My online gift cards order Sept 30 did not work. My online purchsae Sept 30 worked
My dec gift cards worked in store.
I went in Dec with 5 cards - the staff were very eager to help - interestingly instead of 5 orders of 75$ each, she insisted on making it a single order of 375$ (loaded each card in order - then charged separately each card 75$ )
- all refunded by Amex
Same thing today when i went to get gift cards - a single 375$ order
I was told this buying giftcards has helped the staff reach their sales targets and bonuses (and I wonder if a high order counts for more in their staff rewards system, as they did it both in dec and in jan when I went to cash in the Cards)

I tried to do this at Saks- so i would have 250$ gift cards - but one agent was able to do it once a few years ago - the rest all refused and sent me to corporate ofice