Originally Posted by
Ritz
You've purchased something that explicitly violates what Amex says is reimbursable. So with your gift card, you've committed theft, basically?
No, not basically. What many of us are doing re gift cards and other approaches is make certain airline charges and hope that we get the $200 credit. AmEx has set forth a list of reimbursable airline charges that is so arbitrary that CSRs can barely keep track of what is reimbursable and what is not.
Cry me a river if AmEx reimburses me for something that "explicitly violates what Amex says is reimbursable." AmEx can reimburse us for items on this list or not on the list. It can do so deliberately or cluelessly. That's all on AmEx. We aren't lying to AmEx -- we make charges and see what happens.