Normally when we see high cash back portal payouts on American Express Gift Cards, it’s from Big Crumbs and they reach as high as 3.5% cash back. After liquidating my most recent order today, I decided to do another round of American Express gift card orders. Checking Cashback Monitor, I was surprised to find a payout of 4% from Lucky Rewards. The site is affiliated with the magazine of the same name, which dubs itself a “shopping and style” magazine, so I guess it’s not entirely strange that they’re running a cash back portal.
In any case, 4% cash back is as high as I’ve ever seen. Aside from the 6% cash back you can net from using the Barclay Arrival Plus card in conjunction with the Barclay Rewardsboost portal. Whether you have an Arrival card or not, the 4% cash back offered by LuckyRewards is a better deal if you prefer cash back over travel rewards.
If you convert the 30,000 Arrival miles per $5,000 order to statement credits, you end up with just $150. Using those points for travel would net you $300. But if you’re just looking for cash back, you’d earn $200 per order through the LuckysRewards portal in addition to 5,000 points or more from your credit card, depending on which one you use.
If you have an American Express Fidelity card, combining the 2% cash back with the 4% shopping portal bonus would be the most lucrative path, bringing in a combined 6% in cash back.
Through May 11, most shopping portals list promo code FPMOM, which waives the purchase fee on American Express gift cards. Now the only expense left is shipping, which can range from $5.95-$8.95. Sign-up for a free trial of the American Express Premium Shipping plan and you’ll get free shipping for 90 days.
This wipes out your fees altogether and the only expenses you’ll have to worry about are those involved in cashing your gift cards out. You can cash out via Amazon Payments, American Express for Target, and by buying Visa and Mastercard gift cards and loading those onto Bluebird and using bill pay to pay off your credit card.
I’ve never used LuckyRewards before, so I can’t vouch for it. However, I suggest you take screenshots throughout the transaction as proof in case your click-through and purchase isn’t tracked. I recommend you do this with every portal, regardless of your past experience or the portal’s reputation.
There are a few other portals offering cash back that is higher than usual if you’re interested. Keep in mind some of these cash back amounts will expire tomorrow:
- Barclay Rewardsboost – 4 points per $1
- BeFrugal – 3% cash back
- Big Crumbs – 2.45% cash back
- TopCashBack – 2% cash back
Thoughts or questions? Feel free to comment below.
Disclosure: I will earn a commission if you sign up for BeFrugal, Big Crumbs, or TopCashBack with my links. Thanks for your support either way!
Do you have a way to get these amex gc more often than every 14 days?. It seems that per ssn only allow only that frequency and attempts to buy sooner will be turned down.
You can add a family member as an authorized user on your card and have them place gc order with their son. If you have a tax ID, you can order them in much larger quantities (i.e. $75k per order).
I’m just buying 5 AGC per month via Alaska Air. 15K miles per month, 5K MR’s per month, no GC fee, no shipping fee. I like “FREE!”
I personally like cash back better, but 15k Alaska miles per month isn’t shabby either!
i plan to do this for the first time. are chase cards safe to use? (wont post as cash advance?) I have the Ink, Freedom, and Southwest cards
Yes, Chase cards are good. The only ones to avoid right now are Citi and Amex. This FT thread is a good reference for which cards get coded as cash advances and which are safe to use.
How do I sign up for the free trial next day shipping? Do I need an AMEX CC to register? My BB didnt work
Only Citi appears as a CA, not Amex, which works.
Amex won’t code it as a cash advance, but you also won’t earn points using an Amex credit card.
Spg and amex gold will not give points?. I think i have been getting mine.
My bad. That’s the Amex Serve card. Amex gift cards are ok.
If I use my Amex Gold or Platinum credit card to buy Amex Gift Card $5000 every month without any other purchases, will I have the risk to get my credit card shut down?
Amex financial reviews are often triggered by abnormal spending patterns – if you’re consistently ordering $5k every month, that shouldn’t set off a red flag.
Thanks so much for spreading the news about this! Is it safe to buy amex cards through Lucky Rewards and enter codes for free shipping and/or no purchase fees? I would have to lose my cash back to save a few dollars but of course every little bit helps.
As long as the code is also listed on the LuckyRewards page for Amex gift cards you should be fine. Otherwise you’ll risk losing out on the payout.