Oct 25, 2013, 7:07 pm
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.
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.
Cashback on Amex GC through TopCashBack, BigCrumbs, etc.
Nov 30, 2012, 1:51 pm
#16
Original Poster
Join Date: Feb 2009
Posts: 3,737
Yeah..i had to cut out amzn for a month...last two months i had quite a bit of spend and it was all amzn, huge red flag to get nailed.
But with 2.25% back...i'm gonna have to buy some up...I actually like using my cap 1 card for this if i have easy liquidation...2 miles per dollar and I can use that card to offset mileage runs for elite status.
I'm curious, does paypal not care how much you send if you are paying a fee? They are obviously providing the service and know you are sending money for whatever reason, but would they shut you down if you sent say $5K a month to somebody? When the fee is less 1% out of pocket, i consider it worthwhile.
But with 2.25% back...i'm gonna have to buy some up...I actually like using my cap 1 card for this if i have easy liquidation...2 miles per dollar and I can use that card to offset mileage runs for elite status.
I'm curious, does paypal not care how much you send if you are paying a fee? They are obviously providing the service and know you are sending money for whatever reason, but would they shut you down if you sent say $5K a month to somebody? When the fee is less 1% out of pocket, i consider it worthwhile.
Nov 30, 2012, 2:00 pm
#17
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Aug 2001
Location: Finally back in Boston after escaping from New York
Posts: 13,644
Back in the days of the mint there was a month where they weren't showing up for everyone. Bigcrumbs acknowledged the problem, fixed it, apologized, and if I remember correctly everyone got their money in a timely fashion.
Mine posted a few days after getting the cards in the mail this week. Usually they are a bit faster, guessing they got hit with a lot of black friday transactions?
Mine posted a few days after getting the cards in the mail this week. Usually they are a bit faster, guessing they got hit with a lot of black friday transactions?
The only thing different about this purchase was that I didn't get the instant confirmation email that I normally get. Oh well, no biggie.
Mike
Nov 30, 2012, 2:17 pm
#18
Join Date: Jul 2011
Location: DFW
Posts: 1,145
I believe there is a limit on how many cards you can rotate through with paypal. There was some discussion about this a long time ago and I think the answer was 15. I do not know if that is a lifetime or a year. I won't even begin to start to talk about the problems you may encounter with Paypal.
Nov 30, 2012, 2:31 pm
#19
Join Date: May 2006
Posts: 1,433
Can you register an address on these and use them for internet purchases?
Nov 30, 2012, 3:01 pm
#21
Join Date: Apr 2000
Location: Fort Myers, FL
Programs: Hilton Gold, SPG & IHG Plat, & every airline program that I can join
Posts: 2,279
Funny,
I called today to register my second set of Amex Gift cards and I was told they were consignment cards and I had to use them at a physical retailer first!
I went on and tried once with amazon payments and it worked anyway. So now that I am out of options for Amazon Payments on 3 accounts (is that 30 days or Calendar month) We need new ways to monetize these cheaply. Serve and Amex Prepaid do not work with these cards for transfers, any ideas other than buying Beans? I will be buying many more Gift Cards since the rebate is so good!!!
JudyJFLA
I called today to register my second set of Amex Gift cards and I was told they were consignment cards and I had to use them at a physical retailer first!
I went on and tried once with amazon payments and it worked anyway. So now that I am out of options for Amazon Payments on 3 accounts (is that 30 days or Calendar month) We need new ways to monetize these cheaply. Serve and Amex Prepaid do not work with these cards for transfers, any ideas other than buying Beans? I will be buying many more Gift Cards since the rebate is so good!!!
JudyJFLA
Nov 30, 2012, 3:07 pm
#22
Join Date: Sep 2006
Location: Eastvale, CA
Programs: SPG Gold, Marriott Plat, Hyatt Plat, United Silver
Posts: 14
Anyone else not getting standard shipping? Only option for coming up for me is 2nd day $8.95 or Next Day $15.95.
Nov 30, 2012, 3:27 pm
#23
Join Date: May 2008
Programs: AA PLT 2MM
Posts: 2,026
Funny,
I called today to register my second set of Amex Gift cards and I was told they were consignment cards and I had to use them at a physical retailer first!
I went on and tried once with amazon payments and it worked anyway. So now that I am out of options for Amazon Payments on 3 accounts (is that 30 days or Calendar month) We need new ways to monetize these cheaply. Serve and Amex Prepaid do not work with these cards for transfers, any ideas other than buying Beans? I will be buying many more Gift Cards since the rebate is so good!!!
JudyJFLA
I called today to register my second set of Amex Gift cards and I was told they were consignment cards and I had to use them at a physical retailer first!
I went on and tried once with amazon payments and it worked anyway. So now that I am out of options for Amazon Payments on 3 accounts (is that 30 days or Calendar month) We need new ways to monetize these cheaply. Serve and Amex Prepaid do not work with these cards for transfers, any ideas other than buying Beans? I will be buying many more Gift Cards since the rebate is so good!!!
JudyJFLA
Serve does work, and my hunch is, it only works with the custom amount gift cards (i.e. those with raised numbers/letters, and don't actually state a value printed on the card itself). But, it's a moot point since you can only do $250 per month through them anyway.
Have never used AMEX Prepaid so won't comment there.
Nov 30, 2012, 3:29 pm
#24
Join Date: Jul 2011
Location: DFW
Posts: 1,145
Funny,
I called today to register my second set of Amex Gift cards and I was told they were consignment cards and I had to use them at a physical retailer first!
I went on and tried once with amazon payments and it worked anyway. So now that I am out of options for Amazon Payments on 3 accounts (is that 30 days or Calendar month) We need new ways to monetize these cheaply. Serve and Amex Prepaid do not work with these cards for transfers, any ideas other than buying Beans? I will be buying many more Gift Cards since the rebate is so good!!!
JudyJFLA
I called today to register my second set of Amex Gift cards and I was told they were consignment cards and I had to use them at a physical retailer first!
I went on and tried once with amazon payments and it worked anyway. So now that I am out of options for Amazon Payments on 3 accounts (is that 30 days or Calendar month) We need new ways to monetize these cheaply. Serve and Amex Prepaid do not work with these cards for transfers, any ideas other than buying Beans? I will be buying many more Gift Cards since the rebate is so good!!!
JudyJFLA
Nov 30, 2012, 3:47 pm
#25
Join Date: Apr 2000
Location: Fort Myers, FL
Programs: Hilton Gold, SPG & IHG Plat, & every airline program that I can join
Posts: 2,279
Thanks! You made my day with December being tomorrow! $6K in 3 days!!! At $312.50 per $5K with the grandfathered Travelocity Amex it is Time to reorder!!
JudyJFLA
JudyJFLA
Nov 30, 2012, 3:52 pm
#26
Join Date: Sep 2006
Location: Eastvale, CA
Programs: SPG Gold, Marriott Plat, Hyatt Plat, United Silver
Posts: 14
Funny,
I called today to register my second set of Amex Gift cards and I was told they were consignment cards and I had to use them at a physical retailer first!
I went on and tried once with amazon payments and it worked anyway. So now that I am out of options for Amazon Payments on 3 accounts (is that 30 days or Calendar month) We need new ways to monetize these cheaply. Serve and Amex Prepaid do not work with these cards for transfers, any ideas other than buying Beans? I will be buying many more Gift Cards since the rebate is so good!!!
JudyJFLA
I called today to register my second set of Amex Gift cards and I was told they were consignment cards and I had to use them at a physical retailer first!
I went on and tried once with amazon payments and it worked anyway. So now that I am out of options for Amazon Payments on 3 accounts (is that 30 days or Calendar month) We need new ways to monetize these cheaply. Serve and Amex Prepaid do not work with these cards for transfers, any ideas other than buying Beans? I will be buying many more Gift Cards since the rebate is so good!!!
JudyJFLA
Nov 30, 2012, 4:20 pm
#27
Original Poster
Join Date: Feb 2009
Posts: 3,737
There are people who do the business cards with no trouble and have ordered near the max. My honest opinion is to get your feet wet first and work on from there.
Nov 30, 2012, 4:21 pm
#28
Original Poster
Join Date: Feb 2009
Posts: 3,737
Funny,
I called today to register my second set of Amex Gift cards and I was told they were consignment cards and I had to use them at a physical retailer first!
I went on and tried once with amazon payments and it worked anyway. So now that I am out of options for Amazon Payments on 3 accounts (is that 30 days or Calendar month) We need new ways to monetize these cheaply. Serve and Amex Prepaid do not work with these cards for transfers, any ideas other than buying Beans? I will be buying many more Gift Cards since the rebate is so good!!!
JudyJFLA
I called today to register my second set of Amex Gift cards and I was told they were consignment cards and I had to use them at a physical retailer first!
I went on and tried once with amazon payments and it worked anyway. So now that I am out of options for Amazon Payments on 3 accounts (is that 30 days or Calendar month) We need new ways to monetize these cheaply. Serve and Amex Prepaid do not work with these cards for transfers, any ideas other than buying Beans? I will be buying many more Gift Cards since the rebate is so good!!!
JudyJFLA
Nov 30, 2012, 4:27 pm
#29
Join Date: May 2011
Programs: DL PM, Marriott Plat, Hilton Gold, SPG Gold
Posts: 85