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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 Jul 14, 2014, 9:16 pm
  #7531  
 
Join Date: Feb 2014
Posts: 71
Originally Posted by ftomasze
FWIW Ebates is at 2%
Yes. And, if you use the Ebates Visa credit card, you get an additional 3% (so 5% total).
daedge is offline  
Old Jul 14, 2014, 11:22 pm
  #7532  
 
Join Date: May 2014
Location: PHL
Programs: SW CP, SPG Gold, Hilton Gold
Posts: 571
BF at 3%
ftomasze is offline  
Old Jul 14, 2014, 11:28 pm
  #7533  
 
Join Date: May 2014
Location: PHL
Programs: SW CP, SPG Gold, Hilton Gold
Posts: 571
Originally Posted by daedge
Yes. And, if you use the Ebates Visa credit card, you get an additional 3% (so 5% total).
Forgot about the Ebates CC. I don't use Ebates enough to warrant the use of a HP. Plus I'm more of a miles / points guy rather than CB.
ftomasze is offline  
Old Jul 15, 2014, 12:22 am
  #7534  
 
Join Date: May 2014
Posts: 168
Delete

Last edited by IWOL; Jul 15, 2014 at 2:14 am
IWOL is offline  
Old Jul 15, 2014, 2:03 am
  #7535  
 
Join Date: Apr 2011
Posts: 90
delete
jamesflyertalk is offline  
Old Jul 15, 2014, 5:53 am
  #7536  
 
Join Date: Jan 2013
Location: PVD/BOS
Posts: 879
TopCashBack: 2.25% on Amex Gift Cards, but changes in fees, BigCrumbs 2%.

TCB back up to 3%
ashap is offline  
Old Jul 15, 2014, 6:51 am
  #7537  
 
Join Date: Oct 2013
Programs: Hyatt Globalist No More..., Hyatt Explorist, Hilton Diamond, SPG Platinum, Marriott Platinum
Posts: 4,375
Originally Posted by doubleheader
I haven't used topcashback before for agc. I am seeing information both ways as far as ordering amounts larger than $500 on this thread. I don't see anything on the topcashback site as to a limit on the amounts. Can anyone verify purchasing $2K or 3K cards with successful tracking?
If there is no wording on the website, there is no worry. Currently no there is no $500 limit.
cdancer20 is offline  
Old Jul 15, 2014, 7:25 am
  #7538  
 
Join Date: Feb 2012
Posts: 396
Barclaycard rewardsboost points for March and April finally posted.

Edit: I used coupon codes to eliminate purchase fees on these orders.

Last edited by mrmandel; Jul 15, 2014 at 7:36 am
mrmandel is offline  
Old Jul 15, 2014, 7:53 am
  #7539  
 
Join Date: Mar 2014
Posts: 226
Originally Posted by doubleheader
I haven't used topcashback before for agc. I am seeing information both ways as far as ordering amounts larger than $500 on this thread. I don't see anything on the topcashback site as to a limit on the amounts. Can anyone verify purchasing $2K or 3K cards with successful tracking?
I purchased a single $2k agc through TCB yesterday and it's tracking today ^
dboston1 is offline  
Old Jul 15, 2014, 7:59 am
  #7540  
 
Join Date: Jun 2014
Posts: 319
Originally Posted by dboston1
I purchased a single $2k agc through TCB yesterday and it's tracking today ^
did you use a fee free code?
Pecan Pie is offline  
Old Jul 15, 2014, 8:02 am
  #7541  
 
Join Date: Aug 2011
Location: SJC
Programs: DL DM
Posts: 130
Originally Posted by dboston1
I purchased a single $2k agc through TCB yesterday and it's tracking today ^
Just curious, when did you place the order? My $5k order from yesterday (no coupon, approved 1:08p EDT, shipped this morning) still isn't tracking
dyst0pia is offline  
Old Jul 15, 2014, 8:23 am
  #7542  
 
Join Date: Mar 2014
Posts: 226
Originally Posted by dyst0pia
Just curious, when did you place the order? My $5k order from yesterday (no coupon, approved 1:08p EDT, shipped this morning) still isn't tracking
Order was approved by 3pm. No coupon, shipped this morning. My previous order with TCB did not track and I've since filed a claim. No idea how long this will take. But at least the second one worked. Had it not, there's no way I'd continue to use TCB.
dboston1 is offline  
Old Jul 15, 2014, 10:04 am
  #7543  
 
Join Date: Jun 2014
Location: Oklahoma
Posts: 149
Originally Posted by dyst0pia
Just curious, when did you place the order? My $5k order from yesterday (no coupon, approved 1:08p EDT, shipped this morning) still isn't tracking
I ordered 1k yesterday and it shipped this morning, and still no tracking either.

To be fair, one time when I used iTunes it took TCB a long time to track it. I didn't have to file a claim or anything though.
workaccounttoday is offline  
Old Jul 15, 2014, 10:24 am
  #7544  
 
Join Date: Oct 2013
Programs: Hyatt Globalist No More..., Hyatt Explorist, Hilton Diamond, SPG Platinum, Marriott Platinum
Posts: 4,375
My two orders on TCB from yesterday: 1 to GCM around 3pm and the other to Amex around 11am both tracked sometime over night. However, it's still missing 1 of my GCM purchases from earlier. (I bought a $250 choice card first)
cdancer20 is offline  
Old Jul 15, 2014, 10:49 am
  #7545  
 
Join Date: Jun 2014
Location: Oklahoma
Posts: 149
Well mine was closer to 11pm so hopefully by tomorrow it will show up tracked.
workaccounttoday is offline  


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