One of my all-time favorite promotions from American Express is Small Business Saturday. On the Saturday after Thanksgiving, between Black Friday, Cyber Monday and Giving Tuesday, American Express used to provide statement credits for shopping at small businesses.
The details of the promotion varied from year to year but it was a way to get back some of the money spent on your annual fee while supporting local establishments. To be honest, AMEX’s ability to determine what’s a small business and what isn’t is questionable, because I’ve received the credit for eating at a chain restaurant and buying tickets through a nationwide processor.
Pre-coronavirus, American Express had stopped offering statement credits for Small Busines Saturday, opting to simply encourage cardmembers to support their local establishments. Flash forward to today and many of those small businesses are struggling to keep their doors open. With only government loans to keep them afloat during the coronacrapola recession, American Express dropped a new AMEX Offer into cardmember accounts today that everyone should apply for.
You can only pick this offer for one American Express card but it seems to be available for all card variants (personal vs. business and proprietary vs. co-brand). So choose the card you want to earn points with and in the words of the Ronco Rotisserie, “Set it and forget it.” [Note from Sharon: Joe, really? “Set it and forget it?” How many people are still going to remember that? LOL]
Each time you use your card at your vet, hairdresser, local pizza place, nursery, local CrossFit box and even your doctor or dentist, you’ll get $5 back. The only warning I have is about using your AMEX card at businesses that use Square or other services for payments, as I’ve had problems getting credit for such purchases in the past. I learned this when using my card at a food truck festival and none of the charges posted properly. I’m not saying you shouldn’t support these businesses, because you should, but don’t depend on getting $5 back on those purchases.
American Express does provide a “Shop Small” map and directory but I wouldn’t 100% rely on the locations. When I looked up my salon, it wasn’t on the map. However, when I looked up the name, it showed up 5 miles from the actual location. I was also surprised to see the local Hooters and Outback Steakhouse, both large chains, on my map as small businesses.
#stayhealthy #staysafe #washyourhands
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This post first appeared on Your Mileage May Vary
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