By now, you’ve probably heard that American Express is no longer issuing points on gift card purchases. Or at least in theory. A month ago, Amex added language to their terms stating that gift card purchases would no longer earn points or count towards spending requirements. This policy has been enforced at Simon Mall for a while. But it appears to now also apply to GiftcardMall purchases.
A reader’s experience buying gift cards with an Amex card
Reader Dave emailed me this week, stating that he bought some gift cards with his Amex Bonvoy Card through GiftCardMall. He was concerned about his points not posting and waited until his statement closed and his points posted. He reported back that his GiftCardMall purchases did not earn him any Marriott points.
I personally haven’t placed any orders at GiftCardMall in a while, certainly not with an Amex card. So I can’t confirm this based on personal experience. But if this isn’t just a one-off, the news is pretty bad.
Re-evaluating the usefulness of Amex credit cards
If American Expres is really enforcing the no-gift card policy, I will definitely not earn an annual free night from the Amex Aspire Card for meeting $60,000 worth of spending. Mostly because I’m not a shopaholic or Fortune 500 CEO and can’t even fathom spending that much money without manufactured spending.
I’ve thought about downgrading that card to the Amex Surpass, but the slew of incredible benefits makes the $450 worth it for me. So it’s not a total loss but just an inconvenience.
If gift card purchases are not earning points on Amex cards, that spells bad news. I personally don’t see the value in keeping cards like the Amex Bonvoy or Amex Gold. At least not if they won’t earn points on gift card purchases.
Since Marriott Bonvoy is such a disaster, a lot of people aren’t in a rush to accumulate more of those points. The Amex Gold Card may not be useful anymore either. Unless you have grocery bills that justify the $250 annual fee. That’s really the key: Going forward, you’ll have to factor your daily spending habits into deciding which credit card to apply for. What a concept!
I would love your feedback in the comment section: Have you earned points with an Amex card at GiftCardMall or giftcards.com recently? Has Amex’s new gift card policy impacted your manufactured spending activities at any other merchants?
For Hilton, even if the points are not credited, do you know if purchasing GC will still count towards the spend for the free night certificate?
I doubt it because they don’t count towards minimum spend either. Putting $60k on the card without the points isn’t worth it.
I just checked my recent Hilton Surpass statement. GCM purchases did not count towards $40,000 annual spend for Diamond status. Went back to July statement, credit for spending and points were given back then.
That SUCKS! Thank you for sharing.
My BB+ got points from a purchase about 2 weeks ago at GCM.
Amex gold and Amex Hilton Surpass gets points for gift cards from grocery stores. Can confirm for every month this year. Not trying anywhere else.
Ariana is inquiring if your AMEX cards earned points since the new gift card language was implemented pursuant with the terms and conditions of the card.
My statement closed a few days ago, and I earned points on office max MC gift card purchases. However, I did not use the card at gift card mall during this statement cycle.
Thanks CJ! Good to know that still works.
Still working for me on Hilton and gold
What about Simon Corporate purchases. Will it work?
No Simon with Amex, gcm is working fine so far with Hilton amex and gold cards
You said reader Dave used a Bonvoy card but didn’t receive Hilton points? Amex Bonvoy only earns Marriott points though…
Yup, it’s Bonvoy. Fixed!
I had a lot of spending this month, at grocery store and GCM. I’ll be checking my statement, when it closes in a week.
Wondering if I should transfer old MR points out of my account, to avoid the Claw Back.
Well kind of hard to get Hilton points with a Marriott Bonvoy cc….
You’re right. Fixed. 🙂
Also was this for a SUB?
What do you mean?
Sign Up Bonus. Was the spend for a sign up bonus.
I can say that The Staples gift cards with the Platinum card are currently giving points. As of the last promotion they had. I will try again starting Sunday when the new promo starts.
Hi guys, I was asked to type in SSN when I bought 4x1K MO at Walmart. is that normal? I regularly MS $10K per week for long time. Never asked ssn. Thanks in advance for everyone.
Yes, it is.
Keep below $3k and only license required. Below $1k and no ID needed.
My purchase on BB+ was not posted yet. I will report back later.
My GCM purchased on 8/30/19 did not earn points. Two weeks ago, the same purchase did. That is a sad news. Thanks.
Yeah time to find another place/way to earn Amex points.
Following
Sub
Is Giftcards.com still earning AMEX points and counting toward minimum spend?
I’m new to this whole MS thing. Got an Amex Gold and purchased VCG’s at a grocery store to meet my min spend requirement. I’ve also purchased $1k/week in VCG’s mixed in with some personal grocery spend for 3 weeks after that. Statement closes on the 15th and praying all points post.
Has anyone done the same as I have with success?
Hi there, did this work and did you get the points?
I sure did!
Excellent! Congrats 🙂
I found this earlier so fingers crossed for no claw back. https://thepointsguy.com/news/many-amex-cards-no-longer-earn-points-on-gift-card-purchases/
Can you share which grocery store and which kind of card you bought please?
Still working on my Delta amex