topic Re: Save 20% off Amazon Order with Amex MR Points in Credit Cards

Save 20% off Amazon Order with Amex MR Points

UncleB — Fri, 06 Jul 2018 01:26:43 GMT

Doctor of credit has reported that there's a promotion for Amazon Prime members where you can get 20% off your order by paying with MR points - and you only have to use a single point to trigger the discount (putting the balance on your Amex card).

The max savings is $100 off a $500 purchase, and gift cards are triggering the discount.

https://www.doctorofcredit.com/amazon-get-20-off-when-you-use-at-least-one-membership-rewards-point-100-maximum-discount/

I was able to order two $50 Belk gift cards and a $400 physical Amazon gift card, spend one MR point, and pay only $399.99. (I plan to gift the Belk cards at Christmas, and spend the Amazon card on Prime Day).

It seems that to 'max out' the offer with Amazon GC's at least $100 of 'other' merchandise must be purchased at the same time, which wasn't a problem in my case. The 'other' merchandise can be a GC as long as it's not Amazon ~~(and I suspect physical, although I didn't attempt an e-gift card)~~. There are reports that e-gift cards have triggered the discount as well.

Edited to add: There is language in the fine-print that states that GCs are excluded from the offer, but so far that's not being enforced. In past offers like this one there has been similar language (also not enforced) but of course at any time that could change.

Update 7/5/2018: It seems that Amazon GCs are no longer triggering the discount (even with adding $100 of something else), however some who have already used the offer are finding they can use it again.

Re: Save 20% off Amazon Order with Amex MR Points

Anonymous — Wed, 04 Jul 2018 02:59:28 GMT

Thanks for sharing! Is it targeted or available to us all?

Re: Save 20% off Amazon Order with Amex MR Points

UncleB — Wed, 04 Jul 2018 03:07:07 GMT

@Anonymous wrote:
Thanks for sharing! Is it targeted or available to us all?

It was available to me (and I usually get the 'not eligible' message on these)... I think the only requirement is a Prime account and to have an MR-earning card already linked.

Also, I'm about to clarify the info in my post that the fine-print states that it's not supposed to work for GCs, although for the moment it is (in other words, at some point it might not).

FWIW I think the last time they ran one of these it had a similar exclusion that also wasn't enforced, but that could always change.

Re: Save 20% off Amazon Order with Amex MR Points

Loquat — Wed, 04 Jul 2018 03:54:06 GMT

Score! Thanks @UncleB! Picked up the $400 Amazon gift card via email delivery and 4 other $25 gift cards to various places. Used 1pt and charged the other $399 to the Platinum. Happy as a clam! Thanks again for sharing!

Re: Save 20% off Amazon Order with Amex MR Points

Loquat — Wed, 04 Jul 2018 03:56:14 GMT

@Loquat wrote:
Score! Thanks @UncleB! Picked up the $400 Amazon gift card via email delivery and 4 other $25 gift cards to various places. Used 1pt and charged the other $399 to the Platinum. Happy as a clam! Thanks again for sharing!

....and the e-gift card just showed in my mailbox and has been applied to my Amazon account. Lovin' it!

Re: Save 20% off Amazon Order with Amex MR Points

K-in-Boston — Wed, 04 Jul 2018 14:00:39 GMT

@UncleB thank you so much for repeatedly being the guardian of Amex/Amazon offers!

Re: Save 20% off Amazon Order with Amex MR Points

Adkins — Wed, 04 Jul 2018 14:07:38 GMT

Nice! Thanks for the tip, UncleB!

Re: Save 20% off Amazon Order with Amex MR Points

UncleB — Wed, 04 Jul 2018 15:46:57 GMT

Super-stoked to see this is working for everyone!

For a cheap-skate like me who regularly orders from Amazon this is like Christmas in July!

Re: Save 20% off Amazon Order with Amex MR Points

DaveInAZ — Wed, 04 Jul 2018 16:29:58 GMT

@UncleB wrote:
@Anonymous wrote:
Thanks for sharing! Is it targeted or available to us all?
It was available to me (and I usually get the 'not eligible' message on these)... I think the only requirement is a Prime account and to have an MR-earning card already linked.

Also, I'm about to clarify the info in my post that the fine-print states that it's not supposed to work for GCs, although for the moment it is (in other words, at some point it might not).

FWIW I think the last time they ran one of these it had a similar exclusion that also wasn't enforced, but that could always change.

Yeah, Amazon loves to give me the "not eligible" message for pretty much every DoC Amazon deal.

But this one did seem to be eligible, but when I went to check out with a couple 4k blu-ray movies the discount isn't showing. I'm guessing it's because I don't have Prime. I don't buy enough from Amazon to justify Prime, and my internet out here in the boonies isn't fast enough for decent streaming quality.

But I'll try adding an Amazon gift card as I have an offer of 1 week of Prime for $1.99 and see if it works.

EDIT: OK, it worked. Added 1 week of Prime for $1.99, two 4k UHD blu-ray movies + $100 Amz gift card (more than enough for what I spend on Amazon) = $28.96 discount on $144.78 order.

(I regularly get the offer for 1 week of Prime for $1.99, so I'll add it again for Prime Day 7/16 and put the gift card to use)

Re: Save 20% off Amazon Order with Amex MR Points

UncleB — Wed, 04 Jul 2018 16:34:06 GMT

@DaveInAZ wrote:
@UncleB wrote:
@Anonymous wrote:
Thanks for sharing! Is it targeted or available to us all?
It was available to me (and I usually get the 'not eligible' message on these)... I think the only requirement is a Prime account and to have an MR-earning card already linked.

Also, I'm about to clarify the info in my post that the fine-print states that it's not supposed to work for GCs, although for the moment it is (in other words, at some point it might not).

FWIW I think the last time they ran one of these it had a similar exclusion that also wasn't enforced, but that could always change.
Yeah, Amazon loves to give me the "not eligible" message for pretty much every DoC Amazon deal.
But this one did seem to be eligible, but when I went to check out with a couple 4k blu-ray movies the discount isn't showing. I'm guessing it's because I don't have Prime. I don't buy enough from Amazon to justify Prime, and my internet out here in the boonies isn't fast enough for decent streaming quality.
But I'll try adding an Amazon gift card as I have an offer of 1 week of Prime for $1.99 and see if it works.

EDIT: OK, it worked. Added 1 week of Prime for $1.99, two 4k UHD blu-ray movies + $100 Amz gift card (more than enough for what I spend on Amazon) = $28.96 discount on $144.78 order.
(I regularly get the offer for 1 week of Prime for $1.99, so I'll add it again for Prime Day 7/16 and put the gift card to use)

Glad you were able to make it work!

When Amazon increased the fee for Prime I was quite annoyed about it, but as long as I'm able to offset the annual fee with promos such as this one it's not so bad.

Prime video is 'ok', but it's not what drove me to Prime to begin with - they got me with free shipping. I also like that I get free shipping anywhere to anybody, so if I want to have something shipped to a family member it's not a problem (they aren't fussy about the billing address and delivery address being different).

Re: Save 20% off Amazon Order with Amex MR Points

K-in-Boston — Wed, 04 Jul 2018 16:41:44 GMT

@UncleB wrote:
@DaveInAZ wrote:
@UncleB wrote:
@Anonymous wrote:
Thanks for sharing! Is it targeted or available to us all?
It was available to me (and I usually get the 'not eligible' message on these)... I think the only requirement is a Prime account and to have an MR-earning card already linked.

Also, I'm about to clarify the info in my post that the fine-print states that it's not supposed to work for GCs, although for the moment it is (in other words, at some point it might not).

FWIW I think the last time they ran one of these it had a similar exclusion that also wasn't enforced, but that could always change.
Yeah, Amazon loves to give me the "not eligible" message for pretty much every DoC Amazon deal.
But this one did seem to be eligible, but when I went to check out with a couple 4k blu-ray movies the discount isn't showing. I'm guessing it's because I don't have Prime. I don't buy enough from Amazon to justify Prime, and my internet out here in the boonies isn't fast enough for decent streaming quality.
But I'll try adding an Amazon gift card as I have an offer of 1 week of Prime for $1.99 and see if it works.

EDIT: OK, it worked. Added 1 week of Prime for $1.99, two 4k UHD blu-ray movies + $100 Amz gift card (more than enough for what I spend on Amazon) = $28.96 discount on $144.78 order.
(I regularly get the offer for 1 week of Prime for $1.99, so I'll add it again for Prime Day 7/16 and put the gift card to use)
Glad you were able to make it work!

When Amazon increased the fee for Prime I was quite annoyed about it, but as long as I'm able to offset the annual fee with promos such as this one it's not so bad.

Prime video is 'ok', but it's not what drove me to Prime to begin with - they got me with free shipping. I also like that I get free shipping anywhere to anybody, so if I want to have something shipped to a family member it's not a problem (they aren't fussy about the billing address and delivery address being different).

Same here. The free shipping MORE than pays for itself. However the past two Amex Offers I was able to take advantage of essentially paid for 2 years of Prime. I’m way ahead on this. The only annoyance I have with shipping to others is that I usually have to go hunt down my wallet for the CVV code on the credit card.

Re: Save 20% off Amazon Order with Amex MR Points

DaveInAZ — Wed, 04 Jul 2018 16:48:05 GMT

@UncleB wrote:
Glad you were able to make it work!

When Amazon increased the fee for Prime I was quite annoyed about it, but as long as I'm able to offset the annual fee with promos such as this one it's not so bad.

Prime video is 'ok', but it's not what drove me to Prime to begin with - they got me with free shipping. I also like that I get free shipping anywhere to anybody, so if I want to have something shipped to a family member it's not a problem (they aren't fussy about the billing address and delivery address being different).

Thanks. But meh, I get free shipping on Amazon for orders $25+ and usually get them in under a week. But I've been using Walmart.com more for blu-ray movies as they usually price match Amazon and no minimum order free shipping when I use in store pickup. I was trying to order the new 4k UHD Mission Impossible: Ghost Protocol (where Cruise climbs that massive skyscraper in Dubai), but Amazon said "usually ships in 1 or 2 months" while Walmart will have it at the store by the end of the week, easy decision.

Re: Save 20% off Amazon Order with Amex MR Points

bz386 — Wed, 04 Jul 2018 17:18:42 GMT

Looks like everybody is eligible for this offer but me. Perhaps it is because I didn’t have my Amex setup for shop with points. I did set it up now, but it’s apparently too late, still not eligible. Bwaaaaaaah.

Re: Save 20% off Amazon Order with Amex MR Points

UncleB — Wed, 04 Jul 2018 17:24:52 GMT

@bz386 wrote:
Looks like everybody is eligible for this offer but me. Perhaps it is because I didn’t have my Amex setup for shop with points. I did set it up now, but it’s apparently too late, still not eligible. Bwaaaaaaah.

Once your points balance is showing up as 'available to use' try logging out of Amazon, then login again and see if that will work.

If that doesn't work, I would give it a day or two then try again... as long as they don't kill the promo I suspect you'll eventually be able to get it to work!

The only 'iffy' situation I can think of is if you're not the "primary" person on the Prime account... in that case I'm not sure if it will work or not.

Re: Save 20% off Amazon Order with Amex MR Points

UncleB — Wed, 04 Jul 2018 17:30:36 GMT

@K-in-Boston wrote:
@UncleB wrote:
@DaveInAZ wrote:
@UncleB wrote:
@Anonymous wrote:
Thanks for sharing! Is it targeted or available to us all?
It was available to me (and I usually get the 'not eligible' message on these)... I think the only requirement is a Prime account and to have an MR-earning card already linked.

Also, I'm about to clarify the info in my post that the fine-print states that it's not supposed to work for GCs, although for the moment it is (in other words, at some point it might not).

FWIW I think the last time they ran one of these it had a similar exclusion that also wasn't enforced, but that could always change.
Yeah, Amazon loves to give me the "not eligible" message for pretty much every DoC Amazon deal.
But this one did seem to be eligible, but when I went to check out with a couple 4k blu-ray movies the discount isn't showing. I'm guessing it's because I don't have Prime. I don't buy enough from Amazon to justify Prime, and my internet out here in the boonies isn't fast enough for decent streaming quality.
But I'll try adding an Amazon gift card as I have an offer of 1 week of Prime for $1.99 and see if it works.

EDIT: OK, it worked. Added 1 week of Prime for $1.99, two 4k UHD blu-ray movies + $100 Amz gift card (more than enough for what I spend on Amazon) = $28.96 discount on $144.78 order.
(I regularly get the offer for 1 week of Prime for $1.99, so I'll add it again for Prime Day 7/16 and put the gift card to use)
Glad you were able to make it work!

When Amazon increased the fee for Prime I was quite annoyed about it, but as long as I'm able to offset the annual fee with promos such as this one it's not so bad.

Prime video is 'ok', but it's not what drove me to Prime to begin with - they got me with free shipping. I also like that I get free shipping anywhere to anybody, so if I want to have something shipped to a family member it's not a problem (they aren't fussy about the billing address and delivery address being different).
Same here. The free shipping MORE than pays for itself. However the past two Amex Offers I was able to take advantage of essentially paid for 2 years of Prime. I’m way ahead on this. The only annoyance I have with shipping to others is that I usually have to go hunt down my wallet for the CVV code on the credit card.

I hear ya... if they keep the promos coming, I'll definitely stick around.

I know entering the CVV is a PIA, but I'm OK with it... it makes me comfortable enough to leave my cards on-file with Amazon, otherwise I'd be terrified of somebody breaking into my account and going on a shopping spree. (I had this happen with the now-defuct Drugstore.com.)

Also, once you verify the CVV once you don't have to do it again for that person and card combo on future orders, which is reasonable. I can now order for both my grandmother and parents and never have to enter the CVV unless I decide to use a card I've never used with one of their orders in the past.

Re: Save 20% off Amazon Order with Amex MR Points

bz386 — Wed, 04 Jul 2018 17:31:47 GMT

I do see my points balance. I tried logging out and back in and still no go. I will give it another day to see if the Amazon gods have mercy on me. Thanks UncleB.

Re: Save 20% off Amazon Order with Amex MR Points

UncleB — Fri, 06 Jul 2018 01:01:35 GMT

Just a heads-up that it seems Amazon has made some adjustments to disallow their own GCs from qualifying for the promo going forward, but it appears in making the adjustment that the offer can be used by some people a second time.

Obviously this isn't as lucrative as the previous offer, but if it remains available for a double-dip through Prime Day I'm hoping I can take advantage of it to get a new phone.

Re: Save 20% off Amazon Order with Amex MR Points

Anonymous — Fri, 06 Jul 2018 01:10:32 GMT

My prime trial ends today. Really nothing I want to buy from Amazon.

Re: Save 20% off Amazon Order with Amex MR Points

K-in-Boston — Fri, 06 Jul 2018 01:12:04 GMT

@UncleB wrote:
Just a heads-up that it seems Amazon has made some adjustments to disallow their own GCs from qualifying for the promo going forward, but it appears in making the adjustment that the offer can be used by some people a second time.

More from DoC here: https://www.doctorofcredit.com/amazon-100-membership-rewards-promotion-working-for-a-second-time-on-same-account/

Obviously this isn't as lucrative as the previous offer, but if it remains available for a double-dip through Prime Day I'm hoping I can take advantage of it to get a new phone.

Re: Save 20% off Amazon Order with Amex MR Points

Appleman — Fri, 06 Jul 2018 01:48:38 GMT

I ordered just over $500 form Amazon using the 20% off from AMEX.

There was both merchandise and a gift card for $150. No discount on the Amazon GC (yesterday) but ended up with a $100 discount on the entire order or 20%. The merchandise was given a larger discount and the GC was full price. Worked out the same and was glad to have saved.