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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 Sep 11, 2014, 11:34 am
  #8656  
 
Join Date: Oct 2013
Programs: Hyatt Globalist No More..., Hyatt Explorist, Hilton Diamond, SPG Platinum, Marriott Platinum
Posts: 4,375
Originally Posted by dpd82
Looks like people have different experiences with UPS. Though I've never ordered more than 5k, UPS just tucks the envelope under the mat at the front door. Sometimes they ring the bell.
They don't ring my doorbell but they definitely place it under the mat or slide it under the little opening at the bottom of the door.
cdancer20 is offline  
Old Sep 11, 2014, 1:09 pm
  #8657  
 
Join Date: Jun 2011
Location: SFO
Programs: Hilton-Gold
Posts: 706
Originally Posted by cdancer20
They don't ring my doorbell but they definitely place it under the mat or slide it under the little opening at the bottom of the door.
Same for me, they never ring bell. But, since I have UPS notifications setup and know the UPS schedule(comes between 9:30-10:00 am), I am ready for the cards.
concordian is offline  
Old Sep 12, 2014, 8:12 am
  #8658  
 
Join Date: Aug 2011
Location: The Phoenix Desert
Programs: Hilton Cubic Zirconia, Marriott Fools Gold
Posts: 1,692
Looks like everything is dead now.... even the 1% at CBH got pulled.
skitch23 is offline  
Old Sep 12, 2014, 10:26 am
  #8659  
Used to be garyjr316
 
Join Date: Feb 2011
Location: LAX or SBA
Programs: AAdvantage, MileagePlus, Gold Passport, Hilton HHonors, Marriott
Posts: 800
My orders from early August on TCB have all gone from pending and 14 weeks to confirmed and 6 weeks... let's just hope they actually get paid!
Dad to GO is offline  
Old Sep 12, 2014, 12:22 pm
  #8660  
 
Join Date: Jul 2010
Posts: 109
Looks like the train is dead. .How long will it last? Maybe permanent
pyrotalk is offline  
Old Sep 12, 2014, 12:45 pm
  #8661  
 
Join Date: May 2009
Location: PHL
Posts: 2,842
Originally Posted by Dad to GO
My orders from early August on TCB have all gone from pending and 14 weeks to confirmed and 6 weeks... let's just hope they actually get paid!
Same here.
nova08 is offline  
Old Sep 12, 2014, 2:37 pm
  #8662  
 
Join Date: Dec 2013
Posts: 506
Originally Posted by pyrotalk
Looks like the train is dead. .How long will it last? Maybe permanent
if history repeats itself, it will be back next month.
canyoncar is offline  
Old Sep 12, 2014, 2:46 pm
  #8663  
Original Poster
 
Join Date: Feb 2009
Posts: 3,737
Anyone here see Ebates got purchased for $900 million a few days ago? I wonder how likely BigCrumbs could get bought out. We could do pretty well with those CrumbShares!
Astrophsx is offline  
Old Sep 12, 2014, 3:58 pm
  #8664  
 
Join Date: Jul 2013
Location: Raiegh, NC
Posts: 300
Cashback on Amex GC through TopCashBack, BigCrumbs, etc.

Anybody else get the AMEX Staples.com offer? $15 dollars for making a $100 purchase. In for 8.
CrediPig is offline  
Old Sep 12, 2014, 4:13 pm
  #8665  
 
Join Date: Jan 2014
Location: SAN
Posts: 234
Originally Posted by CrediPig
Anybody else get the AMEX Staples.com offer? $15 dollars for making a $100 purchase. In for 8.
Yeah I plan on using it but it says one time only? How did you do it 8 times?
Chris92128 is offline  
Old Sep 12, 2014, 4:56 pm
  #8666  
Suspended
 
Join Date: May 2010
Posts: 2,998
Originally Posted by Astrophsx
Anyone here see Ebates got purchased for $900 million a few days ago? I wonder how likely BigCrumbs could get bought out. We could do pretty well with those CrumbShares!
If BC sold for that (it was closer to $1b), I'd make out quite well.
Stoughton is offline  
Old Sep 12, 2014, 6:36 pm
  #8667  
 
Join Date: Jul 2010
Posts: 109
Originally Posted by Chris92128
Yeah I plan on using it but it says one time only? How did you do it 8 times?
If you abuse, staples will permanently ban you for life like some folks have said..
pyrotalk is offline  
Old Sep 12, 2014, 7:35 pm
  #8668  
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 nova08
Same here.
All of mine except for the $6K order I made only a few hours before the CB was removed from the site are now confirmed. The $120 from that $6K purchase still shows as pending.
payeco is offline  
Old Sep 12, 2014, 9:18 pm
  #8669  
 
Join Date: Jul 2013
Location: Raiegh, NC
Posts: 300
Cashback on Amex GC through TopCashBack, BigCrumbs, etc.

I'm not abusing Staples. It's an AMEX offer. Smh
CrediPig is offline  
Old Sep 12, 2014, 9:20 pm
  #8670  
 
Join Date: Jul 2013
Location: Raiegh, NC
Posts: 300
Originally Posted by Chris92128
Originally Posted by CrediPig
Anybody else get the AMEX Staples.com offer? $15 dollars for making a $100 purchase. In for 8.
Yeah I plan on using it but it says one time only? How did you do it 8 times?
8 authorized user cards.
CrediPig is offline  


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