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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 Aug 5, 2014, 3:57 pm
  #7831  
 
Join Date: Jul 2009
Programs: None
Posts: 135
Haven't done AGC in a while, just to make sure I don't miss the TCB Cashback with the latest developments

Can I do a 3k personalized gift card (paying with Arrival) and still get cash back if I use no coupons and pay shipping fees? Any downsides or am I missing something?
thanks in advance.
BADELAYS is offline  
Old Aug 5, 2014, 4:20 pm
  #7832  
 
Join Date: Jan 2013
Location: PVD/BOS
Posts: 879
Originally Posted by BADELAYS
Haven't done AGC in a while, just to make sure I don't miss the TCB Cashback with the latest developments

Can I do a 3k personalized gift card (paying with Arrival) and still get cash back if I use no coupons and pay shipping fees? Any downsides or am I missing something?
thanks in advance.
Yes. No downsides. Good luck!
ashap is offline  
Old Aug 5, 2014, 8:31 pm
  #7833  
Suspended
 
Join Date: Jun 2013
Posts: 9
how does lucky rewards pay out? i only used them a few times couple of months ago and have about 1k in cash back in pending status. the notice on the site says"

Lucky Rewards Checks for the period ending June 30 are on schedule to be processed and mailed in mid-August, to members with an eligible $15 minimum balance. All members receiving redemption rewards will receive a paper check this period.


does anyone have experience on how it works? do I need to do anything or will I see a check in the mail shortly?
heyduh is offline  
Old Aug 5, 2014, 8:36 pm
  #7834  
 
Join Date: Nov 2013
Posts: 572
Originally Posted by heyduh
how does lucky rewards pay out? i only used them a few times couple of months ago and have about 1k in cash back in pending status. the notice on the site says"

Lucky Rewards Checks for the period ending June 30 are on schedule to be processed and mailed in mid-August, to members with an eligible $15 minimum balance. All members receiving redemption rewards will receive a paper check this period.


does anyone have experience on how it works? do I need to do anything or will I see a check in the mail shortly?
You should find your check in the mail box on or around August 15th. How difficult is it to understand it?
Zgirl is offline  
Old Aug 5, 2014, 9:09 pm
  #7835  
 
Join Date: Feb 2011
Location: Somewhere above the Mason-Dixon
Programs: DL Ham Samich
Posts: 1,661
Originally Posted by Zgirl
You should find your check in the mail box on or around August 15th. How difficult is it to understand it?
My thoughts exactly
RFDMinnesota is offline  
Old Aug 5, 2014, 9:23 pm
  #7836  
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 Zgirl
You should find your check in the mail box on or around August 15th. How difficult is it to understand it?
Hey, duh!
payeco is offline  
Old Aug 5, 2014, 11:28 pm
  #7837  
 
Join Date: Jun 2014
Posts: 14
Originally Posted by BADELAYS
Haven't done AGC in a while, just to make sure I don't miss the TCB Cashback with the latest developments

Can I do a 3k personalized gift card (paying with Arrival) and still get cash back if I use no coupons and pay shipping fees? Any downsides or am I missing something?
thanks in advance.
Does that mean it's essentially 5% cb? (2 from arrival + 3 from be frugal)?
smaxber is offline  
Old Aug 5, 2014, 11:38 pm
  #7838  
 
Join Date: Aug 2010
Posts: 633
Originally Posted by smaxber
Does that mean it's essentially 5% cb? (2 from arrival + 3 from be frugal)?
Yes.
FlyingBoat is offline  
Old Aug 5, 2014, 11:59 pm
  #7839  
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 smaxber
Does that mean it's essentially 5% cb? (2 from arrival + 3 from be frugal)?
Technically 5.2% since you get the miles rebate upon redemption.
payeco is offline  
Old Aug 6, 2014, 12:27 am
  #7840  
 
Join Date: May 2014
Location: PHL
Programs: SW CP, SPG Gold, Hilton Gold
Posts: 571
Originally Posted by payeco
Technically 5.2% since you get the miles rebate upon redemption.
^
ftomasze is offline  
Old Aug 6, 2014, 1:23 am
  #7841  
 
Join Date: Jun 2013
Posts: 349
Originally Posted by ftomasze
^
You still have to pay the shipping fee, and likely fees to purchase reloads, so it's not really a true 5% back though, right?
llbad is offline  
Old Aug 6, 2014, 1:28 am
  #7842  
 
Join Date: May 2014
Location: PHL
Programs: SW CP, SPG Gold, Hilton Gold
Posts: 571
Originally Posted by llbad
You still have to pay the shipping fee, and likely fees to purchase reloads, so it's not really a true 5% back though, right?
I'm sure you can do the math, right? Your coming out ahead, that's all that matters to me.
ftomasze is offline  
Old Aug 6, 2014, 1:29 am
  #7843  
 
Join Date: Jun 2014
Posts: 62
Is there any issue with using a AMEX CC to purchase AMEX GC's? I know if you use a AMEX CC with Amex Serve you do not get the points. Not sure if the same applies to GC's.
muswei is offline  
Old Aug 6, 2014, 1:31 am
  #7844  
 
Join Date: Mar 2012
Posts: 407
-delete-
VizeL is offline  
Old Aug 6, 2014, 1:31 am
  #7845  
 
Join Date: May 2014
Location: PHL
Programs: SW CP, SPG Gold, Hilton Gold
Posts: 571
Originally Posted by muswei
Is there any issue with using a AMEX CC to purchase AMEX GC's? I know if you use a AMEX CC with Amex Serve you do not get the points. Not sure if the same applies to GC's.
You will get the points. Be careful on new accounts.
ftomasze is offline  


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