Originally Posted by
Snick
One more thing, has anyone had restaurant transactions done in US territories (PR) count as bonus? The card's terms only state "In the United States". I guess debating Puerto Rico's status with front line agents is useless as one of them told me restaurant transactions in PR do not count. In this case, is Puerto Rico a different country in Amex's eyes?
Originally Posted by
sdsearch
In many cases, Puerto Rico is a different country in various banks' eyes. In that you're likely to be charged a foreign transaction fee when you use a card with such a fee for US dollars purchases in Puerto Rico.
So given that, I would think that it's very unlikely that restaurants there (or in Guam) will be counted as "US restaurants".
Transactions in Puerto Rico code the same as those in the 50 states. You will never be charged a FTF for any transaction in PR as those are US based transactions in US dollars (this has always been the case). PR is a different banking jurisdiction in the same way that some states are considered different jurisdictions where certain financial products aren't offered due to applicable local regulations/protections (some banks just don't want to bother with dealing with those and either decide not to offer their products or offer different products). In any event, the same federal banking laws, regulations and system is applicable there.
To the issue at hand, I've had restaurant transactions in PR provide the bonus on my Amex gold, and I was even able to get the monthly dining credit applied to a charge (this year) from the Cheescake Factory in San Juan, PR.
P.S. I was actually kicking myself for making several charges during my visit at a bakery/restaurant down there using my BBP as I wasn't sure how they would code. Of course when I got back and received my statement I could see that they all coded as restaurant. On a related note - I also got the bonus on transactions made with my Freedom Card at gas stations and drugstores (CVS, Walgreens) when I was down there.