[Update 2] It looks like the rebate can post successfully. If you have multiple China-issued AMEX credit cards, you may be able to add it multiple times. Also, the Shop Small offer must be added by August 23, and eligible spending must be completed by September 20. If you still have U.S. or China credit cards that have not added this offer, don’t miss it: that’s $50 back per card. My guess is that other non-U.S. AMEX cards may also be able to add and trigger it. Please share your DP!
[Breaking] WeChat reader Terry found that China-issued AMEX credit cards can add the Shop Small offer through AMEX Connect, and possibly other AMEX Offers as well. That is pretty amazing for a China-issued AMEX card. It may be worth trying with other AMEX cards issued outside the U.S. as well. See the detailed DP in the following quick news post:
Terry is using the CMB AE Platinum, a dual-network card. At the time of the original report, the rebate had not posted yet, so YMMV [it was unclear whether it would actually pay out]. It is still unknown whether single-network cards can also add AMEX Offers. Readers are welcome to test.
One thing to note: the FAQ for AMEX Connect says that only U.S. credit cards are eligible to enroll in offers. However, the DP above shows that these China-issued cards did successfully enroll and trigger the offer. It is still unclear how the rebate is delivered. In theory, if enrollment were not possible, you should not receive the purchase-trigger notification either. If the trigger notification is coming through, AMEX should probably also have a way to issue the rebate. In any case, YMMV.
Who is eligible to enroll in AMEX Offers?American Express® Cardmembers with Cards issued in the U.S. are eligible to enroll into AMEX Offers.
[Below is the article from July 15, 2020]
AMEX’s recent Shop Small offer has been quite good. Many everyday purchases can trigger it, and even if you do not have an immediate spending need, buying the relevant gift cards through the Fluz app can take care of that. The total savings can reach $50. If this offer could be added multiple times, that would be even better, right?
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Standard ways to get around the quantity limit
Shop Small is a type of AMEX Offer. Unless otherwise stated, an AMEX Offer can usually only be added once per person. In theory, your authorized user cards, if under different names, have their own AMEX accounts and can also register separately. You can think of it as a once-per-credit-profile limit, including people without an SSN.
Of course, that applies only to cards issued directly by AMEX. Under normal circumstances, if you have the following products, you can also add offers to them, including the Shop Small offer, and they do not conflict with your AMEX-issued credit card accounts:
AMEX Serve
In the Fluz app, you may only be able to add one Serve card at a time. If you cannot add a second one, finish using the first one, remove it, and then add the second Serve card. H/T: WeChat reader V1ctor
BlueBird Banking
I do not have Bluebird myself, but based on DP from WeChat reader V1ctor, it also has Shop Small. Note: some people may not be able to add BlueBird to the Fluz app for unknown reasons.
AMEX credit cards issued by other banks
- For AMEX cards not issued by AMEX itself, you can add offers through AMEX Connect. See this quick news post: AMEX cards issued by other banks can add AMEX Offers through links (including Shop Small)
Strictly speaking, the three cases above are not really bypassing AMEX’s limits at all; those products are designed to allow separate enrollments. So under normal circumstances, if you have a diverse enough card portfolio, one person really can add multiple Shop Small offers. Serve and BB share limits under the same billing address, and the total number of cards you can open is limited, probably around 5 combined (Serve + BB). AMEX cards issued by outside banks naturally do not have that limitation.
So how can you bypass the one-time limit within AMEX’s own credit card accounts? In some unusual situations, it seems possible. That is what happened to me this time.
Bypassing the limit on AMEX credit card accounts
KUKU had too much free time today and used our BCE application link, together with ExpressVPN and incognito mode, and got the all-time-high offer for the AMEX Blue Cash Everyday credit card [all-time high $150 + $200 Amazon rebate]. I applied on the spot and was instantly approved. There was no option to show the card number right away, but it prompted me to set up the account, and following the steps, I linked the new card to my existing account.
Then I saw the following screen, and the Shop Small offer appeared. It had been auto-selected by the system.
I double-checked my existing account and had already added this offer once before, on my AMEX Gold credit card. So why was it showing up here again? I did not think too much about it and clicked Add to Card right away, and it actually worked.
After checking several times, I can confirm that I did successfully add it a second time.
Looking into how this works
Following the principle of fully understanding every deal, I also tested removing an old card from the account and then adding it back. Unfortunately that did not work; the system returned an error.
My guess is that only newly approved credit cards have this characteristic. If you are planning to open a card soon, do not miss this opportunity. Of course, this depends on the system auto-selecting the Shop Small offer, and I have no idea how likely that is. YMMV.
I did not test whether removing cards and then creating a brand-new AMEX account would bypass the limit. My personal guess is that with old cards, the “remove and re-add” method probably does not work.
In the past, I did once manage to get around the one-per-person AMEX Offer limit after replacing a card. See this older article:
- Can a newly opened business card add the same AMEX Offer one more time? [I was not able to repeat it afterward, so my guess is that the system has to replace the card automatically]
There have also been reports online claiming that AMEX Offers can be added 4–6 times, but I cannot verify that for now. What I have personally just tested is that a newly approved card can break through to 2 adds, YMMV. If you open even more new cards, can you get to 3 or 4? Maybe the only way to know is to try.
I later found that once this new card can break through to a second add, all the AMEX Offers on that card can also be added a second time, showing the same pattern as above:
More DP and other methods
Based on info from readers in WeChat groups, this is not an isolated case. WeChat reader V1ctor also had a new card that was able to add the same AMEX Offer a second time.
In addition, WeChat reader Chao mentioned that some special software can forcibly add all AMEX Offers and completely bypass the limits, but for security reasons, we do not recommend using methods like that.
Some older methods: using a phone, computer, iPad, and multiple taps at the same time to add the offer may still be worth trying, though of course YMMV. Timing matters a lot here. WeChat readers MA DA O and Flypiggy reported success. If you have not added it yet, you can give it a try. My clicking speed is not good enough; I have never managed to get it to work.
Please share more DP if you have any.
Is there any risk?
- If you are adding it through Serve, Bluebird, or an AMEX card issued by a non-AMEX bank, the risk is minimal.
- If you are forcibly or accidentally bypassing the limit within AMEX’s own credit card accounts, the offer Terms do say it can only be used once. Since this is effectively a system bug, even if the system accepts it, there is still some chance of a clawback. As always, deal hunting comes with some risk.