Sam’s Club Amex Offer Followup
Yesterday I wrote about an amazing new Amex Offer that was widely available. Most people were able to find the offer on their Amex accounts and it was also available via Twitter as well. You can find the full details here.
Shortly after the offer was posted, people began reporting their transactions were being coded as: SAMSCLUB COM ONLINE PHOTO. The same thing happened to me when buying a $20 Sam’s Club gift card. Here is the way the merchant name came across:
The issue with this merchant name is in the offer terms. One of the main exclusions in the fine print is: “Sam‘s Club online photo purchases”. This certainly looks like an online photo purchase, although it isn’t. In case you think it was just gift cards, many people had the same issue when buying regular merchandise as well.
Additionally, no one that I have heard from received the email from American Express confirming they redeemed their offer. The email doesn’t always come on time, but it is usually reliable. I urged people to wait until the whole situation settles, since the offer doesn’t expire until 9/30/15.
A Quick Update
While credits can take a few days to post, I checked my American Express account this morning to check out the details of the pending charge. Thankfully it is now completely different!
As you can see, the transaction now shows just SAMSCLUB.COM which matches the Amex Offer perfectly. Also under category it says “MERCHANDISE & SUPPLIES – INTERNET PURCHASE“. This isn’t excluded in the terms so I believe I will receive the credit.
My Best Guess
Of course I don’t what happened, but my guess is that the transaction is initially coded one way and then corrects itself. Since it is initially coded wrong, that would explain why the email didn’t go out.
I am fairly confident that the credits will be issued as soon as the charge hits my account, but I will wait until this happens and suggest everyone else does the same. I know it is hard to wait sometimes, but it is best to make sure it is working properly to avoid issues later.
Conclusion
I am happy to see that the purchases are coding correctly and am glad Amex continues to amaze us with all of these fantastic offers! Hopefully the credits will post correctly so we can all enjoy our free money from American Express and Sam’s Club!
Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card
Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card is the old king of travel rewards cards. Right now
bonus_miles_full
Learn more about this card and its features!
Opinions, reviews, analyses & recommendations are the author’s alone, and have not been reviewed, endorsed or approved by any of these entities.
subscribe
I know we can use Samsclub giftcards at Walmart… but can we use them to buy a physical giftcard at walmart for places like starbucks, or other restaurant chains?
Any updates on this issue?
I’m still waiting for my purchase to post.
I called Amex today and even though on my screen it now says Samsclub.com, they said it says Sams club online photo on their end. I still haven’t received the usual Amex offers email yet. I’ll give it one more day before I call 7 on Your Side back.
I would wait until the charge posts. Remember it can take several days for the credit to show up.
Military deal May 1-31 at Sams
http://www.samsclub.com/sams/pagedetails/content.jsp?pageName=militaryMembership
Shawn , Do you have any further update on this one ? If the credit posted or amex confirmation email received . Appreciate a confirmation
[…] Sam’s Club Amex Offer Followup – Problems & How Transactions are Being Coded by Miles to Memories. Looks like this deal is now coding correctly, if you’ve already made a purchase check your online statement and you should have seen it recode not as a phone purchase. […]
I ordered a $25 Cabela’s gift card Friday. The $20 credit posted this morning! No email from Amex though
I believe in giving good feedback as well as negative. And I must say that the speed at which AMEX corrected this problem is a big plus. Instead of making 1000’s of us call and complain they were proactive. I shifted spending away from them in the past year or two. But with this type of attitude and great promotions they might just win a lot of us back. Reward those who act this way.
And does the name on the card have to match the name on the sam’s club account? What about shipping address?
Great, thanks! Does this work for bluebirds and/or redcards?
@John – $20 Sam’s Club gift card -> he mentioned that in the post.
Is it possible to buy gift cards without Sams Club membership?
I couldn’t find how.
Yes. Add the items to your cart and select checkout. On the login screen it will say “Not a member”? Under that section there is a link to create a guest account.
@ Shawn –
“the transaction now shows just SAMSCLUB.COM which matches the Amex Offer perfectly. Also under category it says “MERCHANDISE & SUPPLIES – INTERNET PURCHASE“. ======> what kind of item did you buy?
How do you get more than one amex offer? I have several amex card s but I only had one Sam’s club offer…
Some offers can be loaded via Twitter. Here is a great guide with more information. http://frequentmiler.boardingarea.com/complete-guide-amex-offers/
I’ll wait until you post that the credits show up. Anyway I’m still busy running back and forth to Smart and Final…….
That’s a great update! I just checked my online Amex account and found the same positive change under the pending transaction. Must have changed recently, as it was still “photo” this morning. Now if only the email confirmation(s) would come through!