Amex takes away $3K cash back gift cards

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But there is an easy workaround.  Read on… 

I’ve written a lot recently about the ability to buy American Express gift cards and get cash back through sites like BigCrumbs and TopCashBack.  The best deals are usually the highest denomination gift cards since the card fees and shipping charges are then a very small percent of the overall cost.  Well, sometime this week, American Express changed their site.  It used to be that you could buy their gift cards with denominations up to $3,000.  Now, if you start from a cash back portal, the highest denomination you’ll see is $500.

Browse directly to American Express:

If you browse directly to American Express gift cards and click on the generic card on the top left, you can select values ranging all the way to $3,000:

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Browse via cash back site:

If you start from a cash back site like BigCrumbs, the picture is different.  Now the largest denomination available is $500:

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Simple Workaround

Currently, there appears to be a very simple workaround to this limit.  The trick is to buy a Personalized gift card which can still have a value of up to $3000:

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To find the personalized gift card option, scroll all the way to the bottom of the Amex gift card screen and look for the little text saying “Gift Cards”:

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This technique has the added benefit of allowing you to put your name on the gift card.  I haven’t tried this technique myself yet, but I’ve heard from several readers that cash back is awarded for personalized gift cards.

Hat tip: Delta Points

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