per card, for a single $25 or greater purchase at a listed small business
must pre-register
the fine print seems fairly clear

https://www.americanexpress.com/us/small-business/Shop-Small/

i'm buying $50 worth of beer

11/23/2012 8:55:42 PM

credit got the nation into this mess.

11/23/2012 11:04:41 PM

I am doing the same, you are awesome for letting people know about this.

11/23/2012 11:14:59 PM

I wish I had an AmEx

like I wish they handled debit cards, but it seems to be just Visa and MC around here

and unfortunately corp. and prepaid cards aren't eligible

11/23/2012 11:15:06 PM

Quote :

"I wish I had an AmEx"

No you don't. Saying you wish you had an AmEx card is like saying you wish you had a Bank of America account.

11/23/2012 11:17:59 PM

yeah I do

this promotion is like free money

[Edited on November 23, 2012 at 11:19 PM. Reason : the difference is that BoA sux hard

11/23/2012 11:19:03 PM

Even if you did have an Amex debit card, it doesn't look like it would be eligible for the promotion looking at the website.

11/24/2012 9:12:53 AM

Tasty Beverage Co. here I come

11/24/2012 9:50:54 AM

Thanks for the heads up! Just enrolled.

I was already planning to hit up some local businesses today once we got home

[Edited on November 24, 2012 at 12:00 PM. Reason : ]

11/24/2012 11:47:28 AM

only have an AmEx corp card. can't fathom having a personal one, as NO ONE takes it.

11/24/2012 12:10:31 PM

i use my personal one plenty and have actually never had it turned down. i only use it for the categories it gets higher % than my other cards on though (every gas, grocery, or dept store purchase).

11/24/2012 12:12:43 PM

guess I should qualify that - only use it when travelling in europe, no one takes it there.

11/24/2012 12:17:18 PM

ah that makes more sense

11/24/2012 12:19:05 PM

thanks for this info!
I'm heading to Tasty Beverage now

11/24/2012 3:01:49 PM

Quote :

"i use my personal one plenty and have actually never had it turned down"

Someone doesn't support small business


Speaking of which, has anyone figured out why SAMS Club is the only credit card taker that doesn't accept Visa.

11/24/2012 3:25:29 PM

They have a deal with mastercard for lower processing fees

11/24/2012 3:36:47 PM

They accept discover mostly. The exclusive sam's club credit card is a discover.

11/24/2012 3:44:55 PM

And that's why. I don't even think they accepted mastercard a few years ago.

11/24/2012 3:51:08 PM

Quote :

"Speaking of which, has anyone figured out why SAMS Club is the only credit card taker that doesn't accept Visa."

Costco doesn't either which is annoying because my corporate card is Visa and there have been plenty of times I would have bought things there for events. Only membership place that seems to take Visa is BJ's and they suck ass.

11/24/2012 3:59:02 PM

Why does BJ's suck, by the way?

11/24/2012 4:00:21 PM

I can only speak for the one at Brier Creek but their selection is bad compared to Costco and Sam's, the prices aren't competitive with the other two, and they are always chronically understaffed so it takes forever to check out even if there's only two people in line. There have been times I've just gone to Walmart or Target rather than fuck around with BJ's because the prices aren't that much higher and I know I won't waste my time away waiting for one of the crackhead BJ's employees to come over and man their register.

11/24/2012 4:03:54 PM

Quote :

"Why does BJ's suck, by the way?"

11/24/2012 4:09:51 PM

^^I see. Thanks for responding, by the way.

^I didn't even catch that.

11/24/2012 4:31:25 PM

Quote :

"Someone doesn't support small business Speaking of which, has anyone figured out why SAMS Club is the only credit card taker that doesn't accept Visa."

I support the heck out of small business. Not sure what you are trying to imply.

Glad to see all the people supporting Tasty Beverage in here too. They're good people I wish I lived in Raleigh to support them, but I am glad we have a nice (but small) similar style store downtown in my area now. I've been pretty impressed with their selection even though they are probably half the size of Tasty.

[Edited on November 25, 2012 at 10:19 AM. Reason : ]

11/25/2012 10:18:02 AM

I was at Tasty's soft opening event and have been in there at least every other weekend since

11/25/2012 2:02:21 PM

Quote :

" I support the heck out of small business. Not sure what you are trying to imply."

I imply that you don't shop at small businesses because hardly any of them accept AmEx due to the exorbitant fees. AmEx caters to the big businesses and big business don't care about the AmEx rates because they get lower rates due to the volume.

Until recently, AmEx had a reward program for corporate card holders where you had to spend at least $10000 to break even after paying an annual fee. They've recently introduced personal credit cards and nullified the annual fee. But you can see in the fine print that Corporate card holders are excluded from the OP's deal

11/25/2012 2:09:27 PM

Quote :

"this promotion is like free money"

it's not really free money though, b/c american express is doing it.

11/25/2012 3:00:09 PM

^^ I guess what I should have said was: I have no idea HOW you jumped to that conclusion. There was absolutely nothing in my post that could have provided a jumping-off-point for what you implied. I think you just wanted an excuse to take a jab at AmEx and responded with a post that didn't address me at all

I specifically stated that I ONLY use it for gas, groceries, and dept. store purchases (which are very infrequent but do happen some this time of year for family members) because it gets the best % back. Gas and groceries aren't typically categories where there are a lot of small-business options depending on where you live.

For groceries, we do most of our shopping at Publix and then next at Trader Joe's and they both take AmEx. Obviously Publix isn't small and I don't consider TJs small-business...but they are probably the closest thing to us for general groceries. In other words we don't even have small business options. We shop (cash of course) at the local farmers' market when it is in season and we also pay monthly to get local produce delivered to us when the farmers' market isn't in season (and that business actually does take AmEx but I pay with a Visa).

Gas isn't even worth discussion as far as small business goes.

I do plenty of small business shopping, I just don't do any of that with my AmEx (except for yesterday when I went to a local business that does take AmEx) because the two categories I use it for don't really have viable "small business" options.

[Edited on November 25, 2012 at 3:56 PM. Reason : ]

11/25/2012 3:54:54 PM

Quote :

"i use my personal one plenty and have actually never had it turned down. "

You wrote that long explanation when you've already told me that you never had it turned down.

11/25/2012 4:29:58 PM

So? not sure where you're going with that. At the common places I use it at (any gas station, grocery store, and the occasional dept. store) I've never had it turned down.

That was not to you, that was responding to someone else stating: "NO ONE takes it" and I was providing examples of everyday places that I have never even looked to see whether they accept AmEx an it's always gone through.

[Edited on November 25, 2012 at 4:37 PM. Reason : ]

11/25/2012 4:35:11 PM

You know where I'm going with it.

11/25/2012 4:37:08 PM

Does buying our Christmas tree at the farmers market yesterday count?

11/25/2012 4:38:10 PM

^^I really have no idea. I'm not even sure what the heck you are trying to argue. You made a baseless assumption that I don't support small businesses based on the fact I use an AmEx at grocery stores and gas stations (places that don't really even have small business options around me) and then in your next response quoted something completely unrelated that wasn't a response to you.

^only if you signed up for this before you made the purchase AND if they were a participating vendor.

[Edited on November 25, 2012 at 4:45 PM. Reason : ]

11/25/2012 4:38:48 PM

Quote :

"^^I really have no idea. I'm not even sure what the heck you are trying to argue. You made a baseless assumption that I don't support small businesses based on the fact I use an AmEx at grocery stores and gas stations and then quoted something completely unrelated that wasn't a response to you."

11/25/2012 4:46:04 PM

lol

I think you enjoy being this obtuse. I'd be happy to see how you think my AmEx not getting turned down at grocery stores or gas stations has to do with how you inferred that I don't support small business though. Should be interesting.

[Edited on November 25, 2012 at 4:50 PM. Reason : ]

11/25/2012 4:49:28 PM

You know what I'm saying. you're just stuck in your own lie and can't get out.

11/25/2012 4:51:21 PM

hahaha.

I literally have NO idea what lie you are talking about or what you are trying to argue.

11/25/2012 4:53:21 PM

Let me spell it out for you.


S.o.m.e.o.n.e. d.o.e.s.n.'.t. s.u.p.p.o.r.t. s.m.a.l.l. b.u.s.i.n.e.s.s

11/25/2012 4:56:54 PM

I'll give you a whole lafta-buck if you can provide a single example of this random, completely inaccurate hangup you have.

11/25/2012 5:01:07 PM

Gas Stations and Grocery Stores are not small businesses.

11/25/2012 5:03:59 PM

good lord. So, in your opinion, buying a good or service from a chain or national vendor when no viable, local small business option exists for that particular good = I never support small business across the board. Gotcha.

I think you owe ME a lafta-buck for even expressing that thought. You are the king of straw man. I don't use my AmEx at small business because it doesn't benefit me and I KNOW that a lot of small business don't accept it.

[Edited on November 25, 2012 at 5:18 PM. Reason : ]

11/25/2012 5:10:44 PM

the only person dumber than geniusboy is the person stupid enough to argue with him

11/25/2012 5:12:14 PM

You are correct: I am now dumber just for having attempted an argument with him I've often seen people facepalming about his stupidity in the past but have not been involved enough first hand to fully understand. Now I wish I never found out.

Luckily the paint should be dry on my shelf brackets now so it's back to work downstairs.

[Edited on November 25, 2012 at 5:17 PM. Reason : ]

11/25/2012 5:16:14 PM

kiljadn: only have an AmEx corp card. can't fathom having a personal one, as NO ONE takes it.

Calltoarms: "i use my personal one plenty and have actually never had it turned down"

GeniuSxBoY:Someone doesn't support small business

CalledToArms:buying a good or service from a chain or national vendor when no viable, local small business option exists for that particular good = I never support small business across the board.

11/25/2012 5:16:37 PM

^ is this guy serious?

11/25/2012 5:28:35 PM

Perhaps if he shopped at more small businesses he'd get turn down more.

11/25/2012 5:39:20 PM

I'm sure he doesn't have a Visa card in addition to his Amex. Or cash.

11/25/2012 5:49:14 PM

^

11/25/2012 6:09:44 PM

Quote :

" I'm sure he doesn't have a Visa card in addition to his Amex. Or cash."

The premise is he never gets turned down when using his personal AmEx card.
I said he must not support small business.
He said I KNOW that a lot of small business don't accept it.

I don't get why this is so fucking difficult for you morons to understand.

IF HE VISITS SMALL BUSINESSES REGULARLY and HE NEVER GETS TURNED DOWN then HE MUST NOT BE GOING TO SMALL BUSINESSES.

11/25/2012 7:21:19 PM

Obviously some small businesses take it if you could get money back for shopping at them yesterday.

11/25/2012 7:37:52 PM