Originally Posted by
ddallas
Yes, gift cards are considered cash equivalents, and AMEX has had that wording in the fine print for a while. They could probably claw back the last several years rewards if they could tell what you were buying and if they felt like pursuing it. As it is now they don't know what you are buying and they have not been pursuing clawing back. They have handled it by putting a cap on the rewards your can earn.
I suspect that would be a PR disaster!