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.
#7698
Join Date: May 2014
Posts: 378
Anyone use a Comenity card with AGC yet? Can't find any reports of how they handle the purchase, only questions.
#7699
Join Date: May 2002
Location: LEESBURG, VA, USA
Posts: 254
That is very true and i am afraid some of the posters who are getting their personal orders declined repeatedly may not be keeping track of their orders.
Here is my report card for the past 3 months.
I order 3K personal card on 2 separate accounts. I have used all different types of credit cards but have made sure that the address with the credit card matches with what i am using as billing address on the Amex website.
I wait anywhere from 5 to 7 days and order 2K cards for both accounts to reach my limit of 5K in 14 days. Then i make sure that i wait exactly 14 days since my first order of 3K card and repeat the process. I do not want to jinx myself but it has worked like a charm. My only decline was when i did not keep track of 1 purchase and ordered too soon. I get order received e-mail and then approval e-mail after 3 to 4 hours. If i place an order on late friday, i do have to wait until monday for the approval e-mail.
Here is my report card for the past 3 months.
I order 3K personal card on 2 separate accounts. I have used all different types of credit cards but have made sure that the address with the credit card matches with what i am using as billing address on the Amex website.
I wait anywhere from 5 to 7 days and order 2K cards for both accounts to reach my limit of 5K in 14 days. Then i make sure that i wait exactly 14 days since my first order of 3K card and repeat the process. I do not want to jinx myself but it has worked like a charm. My only decline was when i did not keep track of 1 purchase and ordered too soon. I get order received e-mail and then approval e-mail after 3 to 4 hours. If i place an order on late friday, i do have to wait until monday for the approval e-mail.
Just got another one approved for 3K (personal) card. My last 3K order on this account was on 07/14. My next 2K order will be 7 days from today.
#7700
Join Date: Jun 2014
Location: Oklahoma
Posts: 149
Using these services seriously make me sad. It's been over a month since BF said that my investigation was good and I should have the money, but their website still has the money floating in Pending and the investigation on their page still doesn't show as complete.
I suppose once the ball gets rolling it's a lot simpler to use these services.
I suppose once the ball gets rolling it's a lot simpler to use these services.
#7701
Join Date: Feb 2013
Location: PHL, maybe EWR
Programs: Plat IHG, Marriott Rewards Silver, CSP, Ink Bold, USDM, *Wood Gold, AA, Club Carl
Posts: 285
I PM'ed a member or 2 here with the same question last week and didn't receive any replies. So I took the cowards way out and bought my minimum spend at GCM instead.
FYI - I've never had a card by this issuer but Comenity CSR told me they can not lower CA limit. I HUCA and got same answer so maybe true?
FYI - I've never had a card by this issuer but Comenity CSR told me they can not lower CA limit. I HUCA and got same answer so maybe true?
#7702
Suspended
Join Date: May 2012
Location: ORD
Programs: AA, UA, AS, DL, BA, F9, IHG Plat, HH Gold, CC Gold, SPG Gold, MR Silver
Posts: 1,786
Congrats I guess, but not sure I see the point in these posts. However, by my count that is 15 days bw 3k orders and not 'exactly 14 days'.
#7703
Join Date: May 2014
Posts: 394
Anybody else not getting the normally reliable order received emails? I placed an order this morning 3 hours ago and haven't received the standard timeframe emails.
Update- never got received or approved email, got an order shipped after 5 hours.
Update- never got received or approved email, got an order shipped after 5 hours.
Last edited by givingitatry; Jul 30, 2014 at 9:10 am Reason: update
#7705
Suspended
Join Date: May 2014
Location: ILG/PHL
Programs: Amex Plat, AA Gold, SPG Gold, Hyatt Gold, HHonors Gold, Carlson Gold
Posts: 1,075
Placed a 6x $1k business order and a 1x $3k personal order pretty close together yesterday. Got received for both, got approved and shipped emails for the business order but haven't gotten anything else for the personal order almost 24 hours later. Never had this happen before. It's still listed as processing in my order history and hasn't been clawed back by BF so I don't know what's going on with it. Phone reps are worse than useless so there's no point calling. I guess I'll keep waiting.
#7706
Join Date: Dec 2013
Location: Midwest
Programs: DL DM
Posts: 401
Placed a 6x $1k business order and a 1x $3k personal order pretty close together yesterday. Got received for both, got approved and shipped emails for the business order but haven't gotten anything else for the personal order almost 24 hours later. Never had this happen before. It's still listed as processing in my order history and hasn't been clawed back by BF so I don't know what's going on with it. Phone reps are worse than useless so there's no point calling. I guess I'll keep waiting.
#7707
Join Date: Jan 2014
Location: SAN
Posts: 234
Anyone ever have one of these not show up? I placed an order and received the shipped email early Monday morning. I did 2nd day express shipping but the order still hasn't arrived
#7710
Join Date: Nov 2009
Programs: DL DM-1MM HH Diamond
Posts: 361
Before that, I only received 1/2 of a 6k order, took AX 6 weeks before they got a replacement out to me.