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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 Jun 6, 2014, 12:53 pm
  #6286  
 
Join Date: Oct 2012
Location: DFW
Posts: 478
Originally Posted by nuclfusion
Any reports on folks being shut down by Arrival Boost? I've pushed (in my mind) a substantial amount of money through them over the last 2 weeks I'd say. I guess my focus is on getting this cruise paid for and have had no regards for human life at the moment. Well, no regards for cashback portals anyways.
Boost never shots you down but Barclay may. How much do u consider as 'Substantial amount'?
spgbus is offline  
Old Jun 6, 2014, 12:56 pm
  #6287  
 
Join Date: Feb 2012
Location: Northeast USA
Posts: 300
I think the answer is no, but does the premium shipping plan include Saturday delivery?

I'm out of town today and was thinking of putting in an order so that it might be delivered when I'm back on Monday, but don't want to risk it arriving tomorrow while I'm still out of town for a couple of days
dublin487 is offline  
Old Jun 6, 2014, 12:59 pm
  #6288  
 
Join Date: Oct 2012
Location: DFW
Posts: 478
Originally Posted by dublin487
I think the answer is no, but does the premium shipping plan include Saturday delivery?

I'm out of town today and was thinking of putting in an order so that it might be delivered when I'm back on Monday, but don't want to risk it arriving tomorrow while I'm still out of town for a couple of days
No. If you get Shipped email on Friday, it will arrive on Monday morning.
spgbus is offline  
Old Jun 6, 2014, 1:04 pm
  #6289  
 
Join Date: Feb 2012
Location: Northeast USA
Posts: 300
Originally Posted by spgbus
No. If you get Shipped email on Friday, it will arrive on Monday morning.
Great, thanks for the info
dublin487 is offline  
Old Jun 6, 2014, 1:05 pm
  #6290  
 
Join Date: Sep 2013
Posts: 829
Originally Posted by spgbus
Boost never shots you down but Barclay may. How much do u consider as 'Substantial amount'?
I'd like to know this too, because I need someone to pay for my both completed and upcoming cruises.
MaineCoon is offline  
Old Jun 6, 2014, 1:10 pm
  #6291  
 
Join Date: Oct 2013
Programs: Hyatt Globalist No More..., Hyatt Explorist, Hilton Diamond, SPG Platinum, Marriott Platinum
Posts: 4,375
Well for a data point, when this first started, I made 40k points in the first month (Feb). This was back when they were paying out for declined purchases. Now in total Feb-May, I've done over 100k points. And I'm sure though that I am a lightweight. And that's not including the base 2x Arrival points.
cdancer20 is offline  
Old Jun 6, 2014, 1:55 pm
  #6292  
 
Join Date: Jan 2014
Posts: 33
Originally Posted by dublin487
I think the answer is no, but does the premium shipping plan include Saturday delivery?

I'm out of town today and was thinking of putting in an order so that it might be delivered when I'm back on Monday, but don't want to risk it arriving tomorrow while I'm still out of town for a couple of days
It depends on UPS if you have good UPS service in your area then it might get delivered tomorrow but unlikely
incendia is offline  
Old Jun 6, 2014, 5:39 pm
  #6293  
 
Join Date: Sep 2013
Location: Warm, sunny Florida
Posts: 251
Originally Posted by spgbus
Boost never shots you down but Barclay may. How much do u consider as 'Substantial amount'?
I'm pushing $10k per week right now, but over multiple cards. I know that's minimal compared to some. Like others I have a Disney cruise to pay for soon :-)
nuclfusion is offline  
Old Jun 6, 2014, 6:53 pm
  #6294  
 
Join Date: Oct 2012
Location: DFW
Posts: 478
Keep this in mind... The maximum reward redemption online is $2k. To redeem > $2k, you need to open a case.
spgbus is offline  
Old Jun 6, 2014, 7:12 pm
  #6295  
 
Join Date: Jun 2014
Posts: 319
my AGC order with boost still hasn't tracked (I already received the card). But an normal order for clothes I placed on 6/4 with boost already tracked (just got shipping email, not received yet).
does that mean my AGC has failed to track??
Pecan Pie is offline  
Old Jun 6, 2014, 7:13 pm
  #6296  
 
Join Date: Sep 2013
Location: Warm, sunny Florida
Posts: 251
Originally Posted by spgbus
Keep this in mind... The maximum reward redemption online is $2k. To redeem > $2k, you need to open a case.
Hah, yes I saw that. Thankfully I can make partial payments
nuclfusion is offline  
Old Jun 6, 2014, 8:06 pm
  #6297  
 
Join Date: May 2014
Location: RIC
Posts: 71
Originally Posted by Pecan Pie
my AGC order with boost still hasn't tracked (I already received the card). But an normal order for clothes I placed on 6/4 with boost already tracked (just got shipping email, not received yet).
does that mean my AGC has failed to track??
Per the wiki, AGC orders can take a month to 45 days to track. From time to time people post data points of when they've received their points - without going back in the thread, I believe we're up to early/mid May.
nandemo1 is offline  
Old Jun 6, 2014, 8:10 pm
  #6298  
 
Join Date: Jun 2014
Posts: 319
Originally Posted by nandemo1
Per the wiki, AGC orders can take a month to 45 days to track. From time to time people post data points of when they've received their points - without going back in the thread, I believe we're up to early/mid May.
thanks
my AGC order was 5/30. it just seems odd that another order tracked so quickly.... keep my fingers crossed
Pecan Pie is offline  
Old Jun 6, 2014, 8:11 pm
  #6299  
 
Join Date: Apr 2014
Posts: 1,273
Originally Posted by nandemo1
Per the wiki, AGC orders can take a month to 45 days to track. From time to time people post data points of when they've received their points - without going back in the thread, I believe we're up to early/mid May.
I think the last order to post was 5/10. I haven't seen my order from 5/23 track yet, but it's still early.

I only push 5k a month! and with OV/VGC and Wally land getting weird, it may be time to slow up even more.
ZzzzX is offline  
Old Jun 6, 2014, 8:14 pm
  #6300  
 
Join Date: Sep 2013
Posts: 829
about 3 weeks after the purchase and before the tracking w/Boost.

They've been pretty consistent, at least for me.
MaineCoon is offline  


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