mrkymark

Agree that it has always been the case that Amex doesn't want to give MR for gift cards. And putting in the TCs is fine but largely unenforceable with the volume of transactions and the opacity of those transactions. A supermarket chain is not going to transmit individual purchase data on contents bought by customer.

I will admit though that some retailers have ventured to do this. I was very surprised when a recent purchase at Staples with Amex listed the two specific items I bought on my Amex statement. So at least maybe for Staples it can be enforced.

ChrisFlyer66

YMMV, but you almost certainly won't earn points at Simon Mall.

Fiordland

Yes, for two reasons.

Sending that data to AMEX is complex and expensive to setup. The retailer gains very little from doing it.

That POS transaction data is a valuable asset. Market research companies such as Neilsons pay good money to get that data stream from retailers that are willing to sell it. Many retailers will view it as sensitive market data and refuse to even sell it to a third party.

cajunguy

Thanks! I'm still torn about applying, the mailer I have is good until mid Sept. I haven't applied for any AMEX cards in a very long time. I'm about to close my SPG/Marriot what-ever. I also want to apply for another BOA Alaska Biz card soon.

Your information is helpful.

sdsearch

Have you used all of your existing Amex cards recently? Because if not (eg, if your SPG/Marriott what-ever" was "sock drawered", and now you cancel it), you have a high chance of being denied the signup bonus (not the card itself) on that Delta Amex card you got the mailer for:

Amex (USA) restricts bonus based on number of accounts opened/closed (June 2018)

Amex USA terms now penalize:abuse,misuse,gaming;1st yr downgrade/close;leaked offers.

One of the things that Amex now penalizes you for is "sock drawering" cards.

All of these changes happened in the past year or two, so if you haven't applied for any Amex card in "a very long time", you may to make yourself familiar with all the new policies before you cancel any Amex card, not just before you apply for any Amex card. (Yes, I understand your Amex card you're cancelling is much more than a year old, but that in and of itself is not sufficient to avoid being penalized.)

cajunguy

Great info - I do have other Amex cards I use - Gold, Gold Biz and Plat very often. I just didn't have any use for either of my hotel versions (Hilton points hacked on Amazon prime day and drained!!!) Since I rarely fly Delta I hadn't given it much thought but then I'm thinking I may need to move miles or points around for flights in the future.

I'll probably just pass on this Delta mailer.

notquiteaff

Fiordland

I believe the discount for sending level 3 usually only applies to corporate and government cards. More common customer profiles for someone like staples. Not quite the target customer base for your local grocery store.

Most retail POS systems have a serial connection to a separate credit card terminal (ie. the block box you swipe you card on). Basically when its time to process the transaction the POS sends the total basket size etc. to the terminal and the terminal sends back the results from the bank. Those terminals generally can't handle Level 3. You need to use a payment gateway send all of that through the POS, suddenly the entire POS needs to be PCI compliant. This is not trivial to implement.

iahphx

If you're trying to meet the minimum spend on a Hilton AMEX card, what is the current risk of throwing in a couple of gift card purchases from groceries and pharmacies? Obviously, AMEX cracked down on purchases from obvious gift card mills like Simon, but I can't recall anyone getting "in trouble" from throwing in a few supermarket gift card purchases. True?

Points Scrounger

Staples worked just fine for me earlier this year purchasing Uber gift cards there.

krazykanuck

Pretty much zero. I recently MSed the entire retention bonuses on two cards in a similar fashion.

If people want to continue to spread the view that MS on Amex is dead, more power to them, but it's just not true. Just avoid obvious scorched earth like Simon/GCM and anyplace that provides L3 data like Staples.

vxmike

What do you think about 3rd party sites like Raise.com?

radonc1

I have been reviewing the purchases of VGCs at Staples or OM using either Amex Hilton and Starwood Amex. I have not gotten any points on either card for said purchases and this has been confirmed by repeat purchases.
There are DPs out there that Amex business cards still get the points for such purchases but I don't have those cards so I cannot confirm those DPs.

StartinSanDiego

Points Scrounger bought an Uber gift card, not a Visa Gift Card.

radonc1

When I see the words "earlier this year" I am a bit concerned because "earlier this year (like Feb and March), I was still able to get points from Amex purchases of VGCs at both stores.

I would be much more comfortable seeing if purchasing something other than VGCs or MCGCs using Amex personal cards still qualifies for points at OM or Staples.
I have not seen any DPs for purchases of other types of GCs at either store. I will have to go and try to see if they will or won't work.

I am in need of Starbucks GCs which I use for presents during the holidays. They will be perfect for a test run.