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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 8, 2014, 6:29 am
  #6361  
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Join Date: May 2010
Posts: 2,998
Originally Posted by hitman1420
Well a couple days ago, I did two orders, both had exact same info and were placed withing minutes of each other.

1st 3x$1k placed on :06, approved a few minutes later
2nd 3x$1k placed on :08, denied an hour later

Maybe the :08 thing does have some ground...
Or you tried to exceed the $5k personal order limit?
Stoughton is offline  
Old Jun 8, 2014, 6:48 am
  #6362  
 
Join Date: Apr 2014
Posts: 1,273
Originally Posted by carpentry4thought
Interesting. I'm in a smaller pond than I would have imagined. Then again, mail order prepaid Amex business cards is pretty niche.
I'd imagine there are more orders during business hours from actual businesses....
ZzzzX is offline  
Old Jun 8, 2014, 8:27 am
  #6363  
 
Join Date: Oct 2012
Location: DFW
Posts: 478
Originally Posted by Fuerza
So, does this apply to both business and personal orders?
Yes
spgbus is offline  
Old Jun 8, 2014, 1:59 pm
  #6364  
 
Join Date: Apr 2014
Posts: 1,273
1.5k order. Placed at :55, approved email at :08. Long live urban legends!
ZzzzX is offline  
Old Jun 8, 2014, 3:53 pm
  #6365  
 
Join Date: Jan 2013
Programs: AA, SPG, MR, UR, Cash Back!
Posts: 606
Originally Posted by spgbus
Yes
Genius! Placed a business order of $3k at 4:02 and had an approval email in my Gmail account by 4:08! This is going to open up a huge door!

Last edited by Fuerza; Jun 8, 2014 at 4:11 pm
Fuerza is offline  
Old Jun 8, 2014, 4:21 pm
  #6366  
 
Join Date: May 2014
Posts: 571
Originally Posted by Fuerza
Genius! Placed a business order of $3k at 4:02 and had an approval email in my Gmail account by 4:08! This is going to open up a huge door!
What door does the :08 rule open?
carpentry4thought is offline  
Old Jun 8, 2014, 6:24 pm
  #6367  
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Posts: 2,998
Originally Posted by carpentry4thought
What door does the :08 rule open?
None. It's just an unsupported idea that the time of order has something to do with acceptance.

Personally, I flick my office lights on and off 3x before every order and every order has gone thru. I'm 100% with that method so it's obviously what's making them succeed.

It's also a foolproof method for keeping lions and tigers out of my yard. 100% with that as well.
Stoughton is offline  
Old Jun 8, 2014, 6:36 pm
  #6368  
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Join Date: Apr 2002
Location: Madison, WI, USA
Posts: 14,162
Originally Posted by Stoughton
None. It's just an unsupported idea that the time of order has something to do with acceptance.

Personally, I flick my office lights on and off 3x before every order and every order has gone thru. I'm 100% with that method so it's obviously what's making them succeed.

It's also a foolproof method for keeping lions and tigers out of my yard. 100% with that as well.
Front yard or back yard?
PaulMSN is offline  
Old Jun 8, 2014, 6:56 pm
  #6369  
 
Join Date: Feb 2014
Posts: 908
Originally Posted by carpentry4thought
What door does the :08 rule open?
Hahaha. Exactly. Nothing. AMEX just like to email at the :08 mark.
sosamo is offline  
Old Jun 8, 2014, 7:10 pm
  #6370  
 
Join Date: Sep 2013
Posts: 829
Originally Posted by Stoughton
None. It's just an unsupported idea that the time of order has something to do with acceptance.

Personally, I flick my office lights on and off 3x before every order and every order has gone thru. I'm 100% with that method so it's obviously what's making them succeed.

It's also a foolproof method for keeping lions and tigers out of my yard. 100% with that as well.


no alligators either, I suppose.
MaineCoon is offline  
Old Jun 8, 2014, 7:25 pm
  #6371  
 
Join Date: Feb 2014
Posts: 825
I'm going to guess they only send out emails at ~:08 as part of a cron job or scheduled task. All my past orders have been "order received" at :08 and "order approved" at :08. I definitely did not order them at :08
exarkun is offline  
Old Jun 8, 2014, 7:31 pm
  #6372  
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Posts: 2,998
Originally Posted by PaulMSN
Front yard or back yard?
Patio mostly
Stoughton is offline  
Old Jun 8, 2014, 7:32 pm
  #6373  
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Join Date: May 2010
Posts: 2,998
Originally Posted by MaineCoon


no alligators either, I suppose.
No, those .......s are everywhere
Stoughton is offline  
Old Jun 8, 2014, 7:36 pm
  #6374  
 
Join Date: Sep 2013
Location: Warm, sunny Florida
Posts: 251
:08 is a lie. I placed an order at :05 and got a review/declined email. It's not my fault I'm trying to order more than $5k personal GCs in 2 weeks.

:08 can kiss my magical Barclay.
nuclfusion is offline  
Old Jun 8, 2014, 7:54 pm
  #6375  
 
Join Date: Sep 2013
Posts: 829
Originally Posted by nuclfusion
:08 is a lie. I placed an order at :05 and got a review/declined email. It's not my fault I'm trying to order more than $5k personal GCs in 2 weeks.

:08 can kiss my magical Barclay.
It's all in your mind.

We are just the holograms from the another universe.

If the sacred one says: "it has to be :08" then it has to be :08.

Don't you dare to offend my thin barclays
MaineCoon is offline  


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