feb 2009
Posts: 3,737
Cashback on Amex GC through TopCashBack, BigCrumbs, etc.
Bigcrumbs just bumped the cash back up to 2.25%!! Even higher than the black friday 3 day special. Special shout out to Judy who was my referral for posting about the jump in cashback over black Friday weekend.
I believe the black friday weekend special was fee-free and $3 2-day shipping, but this has changed.
Do not use a coupon code when purchasing to remove the fees, you may not get cashback. Use code WRAP12P for free standard shipping, and a backup code for free shipping is AFLQ42012. For business you can use AFLQ42012 for $5.95 off shipping.
For personal Amex Gift Cards the max per order is $5k. So I would suggest to maximize purchasing a $3k and a $2k card since there is a flat $3 shipping.
$5k * 2.25% = $112.5
$112.5 - $3.95 fee - $3.95 fee = $104.60 back per transaction
Business Amex Gift Cards
$75k * 2.25% = $1687.50
$1687.5- $98.75 fees = $1588.75
I do receive a commission for anyone who uses my link, but will help provide any answers regardless if someone uses my link or not.
I also suggest not purchasing what you cannot liquidate. AZ payments provide a fee free way to liquidate up to $3k per month. Bluebird you can purchase vanilla refills a drug stores for a nominal fee. Max load for BB per card is $5k.
Williampaid has a flat rate of 2.45% to help liquidate if you want to do some research.
In my opinion this is a great way to boost your SPG Amex spending. You maybe be taking a risk when changing your monthly spending habits with Amex. I do not know how prevalent financial reviews are on here. This is a great opportunity to get spending on your Amex Cards for points and put a little money in your pocket. There are several easy methods of liquidating these cards right now and in the end you are gaining points and liquidation methods allow for a bit of cash back.
I do want to warn that the two day shipping is dropped off at my door step. So keep that in mind. If anyone want to chime in with any mistakes or extra input go for it. The bonus posted on my Bigcrumbs account within days of reviving my gift cards. Cash back with Bigcrumbs is sent faster than any other cashback service.
I've yet to see any mention of this information on the blogs, but would appreciate a shutout to Judy who originally announced the black Friday. Seems after the Amex small business Saturday and now this.. exciting to have some great deals out there to boost spending and earn some SPG points and money in my pocket from the cash back.
Maybe others can chime in with their experiences of using services like other payment services that charge 2.4% fee, and also the limits per month for personal and business gift card orders.
Looks like the point gods have been well to us this season!!
I believe the black friday weekend special was fee-free and $3 2-day shipping, but this has changed.
Do not use a coupon code when purchasing to remove the fees, you may not get cashback. Use code WRAP12P for free standard shipping, and a backup code for free shipping is AFLQ42012. For business you can use AFLQ42012 for $5.95 off shipping.
For personal Amex Gift Cards the max per order is $5k. So I would suggest to maximize purchasing a $3k and a $2k card since there is a flat $3 shipping.
$5k * 2.25% = $112.5
$112.5 - $3.95 fee - $3.95 fee = $104.60 back per transaction
Business Amex Gift Cards
$75k * 2.25% = $1687.50
$1687.5- $98.75 fees = $1588.75
I do receive a commission for anyone who uses my link, but will help provide any answers regardless if someone uses my link or not.
I also suggest not purchasing what you cannot liquidate. AZ payments provide a fee free way to liquidate up to $3k per month. Bluebird you can purchase vanilla refills a drug stores for a nominal fee. Max load for BB per card is $5k.
Williampaid has a flat rate of 2.45% to help liquidate if you want to do some research.
In my opinion this is a great way to boost your SPG Amex spending. You maybe be taking a risk when changing your monthly spending habits with Amex. I do not know how prevalent financial reviews are on here. This is a great opportunity to get spending on your Amex Cards for points and put a little money in your pocket. There are several easy methods of liquidating these cards right now and in the end you are gaining points and liquidation methods allow for a bit of cash back.
I do want to warn that the two day shipping is dropped off at my door step. So keep that in mind. If anyone want to chime in with any mistakes or extra input go for it. The bonus posted on my Bigcrumbs account within days of reviving my gift cards. Cash back with Bigcrumbs is sent faster than any other cashback service.
I've yet to see any mention of this information on the blogs, but would appreciate a shutout to Judy who originally announced the black Friday. Seems after the Amex small business Saturday and now this.. exciting to have some great deals out there to boost spending and earn some SPG points and money in my pocket from the cash back.
Maybe others can chime in with their experiences of using services like other payment services that charge 2.4% fee, and also the limits per month for personal and business gift card orders.
Looks like the point gods have been well to us this season!!
Last edited by Astrophsx; Aug 15, 2014 at 6:54 pm
Nov 30, 2012, 7:31 am
#2
Join Date: Sep 2012
Posts: 4,431
Could you clarify on this a bit? You said not to use a coupon code when using these promotional codes... are coupon codes and promotional codes not the same thing? What would be an example of a coupon code?
Nov 30, 2012, 7:43 am
#3
Suspended
Join Date: May 2010
Posts: 2,998
If I understand correctly.....free shipping vs free card fees. Free shipping appears to be ok, but getting the cards fee-free can prevent the cash back.
Nov 30, 2012, 7:45 am
#4
Join Date: Feb 2011
Posts: 769
Can't you get much more back using other methods, 5x, citi, etc?
Nov 30, 2012, 9:29 am
#6
Join Date: Apr 2000
Location: Fort Myers, FL
Programs: Hilton Gold, SPG & IHG Plat, & every airline program that I can join
Posts: 2,279
Thanks for the shout out!
My first posting for cards from 11/24 showed up today!! Whoo Hoo!
JudyJFLA
My first posting for cards from 11/24 showed up today!! Whoo Hoo!
JudyJFLA
Nov 30, 2012, 9:39 am
#7
Join Date: May 2006
Posts: 1,430
So when bought on an AMEX card, these count as minimum spend for signup bonus purposes?
Or is that risky if your intention is to liquidate them by bulk paypal/AP/sq/etc...?
Or is that risky if your intention is to liquidate them by bulk paypal/AP/sq/etc...?
Nov 30, 2012, 11:02 am
#8
Join Date: Oct 2009
Location: Land of the parrots and parrotheads
Programs: Several dozen
Posts: 4,820
Just don't go opening a blog and dare them to send a lightening bolt down.
(In case you were wondering that ain't a spelling error as the poor, emaciated crowd outside the beanery can attest.)
(In case you were wondering that ain't a spelling error as the poor, emaciated crowd outside the beanery can attest.)
Last edited by AlohaDaveKennedy; Nov 30, 2012 at 1:06 pm
Nov 30, 2012, 11:24 am
#9
Join Date: May 2008
Programs: AA PLT 2MM
Posts: 2,026
This is indeed a surprising development.
It seems this CB rate is in flux these days. Yesterday afternoon they briefly had it at 1.75%.
I wouldn't be surprised if the rate changes again. Given that 2.25% is the largest I've seen this in years, I doubt the change will be upwards, but, who knows...
It seems this CB rate is in flux these days. Yesterday afternoon they briefly had it at 1.75%.
I wouldn't be surprised if the rate changes again. Given that 2.25% is the largest I've seen this in years, I doubt the change will be upwards, but, who knows...
Nov 30, 2012, 11:26 am
#11
Join Date: Jul 2011
Location: DFW
Posts: 1,145
I would not use sq or any other hand held devices. They are very particular about gift cards being used and I have since gone away from them in terms of doing this. You do not want your money to get tied up for months, which is what they will do. Simply not worth it.
Nov 30, 2012, 12:01 pm
#12
Original Poster
Join Date: Feb 2009
Posts: 3,737
I've done it to get spend on my Amex cards. Just remember, Amex can trace who you spend your gift cards with, so there could be a problem.
I would not use sq or any other hand held devices. They are very particular about gift cards being used and I have since gone away from them in terms of doing this. You do not want your money to get tied up for months, which is what they will do. Simply not worth it.
I would not use sq or any other hand held devices. They are very particular about gift cards being used and I have since gone away from them in terms of doing this. You do not want your money to get tied up for months, which is what they will do. Simply not worth it.
I would always suggest doing some research if you are going to participate in a deal like this.
Nov 30, 2012, 12:29 pm
#13
Join Date: Jul 2011
Location: DFW
Posts: 1,145
Amex also knows how often I use Amazon Payment as well. YMMV, but it seems that it is hard to gauge how much they go after these people. Technically they are still making $$ when you liquidate these cards. I think it's kind of like the 50k limit for spending with the Bold card, as some level there might be red flags. I personally wouldn't go out and order $30k+ in business cards.
I would always suggest doing some research if you are going to participate in a deal like this.
I would always suggest doing some research if you are going to participate in a deal like this.
But with 2.25% back...i'm gonna have to buy some up...I actually like using my cap 1 card for this if i have easy liquidation...2 miles per dollar and I can use that card to offset mileage runs for elite status.
I'm curious, does paypal not care how much you send if you are paying a fee? They are obviously providing the service and know you are sending money for whatever reason, but would they shut you down if you sent say $5K a month to somebody? When the fee is less 1% out of pocket, i consider it worthwhile.
Nov 30, 2012, 1:26 pm
#14
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Aug 2001
Location: Finally back in Boston after escaping from New York
Posts: 13,644
Nov 30, 2012, 1:50 pm
#15
Original Poster
Join Date: Feb 2009
Posts: 3,737
Mine posted a few days after getting the cards in the mail this week. Usually they are a bit faster, guessing they got hit with a lot of black friday transactions?