One of my favorite holiday traditions is the American Express Small Business promotion for free statement credits. This year, it looks like there is a much different offer for spending at small businesses.
I mentioned this promotion briefly in how to Use Plastiq to Pay Mortgage or Rent with a Credit Card [1]. From now through the end of the year you can earn 2x rewards on small business purchases with your American Express card, but you need to register!
It’s possible with some strategic spending that this offer will be worth much more than the old $10 credits [2]. It’s also nice that we can earn it anytime this holiday season instead of just on Thanksgiving weekend!
It’s our Free Money [3] offer this week.
How to Get Your Small Business 2x Rewards
- Register for the shop small offer [4].
- Shop at small businesses until December 31, 2016.
- Earn 2x rewards on your purchases.
- Rewards will be posted to your account within 10-12 weeks after the end of the offer.
I received an email invite for just two of our American Express cards. However, I was able to enroll all of our American Express cards including my Starwood, Blue and Blue Cash, Simply Cash Business, Delta cards, Business gold rewards and my new Platinum card from the Huge $5,325+ Credit Card Application Spree [5].
All of these cards are currently listed in our credit card directory [6].
Terms and Conditions
- This offer applies to the first $250,000 in purchases for each eligible Card Account issued to a business and the first $100,000 in purchases for each eligible Card Account issued for personal use, starting from the time you complete enrollment through 12/31/16.
- Qualifying small merchant locations appear on the Shop Small Map [7] (including the searchable directory).
- The following do NOT count as purchases and will not qualify for this offer: fees or interest charges, balance transfers, cash advances, purchases of traveler’s checks, purchases or reloading of prepaid cards, or purchases of any cash equivalents.
More on Shop Small Promotion
2x Rewards. The 2x rewards is slightly confusing. The 2x is on base points. For example, membership rewards cards will earn 1 additional point per dollar. Cards like the gold rewards that earn 3x bonus points on certain categories, will still earn 1 additional point, not 3. However, cards will a higher base, like the Hilton cards, will earn 3 additional points per dollar. As you enroll each card, you’ll see the number of extra points you’ll earn.
Enroll All Cards. You must separately enroll each American Express card you have.
Enroll Without Plans to Shop Small. This is one of those offers you should enroll in even if you don’t have plans to specifically shop at small businesses. When I looked at the map, I saw various restaurants, stores and even my gym. I wouldn’t have thought of all of these as small businesses.
Stacking. This makes it even more lucrative to take advantage of some of the recent sign up bonus offers like the American Express Business Platinum 100,000 Point Sign Up Bonus [8]. In addition, as I mentioned earlier you can stack this offer with Plastiq to Pay Mortgage or Rent with a Credit Card [1].