Reader Brian passed along an email announcing that Top Cash Back is offering 2.25% cash back on American Express Business gift cards. This sale is for 24 hours only and since I have no idea when this went live, let’s just assume it’s ending tonight (Note: Reader Trevor says it went live some time around 1 AM PT). If you’re due for an American Express gift card order and have access to an EIN, then you should definitely take advantage of this promotion. The normal payout for Amex gift card purchases is 1.5%. Aside from Top Cash Back, there are very few shopping portals still offering payouts on Amex gift cards.
American Express Business gift card orders are limited to $100,000 per 14 days, so I’d buy as many gift cards as you can reasonably unload. For most people, that’s $5,000 – $10,000 via Redbird or Amex for Target prepaid cards. Others might deal with the inconvenience involved in turning Amex gift cards into money orders to liquidate extra gift cards.
On a $10,000 order you will earn $225 cash back. Subtract the $19.75 gift card fees and $5.95 – $8.95 shipping cost and you’ll end up with $199.30 -$196.30 in profit. Keep in mind that only gift cards in denominations of $2,000 or less are eligible for cash back, so you’ll need to buy five $2,000 gift cards to total $10,000.
There are a few options for unloading these Amex gift cards. Target Redbirds are free to load/unload, while Amex for Target incurs about $12.75 in fees per $1,000. The Amex – Visa – money order method will have the added cost of Visa gift cards ($3.95 per $500) and money orders ($0.20 – $0.89 each). However you’ll still come out ahead thanks to the 2.25% Top Cash Back payout.
Are you going to purchase Amex Business gift cards during this 24-hour promotion? I recommend you take screenshots of the entire transaction in case it isn’t tracked. I have yet to have a problem with Top Cash Back, but plenty of people complain about them. So it’s best to be safe and keep records in case you’re not paid for your purchase.
If you don’t currently have an EIN, you can apply and get approved for one immediately online. Since this website is technically a business (though it barely generates income), I got one months ago. The process is quick and easy. It’s definitely worth getting, in case you ever max out the $10,000 limit on Amex personal gift cards and need to rack up extra spend in a short time frame.
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anyone else not seeing $2k cards as an option on the Amex GC site?
That happens to me too sometimes. Clear out your cookies and try again.
good to know! i ended up just ordering custom cards instead….same fee.
I got 2 $1k cards, did not apply my handy ‘fee free’ codes, I read that it could void the deal.
It does, unless the codes are listed on TCB. Good call!
Will using a Citi card code as a cash advance?
Yes, unfortunately Citi does code Amex gift cards as a cash advance.
EEK!
I read that on Dr. of Credit blog, but I read on FT forum that Citi Exec does not, which is what I used.
The Citi AA Exec card? I never put any Amex spend on it. Let me know how it gets coded when the transaction posts.
Well, one of my orders was canceled by Amex, the order using the Citi card. Is this a common thing to have orders canceled?
Yeah it tends to happen, though it’s not necessarily related to the card you’re using. I used to get $5k orders declined constantly, so I began ordering $4k instead. Then I got brave and ordered $10k and it went through! I have no idea what criteria they use to approve/cancel orders.
I went right back today and ordered more using my Barclaycard….looks like it’ll go through.
Fingers crossed!
Great thanks! Question why do I need an EIN? I thought is was as simple as buying the amex card and unloading it to redbird to pay the credit card. Thanks for your help!!!
For business gift cards you need to provide an EIN. With regular purchases, they ask for your SSN. It’s how they keep track of the $10k limit per person and, I assume, monitor potential money laundering activities.
for target amex, additional 3 to load per 1000 so effectively about 15.75.
The $12.75 per $1,000 applies to Amex for Target and includes loading/unloading fees.
Thanks, Ariana! You are so helpful on manufactured spending techniques. Have you found that AmEx purchases don’t track easily on topcashback.com? I had to file a “missing” claim and then it seems to take forever to get the money. What has your experience been?
Thanks Lyn! I’ve never had a problem with TCB so I have not filed any claims with them. I’d definitely follow up and ask for an update if you don’t hear back within 1-2 weeks.
for EIN, can we just use our SSN?
Unfortunately not. I frequently hear of people’s orders getting cancelled when they provide an SSN instead of an EIN.
Hi Ariana,
How did you come up with $19.75 gift card fees when order $10,000 Amex gift cards? The cash back will be void if the gift card over $2,000, and the maximum for one card you can order in order to receive cash back is $1,000 in denominations. Totol of gift cards free (10 $1,000) is $39.50.
If you’re splitting up $10k into five $2k cards, you’ll pay $3.95 per card which comes to $19.75.
But I could not find that the Amex Business gift card has denominate amount of $2,000. It’s $1,000 or $3,000. Did I miss somethings?
just switch to custom cards and type in $2k….happened to me too
Hi Ariana,
Why would you purchase Amex GCs when Target does not let you load Amex GC. I bought 2 amex GC from staples, and they both don’t work. Am I missing something here? I know that they don’t have 4 digit pins, which is why it doesn’t take the load. What is your recommendation? My only other option is to buy visa/mc GC, but then I would be losing out on the card fees again.
FWIW – I have never had a problem loading Amex GC to Redbird at Target.
Mine worked.
They actually do accept Amex gc’s, since they’re coded like credit cards. I have heard that when you use Amex gc’s purchased from a store vs. online, these types of issues come up.
Ariana, what do you recommend as far as unloading my “store bought” amex gc? I have Amex GCs. Should I purchase visa gift cards with the amex gc?
I would unload them via Redbird or AFT, which is easiest (though I have heard there are sometimes issues with store bought Amex gc’s). I’d go the Visa gc route if you’ve maxed out Redbird and AFT.
Can Anyone answer this question? I just got approved for Amex Business Plat. Will purchasing gift cards from Amex website count towards min spending? Thanks
Last I checked, yes, it counts towards minimum spend.
Can these gift cards be unloaded onto Serve?