A Procrastinator’s Strategy For Using AMEX Platinum Card Credits at Saks Fifth Avenue

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If you have an American Express Platinum card, you must take advantage of most of the credits available to break even with the annual fee. In fact, if you can use enough of the credits, you can easily end up several hundred dollars ahead by the end of the year. Some credits, like the Digital Entertainment Credit, are easy to use if you subscribe to the eligible services. One of the other easier credits to use is the $50 bi-yearly Saks Fifth Avenue credit.

I’ve been burned before by Saks’  AMEX credit when buying items from the website near the deadline. Several items sold by Saks Fifth Avenue are shipped directly from the company and not from Saks. That means you’re not charged until the items are shipped, which makes a difference when your statement credit depends on when a charge posts to your account.

In the words of George W. Bush:

There’s an old saying in Tennessee — I know it’s in Texas, probably in Tennessee — that says, fool me once, shame on — shame on you. Fool me — you can’t get fooled again.

Things To Watch For When Ordering from Saks Online

I’m a procrastinator by nature. I tend to wait until the last minute to get things done; just ask my wife, Sharon (Note from Sharon: OMG, it drives me INSANE!). Now that I’ve been burned before, I’m more careful when picking items to order from Saks’. Last year, I saw a nice frying pan I wanted, but since I waited until the last minute, I ended up ordering a shirt in June and waited until July to get the frying pan so I could use both $50 credits.

But I really like that pan and want another one. I found another one on the Saks website and went to order it. Then I saw those dreaded words: “Ships from vendor, shipping time may vary.”

I had several days before the end of the month, so I took a chance and placed my order, hoping it would ship before then. I received an email today letting me know my item has shipped. I’m keeping an eye on the AMEX website to see if the charge from Saks goes from pending to charged.

I don’t like that I need to pay $9.99 shipping to use my $50 credit, but the thought of going to a store to buy a gift card or buying one online just to resell it at a loss seems like more problems than it’s worth. And I’ve learned that if there’s one thing I don’t feel bad about spending money on, it’s good cookware.

If I keep my Platinum Card long enough, I should be able to get a whole set 🙂

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