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American Express is running a “shop small business” offer in which US cardholders can earn double points or miles when using most American Express credit and charge cards at small business between now and the end of the year. Unusually this promotion isn’t limited to Membership Rewards cards – you’ll earn double points when using cards like the Starwood American Express credit card, double miles when using Delta co-branded Amex cards, double Hilton HHonors points when using a Hilton co-branded Amex card etc….
Before everyone gets way too excited I should point out that the double points are only earned on un-bonused spend so you’re not suddenly going to earn 4 SPG points per dollar on stays at Starwood properties…..but you will earn 2 SPG points per dollar spent at participating small businesses.
Here’s a link to the promotion page……
…where you can choose to register each of you personal and business cards separately:
You don’t have to have your cards with you to register as you’re given the option to sign in using your Amex log on and, if you have more than one card earning a given type of points/miles, you can elect to enroll those together.
Most Amex cards appear to qualify for this promotion but, if you want to be sure which cards will earn you double points, the full list of participating Amex cards is HERE.
Per Amex:
You will not earn 2X rewards (i) on any bonus you may already receive with your Card, including any additional points/miles/cash back that you may already receive when you spend on certain types of purchases or at certain merchants or (ii) on any other bonus/rewards you may earn with a different promotion or offer from American Express. This offer applies to the first $250,000 in purchases for each eligible Card Account issued to a business and the first $100,000 in purchases for each eligible Card Account issued for personal use, starting from the time you complete enrollment through 12/31/16.
You can find our which small business are participating in your area (or any area in the US for that mater) by using the ShopSmallNow website.
For example, if you’re in the Sunset Strip area of West Hollywood CA (where the Andaz West Hollywood is) this is what you’d see:
And you can filter your searches by whatever kind of small business you’re looking for:
Here are the basic terms and conditions of the promotion:
You must enroll your eligible American Express Card at amex.co/shopsmalloffer to start earning 2X Rewards on purchases at qualifying small businesses through 12/31/16. If you have more than one eligible Card, you must separately enroll each Card.
And here’s how eligible enrolled Cards earn double points/miles during the offer period:
Blue Cash Rewards Offer:
Earn an additional 1% cash back per dollar of purchases using an enrolled Blue Cash Everyday® Card or Blue Cash Preferred® Card at qualifying small businesses. You will receive cash back only in the form of Blue Cash Reward Dollars which can be redeemed for statement credits.
Blue Sky Points Offer:
Earn one additional Blue Sky point per dollar of purchases using an enrolled Blue Sky from American Express® or Blue Sky Preferred from American Express® at qualifying small businesses.
Delta Miles Offer:
Earn one additional mile per dollar of purchases using an enrolled Gold Delta SkyMiles® Credit Card, Platinum Delta SkyMiles® Credit Card, Delta Reserve® Credit Card from American Express, Delta SkyMiles® Options, Delta SkyMiles® Credit Card, Delta SkyMiles® Business Credit Card, Gold Delta SkyMiles® Business Credit Card, Platinum Delta SkyMiles® Business Credit Card or Delta Reserve for Business Credit Card at qualifying small businesses.
HHonors Points Offer:
Earn three additional Hilton HHonors Bonus Points per dollar of purchases using an enrolled Hilton HHonorsTM Card from American Express or Hilton HHonorsTM Surpass® Card from American Express at qualifying small businesses.
Lowe’s Business Rewards Points Offer:
Earn one additional Lowe’s Business Rewards point per dollar of purchases using an enrolled Lowe’s Business Rewards Card from American Express at qualifying small businesses.
Membership Rewards® Points Offer:
Earn one additional Membership Rewards Point per dollar of purchases using one of the following enrolled Cards at qualifying small businesses: Centurion® Card from American Express , The Platinum Card® from American Express, Premier Rewards Gold Card from American Express, Traditional Gold Card from American Express, Senior Gold Card from American Express, Gold Card from American Express, American Express® Green Card, American Express® Traditional Green Card, Senior Member Card from American Express, Zync® from American Express, Blue from American Express®, Amex EveryDay® Card, Amex EveryDay® Preferred Card, The American Express® Gold Card for Ameriprise Financial, The Platinum Card® from American Express for Ameriprise Financial, Platinum Card® from American Express for Charles Schwab, Fidelity American Express Green, Fidelity American Express Gold, Fidelity American Express Platinum, Centurion® Card from American Express for Goldman Sachs Clients , The Platinum Card® from American Express for Goldman Sachs, The Mercedes-Benz Credit Card from American Express, Platinum Card® from American Express Exclusively for Mercedes-Benz, Morgan Stanley Credit Card from American Express, Platinum Card® from American Express Exclusively for Morgan Stanley, Business Centurion® Card from American Express, Business Platinum Card®, The Business Gold Rewards Card, Business Green Rewards Card, Business Management Account®, The Business Membership Rewards Card from American Express®, Blue for Business® Credit Card or Business Platinum Credit Card. Enrollment in the offer and the Membership Rewards Program is required. For Amex EveryDay® Card products, when we calculate the extra points available as a bonus to Amex EveryDay® Card Members, points awarded under this offer will not be included. Terms and Conditions for the Membership Rewards® program apply. Visit membershiprewards.com/terms or call 1-800-AXP EARN (297-3276) for more information. The value of Membership Rewards points varies according to how you choose to use them. To learn more, go to www.membershiprewards.com/pointsinfo.
Plenti Point Offer:
Earn one additional Plenti Point per dollar of purchases using an enrolled Plenti® Credit Card from Amex at qualifying small businesses.
SimplyCash Cash Back Offer:
Earn an additional 1% cash back per dollar of purchases using an enrolled SimplyCash® Business Credit Card or SimplyCash® Plus Business Credit Card at qualifying small businesses. You will receive cash back in the form of a statement credit.
Schwab Cash Back Offer:
Earn an additional 1.5% cash back per dollar of purchases using an enrolled Charles Schwab Investor Credit Card™ from American Express at qualifying small businesses. Cash back will be automatically deposited into your eligible Schwab brokerage account.
Starpoints Offer:
Earn one additional Starpoint per dollar of purchases using an enrolled Starwood Preferred Guest® Credit Card from American Express or Starwood Preferred Guest® Business Credit Card at qualifying small businesses.
Bottom Line
There’s a very good chance that this is the best we’ll see from Amex when it comes to small business bonuses this year and while that’s a shame its better than nothing.
Even if you don’t think you’ll be able to do much with this promotion you should still make sure you register all your cards – it doesn’t cost anything, it doesn’t take long and you never know when plans change and you find yourself shopping in a participating retailer.
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