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Cashback on Amex GC through TopCashBack, BigCrumbs, etc.

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.

Old Aug 14, 2014, 8:15 am
  #7996  
 
Join Date: Mar 2012
Posts: 407
Originally Posted by Pecan Pie
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
What! Lucky! Anything special you do, or how long did it take to get to this point?

-edit- I read 1 x 3k...not 3x1k! So you put an order of 3 cards for 1k? No big difference to me of putting in like 10 diff orders...just a lot of emails still though -- anything special you do to get it on non amex cards?
Originally Posted by Journey4Happy
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!
No need. Once its tracked, it'll be in your cookies. Usually that part of the URL gets removed after you login to an account
VizeL is offline  
Old Aug 14, 2014, 8:24 am
  #7997  
 
Join Date: Jan 2008
Posts: 95
business orders requiring signature on delivery

has anyone noticed a change in the signature required on delivery in the past few days? I always order customized business AGC in large amounts, and have signed up for $99 next day shipping. Until last week all orders required signature on delivery.

However yesterday and today the driver has dropped off $45k worth of AGC at my doorstep without signature. I called UPS and they said the last two packages did not have "signature required" from the shipper and so it was left to driver's discretion.

Obviously at those amounts I do not want the driver to use his mis-discretion, I want him to deliver only upon signature. Before I call the buffoons on AGC CS line who'll probably give me typical BS I want to know if anyone had this experience recently?

UPS told me I can add a sticky note on my door directing the UPS driver to not drop off the package at the door step.







Originally Posted by martig4
If you sign up for UPS MyChoice you can give a signature release online so the UPS driver may leave the package, even if a signature is required.

You will also receive notifications from UPS when packages have been sent from AMEX and are in transit.
apuraja is offline  
Old Aug 14, 2014, 9:23 am
  #7998  
 
Join Date: Nov 2010
Location: South NJ
Posts: 263
Originally Posted by apuraja
has anyone noticed a change in the signature required on delivery in the past few days? I always order customized business AGC in large amounts, and have signed up for $99 next day shipping. Until last week all orders required signature on delivery.

However yesterday and today the driver has dropped off $45k worth of AGC at my doorstep without signature. I called UPS and they said the last two packages did not have "signature required" from the shipper and so it was left to driver's discretion.

Obviously at those amounts I do not want the driver to use his mis-discretion, I want him to deliver only upon signature. Before I call the buffoons on AGC CS line who'll probably give me typical BS I want to know if anyone had this experience recently?

UPS told me I can add a sticky note on my door directing the UPS driver to not drop off the package at the door step.
If you give me your address, I'll be more than happy to sign for your next delivery

None of my orders ever required a signature (typically 3K).
Zamboni Driver is offline  
Old Aug 14, 2014, 9:35 am
  #7999  
Suspended
 
Join Date: May 2010
Posts: 2,998
Originally Posted by unkinected
Average is 58 days (source: http://www.manspender.com/report/speed/)
Oddly enough, I just had 2 purchases post as payable. Orders from 07/29 and 07/31 but none of the other orders from earlier in July.
Stoughton is offline  
Old Aug 14, 2014, 10:13 am
  #8000  
 
Join Date: Jun 2014
Posts: 319
Originally Posted by VizeL
What! Lucky! Anything special you do, or how long did it take to get to this point?

-edit- I read 1 x 3k...not 3x1k! So you put an order of 3 cards for 1k? No big difference to me of putting in like 10 diff orders...just a lot of emails still though -- anything special you do to get it on non amex cards?
I've given up on 3k x1... too many declines make me paranoid... My 3x1k orders used to always go to secondary review, now it's auto approval.. It took me about 2 month.. As for using non amex cards, I make sure everything matches: billing address, zip, etc..
Pecan Pie is offline  
Old Aug 14, 2014, 10:38 am
  #8001  
 
Join Date: Dec 2004
Location: SEA
Posts: 1,887
The first rule of auto approval is...
HikerT is offline  
Old Aug 14, 2014, 10:49 am
  #8002  
 
Join Date: Sep 2007
Location: Sacramento
Programs: UA, AA, Delta
Posts: 177
Smile

Followup on the Club Carlson Biz card for AGC : it eventually codes as a purchase , not cash advance. ^^

Reminder: I had to activate cash advance on my card however.
somdave2005 is offline  
Old Aug 14, 2014, 11:45 am
  #8003  
 
Join Date: Mar 2012
Posts: 407
So far, I've gotten 3 fraud alerts from Barclay's on AMEX GCs.

Maybe I should tone it down?
VizeL is offline  
Old Aug 14, 2014, 11:46 am
  #8004  
 
Join Date: Mar 2012
Posts: 407
Originally Posted by Pecan Pie
I've given up on 3k x1... too many declines make me paranoid... My 3x1k orders used to always go to secondary review, now it's auto approval.. It took me about 2 month.. As for using non amex cards, I make sure everything matches: billing address, zip, etc..
I copy the address straight from my online profile and no dice
VizeL is offline  
Old Aug 14, 2014, 12:43 pm
  #8005  
 
Join Date: Jun 2014
Posts: 319
how long does it take for TCB to go from "confirmed" to "payable"? I just had all my july orders confirmed.
Pecan Pie is offline  
Old Aug 14, 2014, 12:54 pm
  #8006  
 
Join Date: Feb 2014
Posts: 908
Originally Posted by Pecan Pie
how long does it take for TCB to go from "confirmed" to "payable"? I just had all my july orders confirmed.
about a few weeks to a month
sosamo is offline  
Old Aug 14, 2014, 1:09 pm
  #8007  
 
Join Date: Aug 2014
Posts: 736
Originally Posted by su9062
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.
Received this:
Enter Code EMSVCA upon checkout to receive 100% off the purchase fee on every order through 01/31/2015
Doesn't seem worth it to use code with potential/likely clawbacks.
Willbur is offline  
Old Aug 14, 2014, 2:15 pm
  #8008  
 
Join Date: Nov 2012
Posts: 116
Originally Posted by Willbur
Received this:


Doesn't seem worth it to use code with potential/likely clawbacks.
That is an excellent observation ^
michael160 is offline  
Old Aug 14, 2014, 5:07 pm
  #8009  
 
Join Date: Jun 2012
Posts: 72
Hey guys...is there a way to get a gift card with a $7,000 balance? My property tax bill per our county is either pay all or none. They won't split the payment!
agharaibeh is offline  
Old Aug 14, 2014, 5:10 pm
  #8010  
 
Join Date: Dec 2004
Location: SEA
Posts: 1,887
You're going to need to put on your thinking cap, e.g. buy VGCs > buy MOs for exact amount.
HikerT is offline  

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