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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, 7:56 pm
  #6376  
 
Join Date: Aug 2010
Location: CLT
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Posts: 2,074
Originally Posted by exarkun
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
This.
dukerau is offline  
Old Jun 8, 2014, 8:14 pm
  #6377  
 
Join Date: Jan 2013
Programs: AA, SPG, MR, UR, Cash Back!
Posts: 606
Even if the :08 thing is a myth, which I just looked back through my Amex Gift Card orders and all of them were received or approved at :08

I'm just excited my first business gift card request was approved.
Fuerza is offline  
Old Jun 8, 2014, 8:26 pm
  #6378  
 
Join Date: Apr 2014
Posts: 1,273
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.
Buzzkill.
ZzzzX is offline  
Old Jun 8, 2014, 8:29 pm
  #6379  
 
Join Date: Apr 2014
Posts: 1,273
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.
Better start flicking the lights. At least you won't have to worry about lions and tigers. Jaguars on the other hand....
ZzzzX is offline  
Old Jun 8, 2014, 8:31 pm
  #6380  
 
Join Date: Nov 2011
Posts: 450
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.
So when you flick the lights 3x, are they on first or off when you start? Any data points would be much appreciated.
newbynewbynew is offline  
Old Jun 8, 2014, 9:03 pm
  #6381  
 
Join Date: May 2014
Posts: 571
Originally Posted by newbynewbynew
So when you flick the lights 3x, are they on first or off when you start? Any data points would be much appreciated.
Maybe this is why it didn't work for me. Or should I just call Amex or the electric company? What should I say to them if I call?
carpentry4thought is offline  
Old Jun 8, 2014, 9:22 pm
  #6382  
 
Join Date: Oct 2012
Location: DFW
Posts: 478
Any speculation on why Amex sends notification on this odd :08 minutes? Hard believe its system had been purposely configured on this timestamp...
spgbus is offline  
Old Jun 8, 2014, 9:28 pm
  #6383  
 
Join Date: Nov 2011
Posts: 1,944
Originally Posted by carpentry4thought
Maybe this is why it didn't work for me. Or should I just call Amex or the electric company? What should I say to them if I call?
It's always worth calling the electric company and ask if they could backdate your account, and rate, to the time you first used electricity.
silver6054 is offline  
Old Jun 8, 2014, 9:33 pm
  #6384  
 
Join Date: Apr 2011
Location: MSP
Programs: DL, BA, AA
Posts: 270
Originally Posted by spgbus
Any speculation on why Amex sends notification on this odd :08 minutes? Hard believe its system had been purposely configured on this timestamp...
It is really just the batching of emails to be sent out hourly rather than continuously, for efficiency. Can be programmed to send out at any minute of time.
worldtravels is offline  
Old Jun 8, 2014, 9:41 pm
  #6385  
 
Join Date: Oct 2012
Location: DFW
Posts: 478
Originally Posted by worldtravels
It is really just the batching of emails to be sent out hourly rather than continuously, for efficiency. Can be programmed to send out at any minute of time.
Certainly true. Would appreciate if any IT folks here could provide any insight on what kind of configuration would be on common sense... isn't it odd to configure a system to batch its hourly job on :08 rather than :00? or could the system clock be messed up?
spgbus is offline  
Old Jun 8, 2014, 9:52 pm
  #6386  
 
Join Date: Aug 2010
Location: CLT
Programs: AA, UA, BA, Hilton Diamond, Marriott Gold, IHG Platinum
Posts: 2,074
Originally Posted by spgbus
Certainly true. Would appreciate if any IT folks here could provide any insight on what kind of configuration would be on common sense... isn't it odd to configure a system to batch its hourly job on :08 rather than :00? or could the system clock be messed up?
When I schedule cron jobs at work I always choose a weird time because most people use a time at the :00 or :30 mark. Not saying that's the case here, but it could just be someone's whim to avoid the :00 logjam.
dukerau is offline  
Old Jun 8, 2014, 9:59 pm
  #6387  
 
Join Date: Apr 2011
Location: MSP
Programs: DL, BA, AA
Posts: 270
Originally Posted by spgbus
Certainly true. Would appreciate if any IT folks here could provide any insight on what kind of configuration would be on common sense... isn't it odd to configure a system to batch its hourly job on :08 rather than :00? or could the system clock be messed up?
It actually has to do with total computer load and computer resources across AMEX and has to be balanced with mainframe use. So they are scheduled throughout the hour to avoid overload at any one particular time.
worldtravels is offline  
Old Jun 8, 2014, 10:28 pm
  #6388  
 
Join Date: Oct 2012
Location: DFW
Posts: 478
Thx #dukerau #worldtravels
spgbus is offline  
Old Jun 8, 2014, 10:58 pm
  #6389  
 
Join Date: Sep 2013
Posts: 829
I do respect ppl who can admit they were wrong.

If I was setting up their system, I would avoid :00 or :30 times too.
MaineCoon is offline  
Old Jun 9, 2014, 12:26 am
  #6390  
Suspended
 
Join Date: May 2012
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Programs: AA, UA, AS, DL, BA, F9, IHG Plat, HH Gold, CC Gold, SPG Gold, MR Silver
Posts: 1,786
Originally Posted by worldtravels
They are all within a few minutes of .08. Tens of thousands of emails cannot be released instantaneously.
Originally Posted by worldtravels
It is really just the batching of emails to be sent out hourly rather than continuously, for efficiency. Can be programmed to send out at any minute of time.
Originally Posted by worldtravels
It actually has to do with total computer load and computer resources across AMEX and has to be balanced with mainframe use. So they are scheduled throughout the hour to avoid overload at any one particular time.
Do you even read what you type, or maybe you suffer from MPD
skibum7732 is offline  


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