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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 17, 2014, 11:05 am
  #6706  
 
Join Date: Aug 2011
Location: The Phoenix Desert
Programs: Hilton Cubic Zirconia, Marriott Fools Gold
Posts: 1,692
Originally Posted by adela77
I can't find anywhere an answer whether I can get a refund issued for purchases made with the Amex GC, I searched threads and googled it too. Does anyone know? Thanks.
Refunded purchases are no different than when you use a credit or debit card. Just make sure you keep the physical card and maybe make a note on it if you use it for something you might return.

Google: americanexpress.com gift refund. Its the first the thing that pops up. Scroll down and look for returns.
skitch23 is offline  
Old Jun 17, 2014, 11:13 am
  #6707  
 
Join Date: Aug 2013
Location: Phoenix, AZ
Programs: US/AA, UA, AS, BA, IHG, HGP
Posts: 223
You can cancel the free trial, then immediately go make an order with the FSGRAD code to get the full year waived.

Business ships the same as personal.

Originally Posted by DaveInLA
In FM's blog post today, he discusses using the free shipping code to get 1 year of free shipping. Unfortunately for me, I'm right in the middle of the the free shipping trial (expires end of July) so I can't use the code. Anybody else in the same boat considering cancelling the free trial and then using the code?

Also, I just placed a personal order late last week that got approved. That means I won't be able to place a personal order. I don't really have experience with their business cards, is the shipping exactly the same as the personal cards?
TMKTakot is offline  
Old Jun 17, 2014, 11:17 am
  #6708  
 
Join Date: Jun 2013
Posts: 84
Thank you very much!!
adela77 is offline  
Old Jun 17, 2014, 11:32 am
  #6709  
 
Join Date: Feb 2010
Programs: Hyatt Globalist, Hilton Diamond, Marriott/SPG Gold, Alaska MVP Gold, Delta Gold, AA Lifetime Gold
Posts: 64
I just purchased from Befrugal this morning and the estimated confirm date isn't until 9/15- almost 13 weeks away! From reading this thread I knew befrugal would take a while..but didn't expect this long. What is the average time for confirmation for those that use befrugal often? Missing barclay...
pdrickey is offline  
Old Jun 17, 2014, 11:37 am
  #6710  
 
Join Date: Nov 2013
Posts: 572
Originally Posted by pdrickey
I just purchased from Befrugal this morning and the estimated confirm date isn't until 9/15- almost 13 weeks away! From reading this thread I knew befrugal would take a while..but didn't expect this long. What is the average time for confirmation for those that use befrugal often? Missing barclay...
My today's (business AGC order) with Befrugal shows 08/17/14

6/17/2014 American Express Gift Cards and Business Gift Card 00000106XXXX $3,000.00 $90.00
Estimated Confirm Date:
8/17/2014
Zgirl is offline  
Old Jun 17, 2014, 11:43 am
  #6711  
 
Join Date: Feb 2010
Programs: Hyatt Globalist, Hilton Diamond, Marriott/SPG Gold, Alaska MVP Gold, Delta Gold, AA Lifetime Gold
Posts: 64
Originally Posted by Zgirl
My today's (business AGC order) with Befrugal shows 08/17/14

6/17/2014 American Express Gift Cards and Business Gift Card 00000106XXXX $3,000.00 $90.00
Estimated Confirm Date:
8/17/2014
Just checked mine again and it now shows 8/17/2014 as well...very odd that it was showing 9/15 earlier.
pdrickey is offline  
Old Jun 17, 2014, 12:12 pm
  #6712  
 
Join Date: Feb 2014
Posts: 908
FM blog?
sosamo is offline  
Old Jun 17, 2014, 12:14 pm
  #6713  
 
Join Date: Oct 2013
Programs: Hyatt Globalist No More..., Hyatt Explorist, Hilton Diamond, SPG Platinum, Marriott Platinum
Posts: 4,375
Originally Posted by sosamo
FM blog?
a page or two back
cdancer20 is offline  
Old Jun 17, 2014, 12:23 pm
  #6714  
 
Join Date: Mar 2011
Programs: AA, SPG, Hyatt
Posts: 92
Originally Posted by TMKTakot
You can cancel the free trial, then immediately go make an order with the FSGRAD code to get the full year waived.
Just tested this and it works.
rharrigill is offline  
Old Jun 17, 2014, 12:28 pm
  #6715  
 
Join Date: Apr 2012
Location: Uranus
Posts: 333
Originally Posted by rharrigill
Just tested this and it works.
Same. I do wonder if they are going to cancel this though. There are going to be a ton of people jumping on this bandwagon.
toxicity is offline  
Old Jun 17, 2014, 12:43 pm
  #6716  
 
Join Date: Jun 2014
Location: Oklahoma
Posts: 149
Originally Posted by toxicity
Same. I do wonder if they are going to cancel this though. There are going to be a ton of people jumping on this bandwagon.
Yeah I don't expect it to last until I'm able to get home from work and complete this. That's what I get for leaving the wrong card at home.
workaccounttoday is offline  
Old Jun 17, 2014, 12:57 pm
  #6717  
 
Join Date: Jan 2014
Posts: 85
I can't order until my 14 days is up tomorrow. I am really crossing my fingers it still works in the AM!
slickjolly is offline  
Old Jun 17, 2014, 12:59 pm
  #6718  
 
Join Date: Oct 2013
Location: WAS
Programs: SPG Plat. Marriott Plat. Hilton Diamond. Hyatt Diamond. IHG Plat.
Posts: 2,580
Worked just fine.

f0xx is offline  
Old Jun 17, 2014, 1:07 pm
  #6719  
 
Join Date: Oct 2013
Programs: Hyatt Globalist No More..., Hyatt Explorist, Hilton Diamond, SPG Platinum, Marriott Platinum
Posts: 4,375
Originally Posted by workaccounttoday
Yeah I don't expect it to last until I'm able to get home from work and complete this. That's what I get for leaving the wrong card at home.
Then just use another card and place a small GC order like $25. IF you are really worried that is.
cdancer20 is offline  
Old Jun 17, 2014, 1:11 pm
  #6720  
 
Join Date: Feb 2014
Posts: 908
Thanks for the info. Is there any way to sign up for the premium shipping without having to make a purchase?

Nvm. I just purchased 1k. Paid 3.95 fee, but got the 1yr free.

Last edited by sosamo; Jun 17, 2014 at 1:32 pm
sosamo is offline  


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