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Cashback on Amex GC through TopCashBack, BigCrumbs, etc.

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.
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Cashback on Amex GC through TopCashBack, BigCrumbs, etc.

Old Dec 14, 2012, 4:36 am
  #151  
 
Join Date: Jun 2006
Location: Manchester,UK and NYC
Programs: One Pass, BAEC, AA
Posts: 708
Originally Posted by forextrader
.

Two orders last week, no problems - ordered yesterday, and received email the order was declined. I ordered business card rather than personal card.

Today placed new order for personal card - trust this one is successful.
New order was approved - I noticed that on the credit card address details, the apartment number had a lower case (2f) letter - while I usually type this in upper case (2F).

I changed the 2f to 2F BEFORE placing the new order - I cant say if that is the reason the new order was approved - as I cannot recall if older orders I used upper or lower case - but just making a point that it is perhaps worthwhile checking your address.

Even Apt2F (no space) vs Apt 2F (with space) could be seen as a difference and "not valid details" given as reason for decline.
forextrader is offline  
Old Dec 14, 2012, 7:13 am
  #152  
 
Join Date: Apr 2009
Location: 787
Programs: Too many to list
Posts: 1,306
got this today

Your order was not fulfilled for the following reasons: You have exceeded the purchase limits set for the allowed time period.

Time to use this 2F apartment at the end of my home address.
Lets see if that works....
ThePointsCollector is offline  
Old Dec 14, 2012, 9:37 am
  #153  
LRD
 
Join Date: Feb 2004
Location: DFW
Programs: AA Plat/6MM, Marriott Titanium, IHG Diamond
Posts: 3,240
We probably have enough discount codes, but just in case someone needs another:

Get 100% off purchase fees through 03/31/13 when you use the code EMDECVMBR.
Not sure, but this may only apply to the Business gift-card version.
LRD is online now  
Old Dec 14, 2012, 10:28 am
  #154  
 
Join Date: Jul 2011
Location: DFW
Posts: 1,145
Originally Posted by Bored_Russian
got this today




Time to use this 2F apartment at the end of my home address.
Lets see if that works....
If you are purchasing personal cards, you are limited to $5K every 14 days. That is why everybody goes for the business ones. Just an FYI.

I think i'm going to change all my addresses to all caps with no punctuation..if it still goes wrong, i don't know what to do. I've had three different orders with three different credit cards reject (one was an Amex as well). I've gone to twitter for help...maybe i'll have luck there.
Mrgolfer21 is offline  
Old Dec 14, 2012, 12:56 pm
  #155  
 
Join Date: Jun 2011
Posts: 131
max per card i'm seeing for either personal or business is 3k. anyone see differently?
SnoopDaddy is offline  
Old Dec 14, 2012, 1:19 pm
  #156  
 
Join Date: Apr 2000
Location: Fort Myers, FL
Programs: Hilton Gold, SPG & IHG Plat, & every airline program that I can join
Posts: 2,279
For those on the fence, i just had an email from Bigcrumbs that this is the last day of the increased cashback until 11:59 pm EST. So join up, buy big for the cashback and a piece of the company if they ever sell out!!!

Back to max out the cards!

Cheers!

JudyJFLA
JudyJFLA is offline  
Old Dec 14, 2012, 2:10 pm
  #157  
jdl
 
Join Date: Dec 2009
Posts: 89
Originally Posted by Astrophsx

I also suggest not purchasing what you cannot liquidate. AZ payments provide a fee free way to liquidate up to $3k per month.
Sorry for the noobie question, but how do you do that, you have 3 AZ accounts? How different do they need to be (name, SSN, bank account)? Do they all funnel to the same end person (or 3 variations of the same end person)? Thanks.
jdl is offline  
Old Dec 15, 2012, 12:53 am
  #158  
 
Join Date: Jan 2008
Location: LAS
Programs: DL PM, UA PS, Hyatt Globalist, Marriott Titanium
Posts: 4,904
Wow, this is pretty close to doing 5x with Ink at OD ...

$3000 of Vanilla GCs at OD with Chase Ink costs $29.70 and earns 15,149 UR points

$3000 of AMEX GCs at 2.35% via BC with a 2% cb card = $130.50 back for $3.95.

So it's 15,149 UR points or $150. I'd take the 15,149 points, but that's an extreme example of a great bonus category and flexible currency.

If only I didn't have to meet $6K more spend on Citi cards
amolkold is offline  
Old Dec 15, 2012, 1:49 am
  #159  
 
Join Date: Apr 2009
Location: 787
Programs: Too many to list
Posts: 1,306
whats a "with a 2% cb card"

What kind of card is that?
ThePointsCollector is offline  
Old Dec 15, 2012, 1:52 am
  #160  
 
Join Date: Jan 2008
Location: LAS
Programs: DL PM, UA PS, Hyatt Globalist, Marriott Titanium
Posts: 4,904
Originally Posted by Bored_Russian
whats a "with a 2% cb card"

What kind of card is that?
A 2% cash back card like the Fidelity Amex. That's the benchmark I use for when I decide what cards to put spend on. Sure, I can earn a mile, but is that mile worth 2˘ to me?

Bonus categories are moot here since I don't know a card that gets >1X for AMEX GCs. Also doesn't take into account signup bonus spend. I guess one could use the SPG AMEX as a benchmark if you value those points > 2˘ each.
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Old Dec 15, 2012, 6:20 am
  #161  
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Join Date: Jan 2003
Location: Fairfield County, CT USA
Programs: AA PLT+2MM / DL DM+1MM / A3 *G / Fairmont LT Plat / Ritz Gold / SPG Gold
Posts: 4,077
Even at 1.75%, this is still a very attractive deal.
NYBanker is offline  
Old Dec 15, 2012, 11:00 pm
  #162  
 
Join Date: Jan 2008
Location: LAS
Programs: DL PM, UA PS, Hyatt Globalist, Marriott Titanium
Posts: 4,904
I made 3 purchases but only 1 has shown up as BC credit. Submitted 2 tickets, since they all should have shown up, not just the middle transaction of 3.
amolkold is offline  
Old Dec 16, 2012, 8:25 am
  #163  
 
Join Date: Aug 2011
Posts: 361
Is there a BigCrumbs conga line? I can't seem to find a thread on it

Never mind, found it http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/s-p-m...bigcrumbs.html

Last edited by fr33b13; Dec 16, 2012 at 8:46 am
fr33b13 is offline  
Old Dec 16, 2012, 8:39 am
  #164  
 
Join Date: Aug 2011
Posts: 361
Originally Posted by JudyJFLA
For those on the fence, i just had an email from Bigcrumbs that this is the last day of the increased cashback until 11:59 pm EST. So join up, buy big for the cashback and a piece of the company if they ever sell out!!!

Back to max out the cards!

Cheers!

JudyJFLA
Thanks for the update. That's a bummer. I was hoping it would go up again and the 1.75% was just temporary.
fr33b13 is offline  
Old Dec 17, 2012, 5:27 pm
  #165  
 
Join Date: Apr 2009
Location: 787
Programs: Too many to list
Posts: 1,306
My orders keep being canceled by amex - "could not match information".
Talked to "John" in India and was told its because 4 extra post-digits in my zip code were missing. Total BS.
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