AMEX Blue Cash Preferred Changes Coming

[Anonymous]

@T0 bummer about your local shopping options. Do you buy many gift cards throughout the year? If you buy gift cards at a grocery store, you'll get the 6%. I spend a bit on Amazon throughout the year, so I buy gift cards in store & upload them to my account. Many people do the same for places they plan to shop or dine at. "Hmm, going to Olive Garden tomorrow...I'll stop at the grocery store to grab a $50 gift card." Handy thing to do if you buy gift cards during the holidays.


Also, rather than closing the card completely, consider having it changed to a BCE instead with no annual fee. Then you can keep it (even unused) to pad your credit report for credit utilization purposes, along with aaoa (so that when you open any cards in the future, your aaoa won't take as much of a hit).

[T0]

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@Anonymous wrote:
@T0 bummer about your local shopping options. Do you buy many gift cards throughout the year? If you buy gift cards at a grocery store, you'll get the 6%. I spend a bit on Amazon throughout the year, so I buy gift cards in store & upload them to my account. Many people do the same for places they plan to shop or dine at. "Hmm, going to Olive Garden tomorrow...I'll stop at the grocery store to grab a $50 gift card." Handy thing to do if you buy gift cards during the holidays.


Also, rather than closing the card completely, consider having it changed to a BCE instead with no annual fee. Then you can keep it (even unused) to pad your credit report for credit utilization purposes, along with aaoa (so that when you open any cards in the future, your aaoa won't take as much of a hit).

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Do gift cards actually get cash back? My reading of the T&C is that they don't count, so I haven't tried. If they do, that might entice me to keep the BCP, even before any changes they might make.

[Anonymous]

The reason the $6k limit exists is actually due to the gift card abuse, haha. People were using the card early on to buy tons of Amazon cards (as Amazon cards are pretty much as good as cash to most).

But yes, their terms do state gift cards are an ineligible purchase...but just like toilet paper and spoons, if you buy it at the right store, it gets the reward rate. It is a supermarkets category, not a grocery category.

When the purchase gets submitted to AMEX, they don't get a receipt--just the store name/coding. So, provided you don't do anything super suspicious to have them audit the purchases (directly requesting the store for receipts of transactions), you should be fine. So, don't get 12x $500 gift cards in a day. Try sticking to $50 & occasional $100 cards and tacking on an item that you actually want/need that isn't overpriced at that store. Those Will look like real grocery bills.

[Anonymous]

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@Anonymous wrote:
The reason the $6k limit exists is actually due to the gift card abuse, haha. People were using the card early on to buy tons of Amazon cards (as Amazon cards are pretty much as good as cash to most).

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Well, more V/MC cards probably, even with the fee!   But yes, I agree with the rest.   The cap was imposed after a year or so, and with it, Amex isn't going to be concerned.  You get $360 before AF, whether it's "real" groceries or gift cards

[Anonymous]

I just got the $250 upgrade to BCP from my BCE and it said 3% back on select department stores.. 

[Anonymous]

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@T0 wrote:

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@Anonymous wrote:
@T0 bummer about your local shopping options. Do you buy many gift cards throughout the year? If you buy gift cards at a grocery store, you'll get the 6%. I spend a bit on Amazon throughout the year, so I buy gift cards in store & upload them to my account. Many people do the same for places they plan to shop or dine at. "Hmm, going to Olive Garden tomorrow...I'll stop at the grocery store to grab a $50 gift card." Handy thing to do if you buy gift cards during the holidays.


Also, rather than closing the card completely, consider having it changed to a BCE instead with no annual fee. Then you can keep it (even unused) to pad your credit report for credit utilization purposes, along with aaoa (so that when you open any cards in the future, your aaoa won't take as much of a hit).

---

Do gift cards actually get cash back? My reading of the T&C is that they don't count, so I haven't tried. If they do, that might entice me to keep the BCP, even before any changes they might make.

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Yes, you get cash back for buying gift cards at the grocery store. I usually go to Pick N Save for groceries and they have a large variety of gift cards to choose from.

[UncleB]

The changes to the BCP have been announced. 

This thread is closed to new messages, but the details and continuing conversation regarding the BCP changes/updates can be found here:  https://ficoforums.myfico.com/t5/Credit-Cards/Amex-BCP-changes-announced/td-p/5596973