Amex no longer allowing Tax payments to count towards SUBs?

[GZG]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fn9vbEsdeo0 

the video claims Amex no longer considers tax payments to be eligible spend for SUB bonuses

anybody have any DPs to suggest this is true? 

[K-in-Boston]

As with the overwhelming majority of click-bait YouTube videos, the producer of the video is clueless.   Amex does not grant bonuses hours after making a charge, before settlement data has even been sent by the merchant.  (This would be like getting points for the $200 authorization at the pump before the gas station settled the charge for $52.15.)

We should all know not to take information given by chat reps and CSRs as the absolute truth, and they were mistaken that these payments are considered cash equivalents.  Amex points earnings are not updated in real time.  The YouTube personality received the Welcome Offer based off previous spending, including the tax payment, and not from paying rent hours earlier.

[FireMedic1]

I got CB for paying my taxes with Discover thru the IRS third party CC payment folks. Re-adjusted what they take out to cover next year.

[Anonymous]

---

@K-in-Boston wrote:

As with the overwhelming majority of click-bait YouTube videos, the producer of the video is clueless.   Amex does not grant bonuses hours after making a charge, before settlement data has even been sent by the merchant.  (This would be like getting points for the $200 authorization at the pump before the gas station settled the charge for $52.15.)

We should all know not to take information given by chat reps and CSRs as the absolute truth, and they were mistaken that these payments are considered cash equivalents.  Amex points earnings are not updated in real time.  The YouTube personality received the Welcome Offer based off previous spending, including the tax payment, and not from paying rent hours earlier.

---

Right, but he is quoting chats from a rep, with what she says is the qualified amount.

[danzig47]

---

@Anonymous wrote:

---

@K-in-Boston wrote:

As with the overwhelming majority of click-bait YouTube videos, the producer of the video is clueless.   Amex does not grant bonuses hours after making a charge, before settlement data has even been sent by the merchant.  (This would be like getting points for the $200 authorization at the pump before the gas station settled the charge for $52.15.)

We should all know not to take information given by chat reps and CSRs as the absolute truth, and they were mistaken that these payments are considered cash equivalents.  Amex points earnings are not updated in real time.  The YouTube personality received the Welcome Offer based off previous spending, including the tax payment, and not from paying rent hours earlier.

---

Right, but he is quoting chats from a rep, with what she says is the qualified amount.

---

I went back and re-watched the end of the video after @K-in-Boston's post, and if you look at the dates on the transaction and the clock on his machine, it is definitly not the rent that put him over - that transaction wouldn't have even cleared yet. So, what really happened is he did finally get credit for the tax payment, it just took a while, and the CSR was wrong. 

I am actually in this exact same boat - just made a tax payment that should put me over for a sign up bonus. I'll report back what happens so everyone has the data point. 

[Dadof31978]

it's true i didn't get mine over tax payments. 

[K-in-Boston]

---

@Dadof31978 wrote:

it's true i didn't get mine over tax payments. 

---

Data points would be helplful, but something has to be amiss.  I've had no problems with Amex when paying using one of the three official companies the IRS supports.

American Express has a very good track record of clearly communicating policy changes such as this in advance.  Quarterly estimated taxes were due just a few weeks ago.  If this spend no longer counted as qualified spending, this would be a massive story in places such as FlyerTalk and DoC.  Instead, this is someone clearly just not understanding how American Express operates, and that chat agents and CSRs from virtually all lenders may occasionally give incorrect information.  Annual and estimated tax payments are a major driver of achieving high spend threshholds for certain Amex cards, such as MQM bonuses on Delta Platinum and Reserve cards (at $25k and $30k increments), Delta MQD waiver for Diamond Medallion at $250k, and Centurion Lounge access for guests at $75k spend on Platinum and Business Platinum charge cards.

Amex spend trackers and points earnings are not updated in real time.

[Junejer]

---

@GZG wrote:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fn9vbEsdeo0 

the video claims Amex no longer considers tax payments to be eligible spend for SUB bonuses

anybody have any DPs to suggest this is true? 

---

Didn't watch the video, but I got my bonus for my tax payments.

[danzig47]

Just following up here as promised. The tax payment counted towards ths sub for me and was the transaction that put me over.

For clarity sake - I don't have transactions after the tax payment that would put me over, it was definitly the tax payment.  

[summerterrace]

I was denied the sign up bonus for AmEx green when using it to pay taxes.  I called CS and they said federal tax payments are excluded for sign up bonus purposes.  I appealed and they still said no.  So at least for me they didn't allow it.  Btw, I paid my taxes due with my 1040 and used one of the authorized processors.