10,000 bonus points per 20 transactions

[beardoc]

Been a while since I used a parking meter then. Didn't even know they took credit cards!

All City of Sydney ones do now - not all councils do this, though. Leichhardt Council does not. I will keep paying cash when I am parking in Leichhardt.

 

[simongr]

I'm not talking about the other person in the thread that was running up other people's meters. I was making the point that 50c or $1 transactions are valid - I drive to various points around Sydney city and park for just a few minutes each place to go to particular businesses, so I have dollar coins that I normally use for these situations. Today, I used Amex. These are my normal spending habit, just that today it was on Amex rather than with cash. The point of it being that not all $1 transactions are necessarily fraudulent.

Apologies - perfectly sensible.

 

[lovetravellingoz]

Luisa Megale, VP for Public Affairs & Communications at American Express asked me to post this note on her behalf...

Thanks Luisi...as per my earlier posts this is what I would assume would happen and hence my earlier posts to caution people about abuse (ie splitting one bill into many small amounts etc).


However having said that I have taken your promotion to be an invitation to use the AMEX as much as possible. A very kind invitation which I have acted on immediately by:

* thinking what I can use my AMEX to buy and from this going out and buying things now that otherwise may have not occured for a while. I have already bought my Daughters Birthday Present for example even though her birthday is not till December.

* Using Amex where I would otherwise use cash
* avoiding stores etc that I know do not accept Amex
* actually actively seeking out who has AMEX. Prerviously and especially in the past I was not that fussed and would use my VISA if Amex was not accpeted. It is now a major decision factor!!!
* shopping more (I am not usually a very enthisiastic shopper!!!) and have gone out and started using my card to buy various things from a wide range of stores that I might have otherwise waited a while to do.

Given your promotion I will certaintly be going on a shopping splurge this weekend. However I would imagine that shopping fatigue will set before long, as well as my imagination about what to buy!!! Indeed I have actually gone shopping the last two lunchtimes, browsing for bargaisn etc and that is something that I would have been reluctant to do during the working week in the past.

 

[lovetravellingoz]

But thank you to Louisa VP Amex to reiterate the unacceptable abuse of the promo - and thus I infer that it is wrong to pay your Council rates in $1.00 increments.

And those that have already done so are probably going to find their accounts stripped of points unless they can offer a genuine and plausible reason why they have done so. Which would be hard to imagine.

 

[straitman]

Luisa,
(via admin),

Thanks for the input and the clarification.

Unfortunately there will be a bunch who will attempt to use/abuse everything, but fortunately I believe they are in the minority. I personally look forward to the bonus being provided and yes my spending pattern is high at the moment but along with a bunch of others from here & FT we are in Christchurch on holidays and that is when I normally use my card the most.

Thanks again.

 

[oz_mark]

Luisa,
(via admin),

Thanks for the input and the clarification.

Unfortunately there will be a bunch who will attempt to use/abuse everything, but fortunately I believe they are in the minority. I personally look forward to the bonus being provided and yes my spending pattern is high at the moment but along with a bunch of others from here & FT we are in Christchurch on holidays and that is when I normally use my card the most.

Thanks again.

Hi Bill,

Unless you can convince Luisa that Christchurch is in Australia, I don't think your transactions count:

Membership Rewards Bonus Point offers are valid for purchases made in Australia and charged to an eligible Australian dollar American Express Card.

 

[gibspmuh]

I personally look forward to the bonus being provided and yes my spending pattern is high at the moment but along with a bunch of others from here & FT we are in Christchurch on holidays and that is when I normally use my card the most.

Just keep in mind that according to the T&C's it's only spend within Australia that counts - so don't go too wild with the Amex over there in Christchurch.

 

[QF WP]

I'm pleased to see the voice of reason has spoken (aka Luisa) via admin. Exactly what the majority probably expected to hear.

I'm sure Amex's exception reports will be reviewing the transactions very closely and I'm sure they will have worked out what's acceptable spending patterns and what is not and then apply the rules accordingly.

 

[anat0l]

Membership Rewards Bonus Point offers are valid for purchases made in Australia and charged to an eligible Australian dollar American Express Card.

This is pretty easy for places where you simply walk up and buy stuff.

I'm thinking about iTunes. I can't remember whether the prices are in A$, but even so if the agent for iTunes online is American that means transactions would count for squat in this promotion.

 

[lovetravellingoz]

So following on from the AMEX rep has said:

* if you are enrolled for all 3, or the wrong promotion, I would suggest you ring and change it to the correct one.
* if you did not get a postcard, pray that there is one in the mail for you
*shop bountifully (or as the rep put it, to visit the thousands of new stores which of course means ample opportunities for many transactions), but don't abuse what is generous offer by bill splitting etc...and remember that any such activicty is recorded in your accounts and that software can easilly detect such activity on an automated basis.

 

[gibspmuh]

I'm thinking about iTunes. I can't remember whether the prices are in A$, but even so if the agent for iTunes online is American that means transactions would count for squat in this promotion.

You can always buy yourself an iTunes card at a retailer using the Amex and load the credits on from there - Target has an offer of buy 2x$20 cards for $30 at the moment apparently! (OK, it's not as good as getting 5000 points for downloading 5 songs - but still a decent saving ).

 

[JohnK]

Good to hear from Amex endorsing the promotion.

I have no idea if I was targetted or not as I do have only been home for a few hours this week and did not remember any postcards laying around. Hopefully I will be enrolled in MYREWARD based on number of transactions and the amount of money I spent per month. Either way I would be happy if I can end up woth 40,000 MR points by the end of December....

 

[futaris]

There is always Bigpond Music and Optus Zoo Music

 

[Alanslegal]

So following on from the AMEX rep has said:

* if you did not get a postcard, pray that there is one in the mail for you

Luisa from Amex, per post 267, says"""I just wanted to let you know that the offer will be restricted to Cardmembers who received the invitation in the mail; and Cardmembers who are currently enrolled, even if the offer was not intended for them.""

From this, I would be assuming anyone who registered prior to this announcement is validly registered, regardless if the promo was intended for you or not.

 

[oz_mark]

...and one would imagine that if they do a promotion like this again, they will explicitly state that it is for the person it was addressed to, just like Priority Club do.

 

[Mal]

...and one would imagine that if they do a promotion like this again, they will explicitly state that it is for the person it was addressed to, just like Priority Club do.

Many years ago, a local supermarket had 'Shop'a'Dockets' that allowed the recipient a free Goldfish valued at about $1.50. Of course this didn't interest many people, but there were people who would look for those particular dockets to redeem, and they redeemed quite a few fish. On the next iteration of the promotion, there was a rider of a $5 purchase or something like that. One assumes they had too many takers of their promotion and gave away too many goldfish for free- without an increase in sales. This was way before the Internet even existed...

Amex and other large organisations know that information sharing networks exist over the Internet, and that open offers will be advertised to others outside of the target pool. If the "acceptance" systems of the promotions, and the T&C's of the promotions are sufficiently lax to allow anyone to register and use and 'abuse' (this is a very loose term btw), then the original offer was incorrectly conceived and or marketed.

I think the offer is great - even though I havn't received my postcard yet (or perhaps was never in the target pool). Without abusing the system, I expect to get a decent number of points from the promotion. My Amex card is getting a better workout at the moment with new vendors and old vendors.

 

[yo yo ma]

...and one would imagine that if they do a promotion like this again, they will explicitly state that it is for the person it was addressed to, just like Priority Club do.

And they will make it for all purchases above a nominal amount, say $20 or $30...

 

[rodgerbranch]

Where is the TERMS AND conditions disclosure statement ???

I am very concerned about the way this promotion is conducted. There is not a disclosure statement available on the AMEX website or from their call centers. They will tell you verbally what the deal is about, but won’t send you a printed copy of the rules….

If the offer is so vague and the word NO CAP is used then I guess the ACCC and the Ombudsman will be interested in having a look if Amex customers go nuts buying thing (big or small) and get NO POINTS.

As I understand (from the Amex lady on the phone this afternoon), points are calculated at the end of your monthly statement. Now this offer runs from SEP08 to end DEC08 So I guess no one has received any myrewards points yet to proof the limits of the offer … We may all be shopping like crazy without knowing what’s the catch. Hope there is not a fee for signing up for the PROMO… LOL

 

[aus_flyer]

Re: Where is the TERMS AND conditions disclosure statement ???

Now this offer runs from SEP08 to end DEC08 So I guess no one has received any myrewards points yet to proof the limits of the offer

As already posted, some have received their bonuses

 

[lovetravellingoz]

Re: Where is the TERMS AND conditions disclosure statement ???

I am very concerned about the way this promotion is conducted. There is not a disclosure statement available on the AMEX website or from their call centers. They will tell you verbally what the deal is about, but won’t send you a printed copy of the rules….

If the offer is so vague and the word NO CAP is used then I guess the ACCC and the Ombudsman will be interested in having a look if Amex customers go nuts buying thing (big or small) and get NO POINTS.

As I understand (from the Amex lady on the phone this afternoon), points are calculated at the end of your monthly statement. Now this offer runs from SEP08 to end DEC08 So I guess no one has received any myrewards points yet to proof the limits of the offer … We may all be shopping like crazy without knowing what’s the catch. Hope there is not a fee for signing up for the PROMO… LOL

There is some wording on the postcard you were sent....which also refers you back to the T&C that applies to MR.