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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 13, 2014, 9:13 am
  #7981  
 
Join Date: Oct 2012
Location: DFW
Posts: 478
Originally Posted by Pecan Pie
If you receive shipping email at 6AM in the morning, will the cards arrive today or tomorrow?

I usually get the email at 4AM and cards come in on that day. 8AM email means cards coming next day. Never had 6AM before...
I had never got same day delivery. Almost always receive shipping email at 8:08 AM EST for UPS Next Day. What is your time zone?
spgbus is offline  
Old Aug 13, 2014, 9:29 am
  #7982  
 
Join Date: Jun 2014
Posts: 319
Originally Posted by spgbus
I had never got same day delivery. Almost always receive shipping email at 8:08 AM EST for UPS Next Day. What is your time zone?
EST
Pecan Pie is offline  
Old Aug 13, 2014, 11:40 am
  #7983  
 
Join Date: May 2005
Posts: 1,337
Bought my first AGC on TCB last week for the 3% CB. Does it usually go back to 3% after the 2% offer currently expires? Or is it just completely random what the CB % is after each one expires?
MileageGoblin is offline  
Old Aug 13, 2014, 11:57 am
  #7984  
 
Join Date: Oct 2012
Location: DFW
Posts: 478
Originally Posted by MileageGoblin
Bought my first AGC on TCB last week for the 3% CB. Does it usually go back to 3% after the 2% offer currently expires? Or is it just completely random what the CB % is after each one expires?
Random
spgbus is offline  
Old Aug 13, 2014, 12:00 pm
  #7985  
 
Join Date: Mar 2014
Posts: 226
Originally Posted by MileageGoblin
Bought my first AGC on TCB last week for the 3% CB. Does it usually go back to 3% after the 2% offer currently expires? Or is it just completely random what the CB % is after each one expires?
The rates bounce around, no real way to predict it. There are sometimes some higher CB rates around holidays.
dboston1 is offline  
Old Aug 13, 2014, 3:11 pm
  #7986  
 
Join Date: Mar 2012
Posts: 407
Damnit, I put in like 10 different orders on diff cards, for diff amounts. Only ones approved are 1K business orders on AMEX cards .

That one day I got approved on a non-amex card was truly the luckiest of all days....
VizeL is offline  
Old Aug 13, 2014, 3:11 pm
  #7987  
 
Join Date: Feb 2014
Posts: 314
amex just sent an email with a new SPTR code with fee free till 9/15. The email says back to school + something else. Hoping the portals will go to 3x following this.
su9062 is offline  
Old Aug 13, 2014, 6:49 pm
  #7988  
 
Join Date: Jun 2014
Posts: 319
Originally Posted by VizeL
Damnit, I put in like 10 different orders on diff cards, for diff amounts. Only ones approved are 1K business orders on AMEX cards .

That one day I got approved on a non-amex card was truly the luckiest of all days....
I am now getting auto approval on 3x1k biz AGC on non-amex cards.. However, when I received my cards today I realized Amex (or me) messed up on the message line (which is my name). Only my first name is displayed but not last name.... now what to do
Pecan Pie is offline  
Old Aug 13, 2014, 8:22 pm
  #7989  
 
Join Date: May 2014
Location: Dayton, OH
Programs: CarlsonGold,HHDiamond, SPGGold,ChoiceGold, *Silver, WNCompanionPass, ASMVPGold, HyattDiamond,IHGPlat
Posts: 255
Originally Posted by ftomasze
AFT isn't the only liquidation option here.
Noob question: what's an AFT? Does it have to to with AP, or reloads?
Journey4Happy is offline  
Old Aug 13, 2014, 8:34 pm
  #7990  
 
Join Date: Jul 2014
Posts: 3,688
Originally Posted by Journey4Happy
Noob question: what's an AFT? Does it have to to with AP, or reloads?
http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/manuf...in-cities.html
Mamibear is offline  
Old Aug 13, 2014, 8:41 pm
  #7991  
 
Join Date: May 2014
Location: Dayton, OH
Programs: CarlsonGold,HHDiamond, SPGGold,ChoiceGold, *Silver, WNCompanionPass, ASMVPGold, HyattDiamond,IHGPlat
Posts: 255
Originally Posted by VizeL
You can see if amex is tracking before you submit your order. At the very end, it will say source=CJaffiliate to know if you came through from somewhere else.
So I see the source in the address bar when I first get there, but when I click "Personalized Cards", that part disappears from the URL. Should I manually put it back in?


PS. Thanks, Mamibear for answering my previous question!

Last edited by Journey4Happy; Aug 13, 2014 at 8:50 pm Reason: Just to add a "PS. Thanks."
Journey4Happy is offline  
Old Aug 13, 2014, 9:01 pm
  #7992  
 
Join Date: Aug 2010
Location: CLT
Programs: AA, UA, BA, Hilton Diamond, Marriott Gold, IHG Platinum
Posts: 2,074
My recent BeFrugal trans are tracking as 2.75%, not 2.7%, so I updated the wiki accordingly.
dukerau is offline  
Old Aug 14, 2014, 4:29 am
  #7993  
 
Join Date: Mar 2009
Posts: 2,295
How long does TopCashback go from pending to available for withdrawal? Thanks!
danpeake is offline  
Old Aug 14, 2014, 4:54 am
  #7994  
Suspended
 
Join Date: May 2010
Posts: 2,998
Originally Posted by danpeake
How long does TopCashback go from pending to available for withdrawal? Thanks!
Lately it's been the 15th (or so) of the month following purchase.
Stoughton is offline  
Old Aug 14, 2014, 6:53 am
  #7995  
 
Join Date: May 2014
Posts: 201
Originally Posted by danpeake
How long does TopCashback go from pending to available for withdrawal? Thanks!
Average is 58 days (source: http://www.manspender.com/report/speed/)
unkinected is offline  


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