Fun to me, at least. So as a million blogs have informed you by now, American Express’ annual Small Business Saturday is coming up on November 29th and registration is now open. For unfamiliar:
– You can register EACH American Express card you have for this promotion
– Authorized users count as separate cards, so if you and your spouse each have cards on the same account you can register both separately
– Registration qualifies you for three $10 credits when you spend $10 or more at qualifying small businesses
– You can register here.
– Search for small businesses that qualify here (most also have the “Shop Small” sign up)
Basically, Small Business Saturday can net you up to $30 of free stuff per AMEX. The first time I participated, Jess and I came up with a little game. It boiled down to “who can get the best stuff while spending the least over the limit.” Back then it was easy, we had up to $25 to spend.
Half the fun was just running around together to different stores. I also would like to believe I “won” because I bought something sentimental – a bottle of wine from a region we had visited in Burgundy the year prior.
The reality is, we don’t have the time these days to go run a bunch of stores and make $150 in purchases, especially since we’d have to go to three different stores to get the full $30 back. In fact I’ve only registered two cards so far because I think that’s all I’ll be able to handle.
Still, I’d like to play in some way, shape, or form. I generally think of Small Business Saturday as a chance to buy some things to “spoil” myself or my loved ones while supporting small businesses at the same time. Maybe I’ll make a little blog contest for a nominal prize since I’m curious to see how people spend their “free” money. We’ll see about that.
Anyway, just wanted to share – might be something fun for you points enthusiasts/super savers out there!
Apparently you don’t need to go to different stores, you just need to find a nice cashier. We are going to go to a local ice cream shop and stock up on pints 🙂
Oh man. If I do the contest you would totally be a front runner.genius idea! My wife well love it
I liked the $25 level too – bought a ton of nice wine, these $10s are a pita but what’s a cheapskate like me to do?
Come on, Matt! Split tender on a few $30+ bottles. I figure you have at least three cards.
Can you make 3 $10 purchases at the same store with the same card?
Maybe? Phil seems to think so. I think it might work I’m planning to look into it
One thing that worked well for me last year was to call local restaurants during the day when they were not busy, then buy $10 gift cards over the phone. I explained that I needed seperate transactions. I then had them hold the gift cards for me to pick up later. I prepared this year and have 15 cards to use and will definitely attempt multiple $10 transactions at the same locations with a single card.
Last year I found a small business liquor store that also sold gasoline. 6 packs and gasoline will be my fall back to maximize this year’s twist on the spending agenda. The first year was lots of fun, and last year my wife was not having it (may have had something to do with the 9 month old baby). I think this year will be me flying solo. Say hello to booze and gasoline!
I found out a couple of years ago that our small chain of movie theaters were participating in SBS. So I got a bunch of gift cards to the movie theater which covered my movie trips for few months.