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Cashback on Amex GC through TopCashBack, BigCrumbs, etc.

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Old Oct 25, 2013, 7:07 pm
FlyerTalk Forums Expert How-Tos and Guides
Last edit by: ericdabbs
Please read the wiki before posting a question.

UPDATE 01/17/15

BeFrugal: 1.5%
Big Crumbs: 0.9%
TopCashBack: 1.5%


For other cash back or airline portals, check here: http://www.cashbackmonitor.com/Cashb...erican+express

Public Service Announcement: Do NOT use fee-free codes if you want portal cashback / miles. CB/Miles will post and then be clawed back.

FAQ

Will it post as a cash advance (CA)?

Citi - Yes.

Cards from Chase, BoA, FIA, Barclay, AMEX, CapitalOne, US Bank, Discover, HSBC, etc., have posted as purchase. PNC Visa Cashbuilder - posts as purchase but does not earn CC rewards

Note: Some issuers (Discover, US Bank, etc.) will decline the authorization if it exceeds your CA limit. This does NOT mean it will post as CA. It simply means you need to lower the purchase amount below your CA limit for authorization, but it ultimately posts as a purchase.

How do I set PIN on AMEX Gift Cards and use as debit to load Bluebird, buy MOs, etc.
You cannot set PIN or use them as debit to load Bluebird, buy MOs, etc. You can only use them as credit where AMEX is accepted.

How do I cash out AMEX Gift Cards?
Use manufactured spend techniques (load RB, buy Visa/MC GCs, VRs, AP, AFT, etc.) or normal spend where AMEX is accepted.

Why buy AMEX Gift Cards then?
To reduce the cost of manufactured spend, to mask your manufactured spend (i.e unusual high spend at Target or CVS), earn additional cash back on spend, or meet minimum spend targets faster.

Next day shipping that isn't?
The next day shipping is from when they ship the cards to UPS, which can be as long as 10 days from the order submission if you order personalized cards (more recently this has been under a week). For next day shipping, you are notified late night (once your card finishes processing, see above) and the package arrive that same morning before 10:30AM in your area.

What is with the charge disappearing from my credit card?
Once the order is placed you will see a pending charge on your CC account. Quite often once the card ships this pending is removed but does not show as a charge. Don't panic (or celebrate) it will show up as a charge within a day or so.

Personalized GCs?
Either Biz or Personal GCs can be personalized with your name. This helps when shaky cashiers who demand to see your card are prevalent. These take approximately 4 biz days to arrive compared to the non personalized which arrives as quickly as the next day.

UPS Tracking?
If you logged in to your AMEX account when placing the order you can get tracking info by logging in to your AMEX account and clicking on cards > gift cards > order history > order details. Unfortunately tracking information may not appear until well after your order has shipped so it's best to sign up for UPS My Choice to get faster tracking info and reroute your package if needed. Since UPS may drop your package off at the door if you're not home, it will be useful to know when your package will arrive.

The portal terms indicate that coupon codes will invalidate cash back. Is this true?
Yes (as of July 2014)

What are the purchase limits? (Updated Dec 2014)
10K personal every 14 days
100K business every 14 days

Do declined orders count toward the purchase limits?
YMMV

Do fees and shipping count toward the purchase limits?
No

Why was my purchase declined by AMEX?
There are several possibilities:
- Your billing address does not match 100% with what the credit card company has on file. This could be anything from apt/suite/condo # on the wrong line to zip code requiring 9 digits instead of 5. If your first purchase does not go through, call your bank or login to your acct to verify that this matches what you used.
- You have gone over the $10k every 14 day limit on personal gift card purchase.
- Even if you are sure the first two are correct as you have ordered before on that card and it's been more than 14 days, you might still get declined. No one has any idea why.
- You placed a business order and you don't really have a business (at some point AMEX does a background check for a valid business) or you have exceeded the 14 day limit for business orders.

My order was declined but my credit card still shows a pending authorization. How long until this falls off and my credit line is freed up?
I typically takes 1 week for the pending authorization to fall off after a declined order.

Can I order from the business side using a personal card? Or does it need to be a business card?
You can use whatever credit card you want to pay for business or personal orders. About the only restriction is you can't use an AMEX GC to buy another AMEX GC.

How long will it take the portal to track my order and confirm the pending cash back or points?
For non-Cartera portals (TCB, BC, Befrugal, etc) your order will usually track within a day or two.
For Cartera portals (Barclay Reward Boost, Lucky Rewards, USAA, Alaska, Delta) it will take 3-4 weeks to track.

My orders are not tracking. How can I maximize the chances the portal will track my order properly?
Use a browser you do not normally use (Chrome, Firefox, Opera), reset all browser settings to defaults, clear all browser cookies, disable all browser add-ons, and close/re-start your browser before navigating to the portal and placing your order. Do NOT use promotional coupon codes. The vast majority of tracking issues result from use of coupon codes, a bad browser cookie, improperly configured browser settings, or add-ons that interfere with cookie tracking.
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Cashback on Amex GC through TopCashBack, BigCrumbs, etc.

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Old Nov 29, 2013, 5:42 pm
  #1486  
 
Join Date: Feb 2013
Location: NYC
Programs: AA Gold, US Silver, Starwood Gold, Starbucks Gold
Posts: 331
Saw a post somewhere that purchasing Amex GCs using an Amex results in the spend not being eligible for a sign-up bonus. I have an upgrade offer for $10k spend from Business Gold to Platinum. If I purchase $5k of Amex GCs with the Business Plat, will these count toward the $10k?
midnightinharlem is offline  
Old Nov 29, 2013, 5:57 pm
  #1487  
 
Join Date: Apr 2011
Programs: UA Gold, AA Gold, Hyatt Plat, SPG Gold, Marriott Plat, Hilton Gold, Hertz Pres Circle, etc etc
Posts: 382
Originally Posted by midnightinharlem
Saw a post somewhere that purchasing Amex GCs using an Amex results in the spend not being eligible for a sign-up bonus. I have an upgrade offer for $10k spend from Business Gold to Platinum. If I purchase $5k of Amex GCs with the Business Plat, will these count toward the $10k?
Timely post. I just bought a bunch today to meet a bonus for a Plat I just got for converting a PRG. Unfortunately I will not be able to give you any quick insight as I will not know the answer for awhile!
greek2me is offline  
Old Nov 29, 2013, 8:16 pm
  #1488  
 
Join Date: Oct 2013
Posts: 434
Originally Posted by midnightinharlem
Saw a post somewhere that purchasing Amex GCs using an Amex results in the spend not being eligible for a sign-up bonus. I have an upgrade offer for $10k spend from Business Gold to Platinum. If I purchase $5k of Amex GCs with the Business Plat, will these count toward the $10k?
There's no point in speculating if you can't site the source?
My SPG points just posted and 3k of 5k spend was amex gc.
xoxx is offline  
Old Nov 29, 2013, 8:27 pm
  #1489  
 
Join Date: Dec 2004
Location: SEA
Posts: 1,887
AMEX GC has always counted toward AMEX spend bonus. Doubt anything has changed.
HikerT is offline  
Old Nov 29, 2013, 11:07 pm
  #1490  
 
Join Date: Feb 2013
Location: NYC
Programs: AA Gold, US Silver, Starwood Gold, Starbucks Gold
Posts: 331
TopCashBack: 2.25% on Amex Gift Cards, but changes in fees, BigCrumbs 2%.

Thanks everyone. I'll proceed with an order.
midnightinharlem is offline  
Old Nov 30, 2013, 1:05 am
  #1491  
 
Join Date: Dec 2004
Location: SEA
Posts: 1,887
Looks like BC down to 1.75% but still 2.25% with 2 deep referral.
HikerT is offline  
Old Nov 30, 2013, 2:04 am
  #1492  
 
Join Date: Sep 2013
Posts: 222
dang i shoulda jumped in at 2.35%!!
Tofe is offline  
Old Nov 30, 2013, 10:23 am
  #1493  
 
Join Date: Jan 2013
Location: PVD/BOS
Posts: 879
TopCashBack: 2.25% on Amex Gift Cards, but changes in fees, BigCrumbs 2%.

I ordered 3k with the ink bold last night, order approved immediately.

I figured I would gamble and see if chase will post these as purchases or not and award UR points.
ashap is offline  
Old Nov 30, 2013, 10:58 am
  #1494  
 
Join Date: Oct 2013
Posts: 434
Originally Posted by HikerT
Looks like BC down to 1.75% but still 2.25% with 2 deep referral.
Any recommendation on how to setup 2 deep referral without pissing BC off?
xoxx is offline  
Old Nov 30, 2013, 11:19 am
  #1495  
 
Join Date: Dec 2004
Location: SEA
Posts: 1,887
You need 2 friends or family with paypal accounts. Best if they have different addresses.
HikerT is offline  
Old Nov 30, 2013, 12:40 pm
  #1496  
 
Join Date: Feb 2013
Posts: 801
Originally Posted by raccah
Remember that biz card from Amex have no official limit per buyer - some absurdly high number to be exact.
Are you referring to limit of GCs you can buy (compared to the $5k per two weeks limit on personal cards), or are you referring to not having a credit limit on charge type cards?

In other words, can you buy more than $5K/2 weeks with a biz credit card?
WhateverDude is offline  
Old Nov 30, 2013, 2:15 pm
  #1497  
 
Join Date: Jan 2013
Location: PVD/BOS
Posts: 879
Originally Posted by WhateverDude
Quote:





Originally Posted by raccah


Remember that biz card from Amex have no official limit per buyer - some absurdly high number to be exact.




Are you referring to limit of GCs you can buy (compared to the $5k per two weeks limit on personal cards), or are you referring to not having a credit limit on charge type cards?

In other words, can you buy more than $5K/2 weeks with a biz credit card?
Yes you can buy more than $5k per weeks with a biz card.
ashap is offline  
Old Nov 30, 2013, 2:26 pm
  #1498  
 
Join Date: Dec 2004
Location: SEA
Posts: 1,887
To clarify, has nothing to do with buying with a biz card. raccah is referring to buying the biz GCs (no 5K limit but you do technically need a business to buy them).

Last edited by HikerT; Nov 30, 2013 at 2:35 pm
HikerT is offline  
Old Nov 30, 2013, 6:17 pm
  #1499  
 
Join Date: Oct 2013
Posts: 33
Originally Posted by HikerT
To clarify, has nothing to do with buying with a biz card. raccah is referring to buying the biz GCs (no 5K limit but you do technically need a business to buy them).
What does "technically" mean? You can be a sole proprietor and not have a business name or ID. I purchased from the business card site and used a business card but I don't think there is any requirements to use a "business" card.
buylower is offline  
Old Nov 30, 2013, 10:12 pm
  #1500  
 
Join Date: Dec 2004
Location: SEA
Posts: 1,887
Let me put it this way. If you don't enter your business name you can't proceed with your order.
HikerT is offline  


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