Amex has been running a promotion since June to help local small businesses that have been hit hard by the pandemic.
A promotion called Amex Shop Smallis.
A promotion that allows Amex cardmembers to earn up to $50 per cardmember ($5 at a time) over a total of 10 occasions when they 1) enroll in the promotion, 2) use their Amex card at a local small business, and 3) earn up to $50 per cardmember ($5 at a time).
In today's post, we've summarized the details of this promotion and what to look out for.
1. Promotion basics
The promotion is much like Small Business Saturday, which Amex ran in the early 2010s on the Saturday after Thanksgiving.
As shown in the image above,
1) Add that Amex card to the Pre-register by August 23(the original registration deadline was 7/26, but it seems to have been extended)
2) Make a single purchase of $10 or more from a local small business participating in this promotion.
3) Amex will automatically send you $5 back in the form of a statement credit (they say it takes 3-4 days).
3) And the Through September 20, you can make up to 10 total purchases, ultimately saving up to $50 per personin the response.
2. What to watch out for
If you've taken advantage of Small Business Saturday (SBS) promotions in the past, this will look very familiar.
However, there are significant differences in detail from past promotions. Detailed FAQs from Amexon a promotional site, and I think you should be aware of the following.
1) If you have multiple Amex cards, one card only
In the good old days, all Amex cards were SBS-enabled, so if you had 7 or 8 Amex cards, you could enroll all of them to take advantage of the promotion.
You can sign up for this promotion through the Amex Offers & Benefits page that you see when you log in to the Amex site, but when Amex revamped their website a few years ago, they changed it so that you can only sign up for offers on one card out of the many cards a person has.
And it says that once enrolled, the enrolled card cannot be changed. ("If you have multiple eligible American Express Cards, you may enroll only one eligible Card. After you enroll an eligible Card, you will not be able to enroll a second eligible Card that you may have, and you cannot change which Card is enrolled.")
So if you have multiple Amex cards, it's probably a good idea to pick the one you use most often and sign up for it.
On a related note, if you have a single Amex card and aren't seeing this offer, you might want to check to see if the Available offers you see on the Amex Offers page are full of 100 offers. Sometimes if your Available offers are full of 100 offers, you may not see this offer, in which case you can sign up for other offers to see the offer you want.
2) If you are an authorized user (= additional card members), you can register by creating a separate Amex site account
One person = one offer is a drawback, but I've heard that people who register as so-called family cards (authorizer user, additional card members) can register separately from the main card member.
In the FAQ, it says "Yes, this offer is also available to Additional Consumer and Business Card Members, Serve Sub-Account Users, and Bluebird Family Account Users".
In this case, you will need to register and log in to your online account on the Amex site and add this offer separately.
However, if your husband has an Amex card as AU on his wife's card and you have an Amex card as the main, both AU + main will count as one card, so I don't think you can double or triple dip, etc..
3) Register separately for Amex NETWORK cards
When we refer to Amex cards on wear sites, we're referring to Amex cards that are issued directly by Amex.
However, there are also Amex cards that are issued by non-Amex banks with the Amex branding. These are called Amex network cards. For example, the Asiana partner cards issued by Bank of America (now Visa) used to be this way.
The promotion is not limited to Amex-issued Amex cards, as Amex NETWORK cards are also eligible for the promotion.
In the FAQ, it says "If you have a Card issued by a third-party financial institution, please visit here to enroll your Card".
The registration page looks like this
https://www.americanexpress.com/us/network/shopping/doe-offer-detail.html?offer=470128
In this case, I think it would be theoretically possible to double dip by using an Amex-issued Amex card + a network Amex card, but I don't know if it's actually possible ;-) I think it should say At your own risk.
4) Apple Pay and Google Pay are accepted, but not purchases made through third-party apps
Depending on the store you're at, you may be able to use Apple Pay or Google Pay, and I'm sure some of you will be making purchases through third-party apps like uber eats.
This is also explained in the FAQ.
According to Amex's site, Apple Pay and Google Pay are eligible,
- If you used the card reader attached to your mobile phone
- If you used an online marketplace or aggregator (Etsy is an exception)
- If you used it on a food delivery app or platform, they say no.
For stores that are frequently used by Koreans, the do's and don'ts are listed below. There are several examples in related threads on the message boards. We think you'll find this helpful.
Let's wrap up today's post.
As the pandemic drags on, it seems like card companies are trying to figure out a win-win situation.
I'm sure everyone has one of these, even if you don't have an Amex card, and I hope you'll take advantage of this small perk.
Also, I haven't posted a main article in a while due to personal reasons, but I'll try to post as often as possible in the future, so thank you for your patience.
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18 Comments. Leave new
Oh, so this is it, I'll have to sign up and use it.
Thanks for the clear explanation. ^^*
I have a personal flat and I have 4 offers for my son, daughter and wife, so I think I'll be able to spend 40. I hope others can put them on cards with AU if possible to maximize their use.
I saw the Chewy tucking post yesterday and logged into Amex for the first time in a long time, so it's pretty salty... 하고 등록 했습니다 ^^.
Additionally, if you make multiple payments at the same store, it's $5 per payment. There are many places that are also H-Mart, so it's more convenient to pay in two or three installments.
And if you're going to buy anything at all, make sure it's in your favorite categories. In my case, the Hilton Surpass that I'm spending until the end of July is x12 earnings, so we both stuck with Hilton. Marriott is nice, but I don't have the Amex Marriott card right now, so I just stuck with Hilton. If your favorite category is grocery/restaurants, the Amex Gold is a good option.
I'm always on the lookout.
Are there any credit card promotions going on right now, and if so, is it because of COVID-19?
I'm not sure what promotions you're referring to, but if it's a card offer, there are still new ones coming out all the time.
If you're referring to the additional benefits of the individual cards, I've summarized them in the message board. https://www.milemoa.com/bbs/board/7707628
Chase Marriott cards are currently on promotion. See the latest list.
https://www.milemoa.com/newest-deals/
Hi Milemoa,
I'm a newbie waiting for the signup box to open in mid-August.
I'm going to Korea at the end of October for six months.
I'm planning to get a hotel card before I go and use it to stay in places like Jeju Island and Busan, South Korea. I have two parents and a younger brother, so I'm aiming to get a total of 4 nights for the 4 of us. The $450 annual fee seems a little steep, so I'm looking at the $95 ones.
There aren't many cards, so you can make any card you want.
I currently only have three cards: Chase Sapphire Preferred, Citi Double Cash, and Citi Diamond Preferred (not sure if the Citi Diamond Preferred should count ;-))
What I'm struggling with right now is the
1. Amex Hilton Surpass
2. Chase Marriott Boundless Card
3. Citi-Hilton Reserve
There are three.
I spend about $1000~$1500 per month, so I'm a little worried that if I spend too much, I won't be able to spend it before I go to Korea. After spending time with my family in Korea, I don't have any vacation plans, and I think I'll have to find a job again and work, so I wonder if I'll actually use the accommodation ticket well after that. Corona is still not over...
Do you have a recommendation for any of the three cards?
I have about 10,000 Sharp UR points, which I use up with pay your back and stuff like that, but I don't have any other points.
The flight was already bought one way with DanGong miles and the fuel surcharge was paid with Sharp.
I'll be buying a one-way flight next year with the rest of my DanGong miles, and again, I'll pay for the fuel surcharges with Sharp.
Thanks for the long read and I'm always grateful to learn more.
Thank you!
My family doesn't care if it's a motel or a hotel, they just want to sleep together, but I just want to make a hotel card because I think I'm being filial and want to shrug it off for a day~ ( ^_^)~.
Hayat is opening a Grand Hayat in Jeju Island sometime this year, how about that?
Or you could open the Marriott Boundless 100,000 promotion right now and think about the Jeju Shinhwa Hotel.
Thanks for the answer @shilph!
I understood the Merit card, but can I ask a little more about the Hayat card? I don't know all the names of the cards yet ㅠ_ㅠ .. thanks!
Considering 5/24, I'd recommend getting a Chase card first. Chase-issued hotel cards are Marriott, IHG, and Hyatt, and as shilph suggested, the Marriott card is currently on promotion, so you can choose between the Marriott or Hyatt card.
There is only one type of Hyatt card.
We think you'll find the latest list helpful.
https://www.milemoa.com/newest-deals/
Thank you both, @milemoa and @shilph - I'll have to open the Merriot Boundless you both mentioned, it's raining... Have a great day everyone!
Hi! I opened the Chase Boundless as you recommended a few days ago, but it didn't work out and after waiting for a day or so, I got approved~! I applied on 7/31 and got the offer on 8/1, so I got it within 24 hours. But I can't wait to use it, but it'll take a week for the card to come, right?
Thanks to both of you for recommending the card!
Congratulations on your approval.
Double dipping works great - I've used it 10 times with my Amex-issued card, and I'm using it with my Amex network card, and it's coming in at $5 each time 🙂 .
Thanks for sharing your story.
Small business Amex offers can be duplicated at the same place, for example, you can get 5+5 credit at the grocery store if you split the purchase twice, and if the bakery did it yesterday, they'll do it again today.