I was at the grocery store today and walked passed this enormous rack of gift cards and asked one of the ladies behind the customer service desk if I could buy money orders with their grocery brand gift card, and she told me that they normally only use pinned based transactions or cash. She asked why I would use a gift card, and I explained that I only had my American Express card on me and that I needed to buy one.

So she said well I will let you use your Amex card this time but next time try to bring in cash. So I bought several for one $3 charge. I called Amex and they told me I only have $400 in cash advance. Do you think these will be charged as a regular purchase since they signature and not pin based?