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Premier Rewards Gold refresh: 4x USA dining, groceries, $10/mon dining credit. $250.

Old Oct 4, 2018, 1:05 pm
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Last edit by: roberto99
Faq amex: https://www.americanexpress.com/us/campaigns/gold-card/gold-update-faqs.html

For existing and new cardholders
  • Changes below are effective immediately
    • 4x US grocery (25k/calendar year), 4x US dining* (*pervasive reports that many dining transactions are not coding as 4x, including but not limited to those from Square or Toast-based POS systems. Scroll down in thread for more reports and information.)
    • $120 dining credit ($10 monthly in certain restaurants)
  • No change
    • $100 calendar year airline reimbursement
  • Other
    • $250 AF (see below for existing cardholders)
    • No 2x gas (removed, see below for existing cardholders who have it till Oct 2019)
  • Metal card (contactless)
    • Rose gold card - limited edition until Jan 9 2019
    • Regular gold card

For new cardholders (Oct 4 2018 and after)
  • You may be able to find targeted/referal 50k/$2k, but first AF is not waived
  • Signup bonus: You get 20% off restaurant up to $500 restaurant spend (3 month)
  • You do not get 2x gas (only for existing cardholders, see below)

For existing cardholders (Oct 3 2018 or before)
  • AF will change to $250 for anniversary dates after April 1 2019
  • 2x gas will be removed after Oct 2019
  • You can chat/call for the gold/rosegold metal card. AU card will get whatever primary cardholder is getting, cannot be different
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Premier Rewards Gold refresh: 4x USA dining, groceries, $10/mon dining credit. $250.

Old Mar 11, 2019, 7:58 pm
  #1336  
mia
A FlyerTalk Posting Legend; Moderator: American Express, Capital One, Citi, Chase, Credit Card Programs, Diners Club, Signatures
 
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Originally Posted by travelling companion
.... they literally only sell groceries. ....
It appears this was not always true:

Shipt is an Internet-based delivery service. In December 2017 it was announced that Target Corporation was acquiring Shipt for $550 million and that it would operate as an independent subsidiary following the acquisition. As of 2018, Shipt delivers groceries, home products and select electronics.
Read more: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shipt

Do you still offer deliveries from restaurants or retailers?

Sadly, we do not. We only offer grocery and alcohol delivery at this time.
I would not assume that any change in their relationship with American Express is related to a specific credit card. It's more likely related to their ownership and the fees that they pay for credit card processing.
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Old Mar 11, 2019, 8:07 pm
  #1337  
 
Join Date: Oct 2014
Programs: AA Gold
Posts: 51
Ok, I've been really negative in this thread, but I need to give credit where credit is due.

My statement closed today and I was shocked to see the 50k bonus posted. I met the spending requirement months ago but never got the bonus. I had written it off because I had the PRG a few years back and figured that would prevent the bonus from ever posting. So much so, that I didn't even call them cause I figured they would just lecture me about my history of opening and closing cards with them. Guess it paid off to wait it out.

Another surprise was seeing a GBPG:0001 20% Statement Credit of $100. Seems like it took a couple extra months to have those bonuses activate in my account. I'd recommend people who haven't seen the 50k and/or 20% credit to maybe wait it out and see what happens.

Lastly, all but one of my restaurant charges from this last statement coded as 4x (the one that hasn't showed as 4x yet is a really big restaurant charge from Saturday night, but I think that will change in a few days). That includes some food trucks, breweries, and restaurants that use Toast, all of which coded as 1x in previous statements. Maybe Amex really is figuring this whole thing out. Better late than never!
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Old Mar 11, 2019, 8:17 pm
  #1338  
 
Join Date: Jul 2018
Location: Washington DC
Programs: Delta Silver Medallion, Marriott Bonvoy Gold, World of Hyatt Discoverist, Ultimate Rewards, AMEX
Posts: 18
Originally Posted by mia
It appears this was not always true:



Read more: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shipt



I would not assume that any change in their relationship with American Express is related to a specific credit card. It's more likely related to their ownership and the fees that they pay for credit card processing.
I would be careful citing Wikipedia it is not always accurate and that is the case here. First, in my area the only thing Shipt sells is groceries and in no part of the country do they sell electronics. Second, directly from the FAQ on the website, "We only offer grocery and alcohol delivery at this time." If AMEX thinks that selling alcohol then many supermarkets should not code as groceries since many including Trader Joe's and Whole Foods etc. sell alcohol.

Last edited by travelling companion; Mar 11, 2019 at 8:37 pm
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Old Mar 11, 2019, 8:23 pm
  #1339  
 
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Originally Posted by travelling companion
I would be careful citing Wikipedia it is not always accurate and that is the case here.
Wikipedia is a tertiary source, so as long as the primary/secondary sources are appropriately cited, there's no need to finger-point at wikipedia. In this case, the source is here: https://www.nola.com/business/2018/0...ery_shipt.html , from the website of New Orleans-based The Times-Picayune. If the information within is incorrect, your beef is with that source.
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Old Mar 12, 2019, 6:44 am
  #1340  
mia
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Originally Posted by travelling companion
....directly from the FAQ on the website, "We only offer grocery and alcohol delivery at this time." .....
I did include this in my previous post, but it appears to be inaccurate. Shipt is owned by Target, and also operates as a delivery service for Target in many markets:

Read here: Shipt

Some Target merchandise categories are not eligible for delivery, but Shipt delivers much more than groceries in those markets.

I do not think the change in Shipt's merchant classification has to do with alcohol, nor with the Gold Card. It has to do with Target. Target sells groceries, but American Express does not classify them as a supermarket. The same reasoning applies to Shipt. I accept that this may not make sense in your geographic area, but the classification is national.

Last edited by mia; Mar 12, 2019 at 7:06 am
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Old Mar 12, 2019, 2:47 pm
  #1341  
 
Join Date: Sep 2007
Posts: 998
Originally Posted by Tanic
I wonder if ordering through the click list app and using the pick up lane would show as a Kroger purchase and get 4x.
Well I'm curious on that now... maybe I'll have to try. I'm not sure exactly how useful that would be for me though since I like to pick my own produce (and usually shop based on what looks the best that week, not what I want) and that makes up a fairly large amount of the items I buy, probably 30 to 40% a week of the total bill. Still, even if I could cut down the spend by 50 or 60% a week then a gift card would go a heck of a lot longer and I could just go in, buy my produce (so I'm just in one part of the store, that would be nice) and then go out and have the click list delivered to my car and go home. I might give it a chance... they've been promoting heavy coupons on click list too so I probably would actually save in the long run.

I'll report back if I try, has anyone else with a Fred Meyer tried Click-List pickup of groceries to see if it triggers 4x?
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Old Mar 12, 2019, 8:58 pm
  #1342  
 
Join Date: Jul 2018
Location: Washington DC
Programs: Delta Silver Medallion, Marriott Bonvoy Gold, World of Hyatt Discoverist, Ultimate Rewards, AMEX
Posts: 18
Originally Posted by mia
I did include this in my previous post, but it appears to be inaccurate. Shipt is owned by Target, and also operates as a delivery service for Target in many markets:

Read here: Shipt

Some Target merchandise categories are not eligible for delivery, but Shipt delivers much more than groceries in those markets.

I do not think the change in Shipt's merchant classification has to do with alcohol, nor with the Gold Card. It has to do with Target. Target sells groceries, but American Express does not classify them as a supermarket. The same reasoning applies to Shipt. I accept that this may not make sense in your geographic area, but the classification is national.
Your point is well taken I will admit that Shipt does in fact deliver thing that are not traditionally groceries in some markets but I think in focusing on the one example I gave, you lost my broader point. The real issue is not Shipt specifically but the way in which American Express decides who is or who isn't classified as a U.S. Supermarket or U.S. Restaurant. First, who owns a business is completely irrelevant for what they sell. Amazon owns Whole Foods but it is still considered a U.S. Supermarket. Shipt is not just a delivery service for some Target products but also partners with supermarkets such as Harris Tetter and Safeway and focuses on grocery delivery. Second, supermarkets sell a variety of goods but the classification should focus on their primary business they are engaged in not the business of things which are ancillary in nature. For example, Harris Teeter has a pharmacy and sells prescription drugs but is still considered a U.S. Supermarket. Third, American Express' definition of U.S. Supermarket explicitly excludes superstores such as Target from counting as U.S. Supermarkets but also specifically includes online grocery delivery services. This is walking contradiction specifically because both Amazon and Walmart have large grocery delivery services which deliver a variety of good but focus on groceries and one of the largest Instacart deliveries a variety of items but actually codes as a restaurant but doesn't give bonus points for U.S. Supermarket or U.S. Restaurant. The lines that were created in the traditional supermarket are blurring and if American Express wants to be successful and have the go to card for groceries it should learn from the Sapphire cards and make it simple to utilize and adjust to people's spending habits. One idea on how to resolve this would be to create codes for the different stores on Shipt to make sure store they don't want to code as 4X time don't do so. Finally, American Express already limits the supermarket benefit to only U.S. Supermarkets and caps it at $25,000 which limits the number of bonus points they would have to give out in a year so I don't understand why they can't make a process, that seems to have a lot of overrides within the system, more transparent. If a store or online delivery service is in the U.S., codes as groceries and the customer is under the $25,000 limit the transaction should get the 4X bonus. In my admittedly short time using Membership Rewards this seems to be one big difference between the approach taken by Ultimate Rewards vs. Membership Rewards. I have on multiple occasions had merchants in the U.S. code as groceries and only get 1X while others code as restaurants but code as 1X. If Amex doesn't provide more confidence that the purchase you make codes correctly customers won't spend as much on the card.
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Old Mar 13, 2019, 1:06 pm
  #1343  
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Originally Posted by travelling companion
Your point is well taken I will admit that Shipt does in fact deliver thing that are not traditionally groceries in some markets but I think in focusing on the one example I gave, you lost my broader point. The real issue is not Shipt specifically but the way in which American Express decides who is or who isn't classified as a U.S. Supermarket or U.S. Restaurant. First, who owns a business is completely irrelevant for what they sell. Amazon owns Whole Foods but it is still considered a U.S. Supermarket. Shipt is not just a delivery service for some Target products but also partners with supermarkets such as Harris Tetter and Safeway and focuses on grocery delivery. Second, supermarkets sell a variety of goods but the classification should focus on their primary business they are engaged in not the business of things which are ancillary in nature. For example, Harris Teeter has a pharmacy and sells prescription drugs but is still considered a U.S. Supermarket. Third, American Express' definition of U.S. Supermarket explicitly excludes superstores such as Target from counting as U.S. Supermarkets but also specifically includes online grocery delivery services. This is walking contradiction specifically because both Amazon and Walmart have large grocery delivery services which deliver a variety of good but focus on groceries and one of the largest Instacart deliveries a variety of items but actually codes as a restaurant but doesn't give bonus points for U.S. Supermarket or U.S. Restaurant. The lines that were created in the traditional supermarket are blurring and if American Express wants to be successful and have the go to card for groceries it should learn from the Sapphire cards and make it simple to utilize and adjust to people's spending habits. One idea on how to resolve this would be to create codes for the different stores on Shipt to make sure store they don't want to code as 4X time don't do so. Finally, American Express already limits the supermarket benefit to only U.S. Supermarkets and caps it at $25,000 which limits the number of bonus points they would have to give out in a year so I don't understand why they can't make a process, that seems to have a lot of overrides within the system, more transparent. If a store or online delivery service is in the U.S., codes as groceries and the customer is under the $25,000 limit the transaction should get the 4X bonus. In my admittedly short time using Membership Rewards this seems to be one big difference between the approach taken by Ultimate Rewards vs. Membership Rewards. I have on multiple occasions had merchants in the U.S. code as groceries and only get 1X while others code as restaurants but code as 1X. If Amex doesn't provide more confidence that the purchase you make codes correctly customers won't spend as much on the card.
You may be overfocusing on the Gold card, if you think that the $25000 limit has anything to do with this. Yes, that's what card you have, and what card you use for groceries, but that's far from only card that Amex gives a multiplier for groceries on. So don't assume that Amex is doing this just on the Gold card if you don't have evidence of that. I suspect these same changes are happening to Everyday 2x, Everyday Preferred 3x, etc, etc. It's just that FTers didn't care as much whether they got 2x everywhere as they do at whether they're getting 4x everywhere. But Amex doesn't necessarily pay more attention to an issue with you getting 4x than someone else's issue with getting 2x.

And Amex only limits the Gold 4x to $25000. They don't limit you to $25000:, If you want to switch to using the Everyday Preferred after you go to $25000 on the Gold, you can, because the limits (if any) are separate for each Amex card.
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Old Mar 24, 2019, 7:03 pm
  #1344  
 
Join Date: Dec 2018
Location: Singapore
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I've had the card for 2 months now. During the first month, the bonus points icon appeared 3-4 days after the transaction had posted. However, for this month's activity, there is no bonus icon even for transactions posted 10 days ago. Amex chat representative told me the icon appears once the statement closes. How should it be? A few days after or once the statement closes?

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?
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Old Mar 24, 2019, 7:57 pm
  #1345  
mia
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The icons that appear before the points post to your account are unreliable. The real accounting of what you actually received is in an entirely different location.

Login to membershiprewards.com > Points Summary > [Go] > Activity Detail > click [+] to expand a billing period > See card bonus detail.
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Old Mar 25, 2019, 2:14 pm
  #1346  
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Originally Posted by Snick
In this case, is Puerto Rico a different country in Amex's eyes?
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".
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Old Mar 25, 2019, 5:39 pm
  #1347  
 
Join Date: Apr 2014
Posts: 539
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.
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Last edited by halamadrid; Mar 25, 2019 at 6:02 pm
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Old Mar 27, 2019, 6:32 am
  #1348  
 
Join Date: Dec 2018
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Thank you for the answers.
The new interface provides more information on transactions, even a rewards breakdown. My transactions have started to clear and they do provide x4 points on US restaurants and groceries.

Shame Amex CSR had no clue on this and provided wrong answers. As usual, FTers know more .
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Old Mar 27, 2019, 9:48 am
  #1349  
 
Join Date: May 2005
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Originally Posted by Snick
Shame Amex CSR had no clue on this and provided wrong answers. As usual, FTers know more .
Generally speaking, Amex CSRs are the best in the business, but they often times have the wrong answers when you call in for inquiries. In my experience, they can fix basically any issue, but don't call them if you have questions about how charges are coded, what is covered by purchase protection, etc.
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Old Mar 31, 2019, 6:59 am
  #1350  
 
Join Date: Jul 2018
Location: Washington DC
Programs: Delta Silver Medallion, Marriott Bonvoy Gold, World of Hyatt Discoverist, Ultimate Rewards, AMEX
Posts: 18
Originally Posted by Snick
I've had the card for 2 months now. During the first month, the bonus points icon appeared 3-4 days after the transaction had posted. However, for this month's activity, there is no bonus icon even for transactions posted 10 days ago. Amex chat representative told me the icon appears once the statement closes. How should it be? A few days after or once the statement closes?

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?
I went to Puerto Rico in January and had a charge from a local cafe post as 4x points.
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