WE’LL BELIEVE IT WHEN WE SEE IT: FatwalletFinance poster RedCelicaGT recently posted a letter he received from Amex detailing changes in the terms and conditions of its rewards program. Among the verbiage:
Eligible purchases [for rewards] do NOT include:
– purchases or reloading of prepaid cards, or
-purchases of any cash equivalents
Interesting, but we’re not convinced. We never read T&Cs, but we wouldn’t be surprised if Amex already had language like this, albeit unenforced. Amex, since they both issue cards and have their own processing network, is in a better position to exclude gift cards from rewards purchases, but it would still take a lot of work to implement processes needed to exclude these types of transactions.
The question is whether the goal of cutting down large rewards payouts could be more easily achieved by other means, such as the recently-announced $6,000 gap on grocery purchases. Time will tell…
A SLIGHTLY WEIRD GIFT CARD: Frequent Miler brought to our attention the existence of the Home Improvement gift card, a gift card that can be bought at Office Depot, among other places, and used at most hardware chains. It is notable for the fact that, like a single-retailer gift card, it has no fees.
The obvious use of this card is buying it with your Chase Ink card to get 5% off home improvement purchases at the retailer of your choice, although of course you can already get 5% off everything at Lowe’s with one of their credit cards. Frequent Miler and his readers have been experimenting with the card, and the most noteworthy success thus far is the triple dip at Sears:
Buy the Home Improvement card and pay with a Chase Ink card. Earn 5X.
Go through the Ultimate Rewards Mall to Sears.com and buy a Sears physical gift card. Pay with the Home Improvement card. Earn 5X (or whatever the current bonus rate is through the Ultimate Rewards Mall).
Go through the Ultimate Rewards Mall again to Sears.com and buy merchandise. Pay with Sears’ gift cards. Earn 5X (or whatever…)
Of course, you could always buy retailer gift cards at a discount as well, but it’s good to know about other options, especially if you happen to have a large purchase coming up this spring.
CASH BACK FROM PIN PURCHASES: Chasing The Points is working on a list of best vendors for cashback from a pin transaction. Feel free to chip in there.
A GOOD WEEK TO BUY OFFICE SUPPLIES: Get 20% off at Staples, 20% off at OfficeMax, and 30% off at Office Depot. The usual exclusions apply. (H/T: Slickdeals)
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