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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 19, 2014, 2:06 pm
  #6931  
 
Join Date: May 2010
Location: SoCal
Programs: SPG PLAT, AA Plat (2MM), BA, UA/CO
Posts: 442
Originally Posted by Superorb
Are you only ordering 1k GCs?
That's it. Thank you and TMKTakot. Today was the first time I purchased only $1000 so I didn't know, or remember that. I feel much better about my sanity now.
xlax is offline  
Old Jun 19, 2014, 2:19 pm
  #6932  
 
Join Date: Jan 2012
Programs: DL, WoH
Posts: 1,253
I like the idea of adding the fee waiver codes to wiki.
ricohitman is offline  
Old Jun 19, 2014, 2:27 pm
  #6933  
 
Join Date: Oct 2010
Posts: 94
Could someone add the best way to liquidate AGC to wiki? Now that OV and other VGC from Incomm seem to be a no go at WM.
patrickfungusa is offline  
Old Jun 19, 2014, 2:29 pm
  #6934  
 
Join Date: Oct 2013
Programs: Hyatt Globalist No More..., Hyatt Explorist, Hilton Diamond, SPG Platinum, Marriott Platinum
Posts: 4,375
Originally Posted by patrickfungusa
Could someone add the best way to liquidate AGC to wiki? Now that OV and other VGC from Incomm seem to be a no go at WM.
I think that people are going to start walking away from all that (i.e. circles & arrows) given the recent situation with WM and OV.
cdancer20 is offline  
Old Jun 19, 2014, 2:30 pm
  #6935  
 
Join Date: Oct 2013
Location: WAS
Programs: SPG Plat. Marriott Plat. Hilton Diamond. Hyatt Diamond. IHG Plat.
Posts: 2,580
Originally Posted by patrickfungusa
Could someone add the best way to liquidate AGC to wiki? Now that OV and other VGC from Incomm seem to be a no go at WM.
No.

Read up.
All this information is plastered in this sub-forum.
If you can't figure out how to liquidate, that's on you.
f0xx is offline  
Old Jun 19, 2014, 3:50 pm
  #6936  
Suspended
 
Join Date: May 2014
Location: ILG/PHL
Programs: Amex Plat, AA Gold, SPG Gold, Hyatt Gold, HHonors Gold, Carlson Gold
Posts: 1,075
Originally Posted by f0xx
No.

Read up.
All this information is plastered in this sub-forum.
If you can't figure out how to liquidate, that's on you.
+1 If you need to be spoon feed ways to liquidate you shouldn't be doing this.
payeco is offline  
Old Jun 19, 2014, 3:54 pm
  #6937  
 
Join Date: Feb 2014
Posts: 314
Any way that is the best for a 1x card is the best way for amex gcs. There is no secret methods that are better to do it. The reason to order an amex gc itself is a multiplier, but after that, it is just like spending using any other card.

Originally Posted by patrickfungusa
Could someone add the best way to liquidate AGC to wiki? Now that OV and other VGC from Incomm seem to be a no go at WM.
su9062 is offline  
Old Jun 19, 2014, 4:32 pm
  #6938  
Suspended
 
Join Date: May 2012
Location: ORD
Programs: AA, UA, AS, DL, BA, F9, IHG Plat, HH Gold, CC Gold, SPG Gold, MR Silver
Posts: 1,786
Originally Posted by payeco
+1 If you need to be spoon feed ways to liquidate you shouldn't be doing this.
+2 It's these people who have to eat with spoons that are the problem..use your damn fingers
skibum7732 is offline  
Old Jun 19, 2014, 5:23 pm
  #6939  
 
Join Date: Oct 2013
Location: WAS
Programs: SPG Plat. Marriott Plat. Hilton Diamond. Hyatt Diamond. IHG Plat.
Posts: 2,580
Originally Posted by skibum7732
+2 It's these people who have to eat with spoons that are the problem..use your damn fingers
*Eyes

f0xx is offline  
Old Jun 19, 2014, 8:13 pm
  #6940  
 
Join Date: Apr 2014
Posts: 202
The mysterious disappearing AGC charge.

I always wait until the AGC charge actually posts to my payment credit card before I start BP'ing. But why does it take so long?

6/11 - Purchased $5k Personalized AGC via AS Portal (got in on 3x) using Barclaycard
6/18 - AGC Cards arrive via UPS
6/19 - $5k charge STILL hasn't posted to Barclaycard.

I'd like to get busy liquidating/BP'ing but I have run the Barclaycard balance down to zero and have to wait.

I did this on both my wife's account and mine. $10k just sitting there. Laughing at me.

Sigh. First World Problems.

On a brighter note I was just approved for AMEX SPG and AMEX Gold Business Rewards (50k targeted). I sure hope the portals go up in the next month or two.
fluffyCat is offline  
Old Jun 19, 2014, 9:00 pm
  #6941  
 
Join Date: Jun 2013
Posts: 1,060
I pre paid my top AGC used card and now I have negative balances, which are never good All because AGC pulls the auth and the capture and then places it back on - well after you got the cards - messing with my payment plans! AHH!! I need to be FAR more careful in the future
raccah is offline  
Old Jun 19, 2014, 9:03 pm
  #6942  
 
Join Date: Apr 2014
Posts: 202
Originally Posted by raccah
I pre paid my top AGC used card and now I have negative balances, which are never good All because AGC pulls the auth and the capture and then places it back on - well after you got the cards - messing with my payment plans! AHH!! I need to be FAR more careful in the future
I hear ya!

It is tempting to just start paying on the card hoping you can time it. It really stretches out the process. By design, perhaps??
fluffyCat is offline  
Old Jun 19, 2014, 9:25 pm
  #6943  
 
Join Date: Jun 2013
Posts: 1,060
Originally Posted by fluffyCat
I hear ya!

It is tempting to just start paying on the card hoping you can time it. It really stretches out the process. By design, perhaps??
Fluffy - very good point, I would not be surprised if that is the case. Not sure what it gains for whom - but man it is a pain if you time it wrong.
raccah is offline  
Old Jun 19, 2014, 10:22 pm
  #6944  
 
Join Date: Jun 2014
Posts: 12
Are you able to purchase the business cards without a registered business?
nemlich22 is offline  
Old Jun 19, 2014, 10:25 pm
  #6945  
 
Join Date: Oct 2013
Location: WAS
Programs: SPG Plat. Marriott Plat. Hilton Diamond. Hyatt Diamond. IHG Plat.
Posts: 2,580
Originally Posted by nemlich22
Are you able to purchase the business cards without a registered business?
A simple search would answer your question.
f0xx is offline  


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