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New Hilton Honors American Express Credit Card

Has amex stopped issuing points at GiftCardMall?

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Ariana Arghandewal

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.

New Hilton Honors American Express Credit Card
The New Hilton Honors American Express Credit Card

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?

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34 responses to “Has amex stopped issuing points at GiftCardMall?”

  1. Abbas Avatar
    Abbas

    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?

    Reply
    1. Ariana Arghandewal Avatar
      Ariana Arghandewal

      I doubt it because they don’t count towards minimum spend either. Putting $60k on the card without the points isn’t worth it.

      Reply
      1. BeachMiles Avatar
        BeachMiles

        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.

        Reply
        1. Ariana Arghandewal Avatar
          Ariana Arghandewal

          That SUCKS! Thank you for sharing.

          Reply
  2. Hunter Avatar
    Hunter

    My BB+ got points from a purchase about 2 weeks ago at GCM.

    Reply
  3. Kirk Avatar
    Kirk

    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.

    Reply
  4. CJ Avatar
    CJ

    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.

    Reply
    1. Ariana Arghandewal Avatar
      Ariana Arghandewal

      Thanks CJ! Good to know that still works.

      Reply
  5. John Avatar
    John

    Still working for me on Hilton and gold

    Reply
    1. Bobby Davenport Avatar
      Bobby Davenport

      What about Simon Corporate purchases. Will it work?

      Reply
      1. John Avatar
        John

        No Simon with Amex, gcm is working fine so far with Hilton amex and gold cards

        Reply
    2. Aloha808 Avatar
      Aloha808

      You said reader Dave used a Bonvoy card but didn’t receive Hilton points? Amex Bonvoy only earns Marriott points though…

      Reply
      1. Ariana Arghandewal Avatar
        Ariana Arghandewal

        Yup, it’s Bonvoy. Fixed!

        Reply
  6. BeachMiles Avatar
    BeachMiles

    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.

    Reply
  7. Phill Avatar
    Phill

    Well kind of hard to get Hilton points with a Marriott Bonvoy cc….

    Reply
    1. Ariana Arghandewal Avatar
      Ariana Arghandewal

      You’re right. Fixed. 🙂

      Reply
  8. Phill Avatar
    Phill

    Also was this for a SUB?

    Reply
    1. Ariana Arghandewal Avatar
      Ariana Arghandewal

      What do you mean?

      Reply
      1. Phill Sims Avatar
        Phill Sims

        Sign Up Bonus. Was the spend for a sign up bonus.

        Reply
  9. Anthony Avatar
    Anthony

    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.

    Reply
  10. James Avatar
    James

    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.

    Reply
    1. Ric Avatar
      Ric

      Yes, it is.

      Reply
    2. Kirk Avatar
      Kirk

      Keep below $3k and only license required. Below $1k and no ID needed.

      Reply
  11. Ozzie Avatar
    Ozzie

    My purchase on BB+ was not posted yet. I will report back later.

    Reply
  12. Nguyen Avatar
    Nguyen

    My GCM purchased on 8/30/19 did not earn points. Two weeks ago, the same purchase did. That is a sad news. Thanks.

    Reply
    1. Ariana Arghandewal Avatar
      Ariana Arghandewal

      Yeah time to find another place/way to earn Amex points.

      Reply
  13. KARIM Avatar
    KARIM

    Following

    Reply
  14. Rick Avatar
    Rick

    Sub

    Reply
  15. glen Avatar
    glen

    Is Giftcards.com still earning AMEX points and counting toward minimum spend?

    Reply
  16. ASher Avatar
    ASher

    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?

    Reply
    1. James Anderson Avatar
      James Anderson

      Hi there, did this work and did you get the points?

      Reply
      1. ASher Avatar
        ASher

        I sure did!

        Reply
        1. James Anderson Avatar
          James Anderson

          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?

          Reply
  17. Ken Avatar
    Ken

    Still working on my Delta amex

    Reply

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