UPDATE - $25 credit for ALL AMEX holders - Nov. 26th only (not just Starwood)

[nightnurse613]

Not only did they limit it to today only-they limited it to the first 300,000 registrations. After all, just because they got $3B in the bailout, they can't be spending their money foolishly anymore.

 

[stevedmatt]

My wife and I both went to the same location. We each spent over $25 using 2 cards linked to the same account. We both received email confirmations stating our statement credit would appear in 3-5 days.

$50 off of $90 purchase. AWESOME!

 

[falmouth3]

I received an email too. Dinner tonight will be on DH's Amex and we'll have our 2 credits. I put 2 small business charges on my card today. I think it's generous of Amex - they don't need to do this promotion.

 

[JeffW]

Dear: __ __

Congratulations, you completed all qualifying transactions on your Card
ending in xxxxx. Expect a statement credit in 3-5 days.

Thank you for supporting Small Business Saturday®!

Nice! So hopefully credit shows up on same statement as the charge, meaning no payment for the month.

Jeff

 

[ronandjoan]

We'reactually going to lunch at a participating small business and the registration is already full....we did not get an email from AMEX...shucks

 

[beanie]

Just received my e-mail .it was hard finding small business's in our area that took amex . went to our local pool store first, they didn't take it but bought the chlorine anyway , then went to the spa store for chemicals for our spa , same thing they didn't take amex but bought the chemicals anyway. then we went to a place called O'bees for lunch and even though they told us they weren't a chain , turns out they are . finally the local health food store is were I think we actually received our credit . we should make every saturday "small business saturday " even without the amex credit .

 

[RALnGA]

My wife and I both got e-mails about credit within 5 days ...We have different accounts SPG AMEX cards....We bought two $25 gift cards for one of our favorite eating places of which we will use at a later date ... and not only free meals ,but also 50 SPG points ...WOW :rofl:
Thanks AMEX ...
RAL

 

[Talent312]

We just got confirmation of one $25 credit, but dunno what to do for the second.
Hmmm, I wonder if I can order from the local Burrito Bros. online?

 

[presley]

I worked all day. I hope I can still get credit if I eat out tonight.

 

[jackio]

DH and I ate out at the local burger joint on one card, then headed over to a small local grocery store and used the other.
Thanks again for posting this offer - if I hadn't tuned in I never would have been aware of it!

 

[pranas]

Thanks for posting this information. I used my credit to purchase meat at a small European sausage shop. Hopefully, next year I will get an e-mail announcement about this event.

 

[amycurl]

I thought it was great that they sent both a reminder e-mail about Small Business Saturday and the instant confirmations! I'm just bummed that we realized too late yesterday that we had failed to register our two Delta Sky Miles cards (that we don't regularly use and carry) so we left $50 on the table. (We had registered our two Costco cards, and my DH HH biz card.)

We supported a local wine merchant (and picked up one Christmas gift,) a local used book/movie/game shop, and had a yummy sushi dinner downtown. Thanks for the $75!

I think this promotion really demonstrates the understanding they have about both their merchant base and their customer base, as it would support the one and resonate so well with the other.

 

[klpca]

I thought it was great that they sent both a reminder e-mail about Small Business Saturday and the instant confirmations! I'm just bummed that we realized too late yesterday that we had failed to register our two Delta Sky Miles cards (that we don't regularly use and carry) so we left $50 on the table. (We had registered our two Costco cards, and my DH HH biz card.)

We supported a local wine merchant (and picked up one Christmas gift,) a local used book/movie/game shop, and had a yummy sushi dinner downtown. Thanks for the $75!

I think this promotion really demonstrates the understanding they have about both their merchant base and their customer base, as it would support the one and resonate so well with the other.

Are your Costco cards on the same account? If so, I never thought to register both cards! I'll remember that for next year.

I tried to use ours at our local day spa to buy a gift card for my daughter but the owner doesn't accept Amex. When I mentioned the small business Saturday promotion he told me that the vendors have to pay for that promotion. I assumed that Amex and FedEx paid for those promotions. Does anyone know who really subsidizes this promotion?

 

[ScubaKat]

I don't think that the vendors had to pay for the promotion. The places we used it at had no idea when we asked about small business Saturday but said they did take AmEX. We got the confirmation email from all of them..

Thanks again for posting this deal.. We are still at Myrtle Beach.. Took dd to the Aquarium yesterday morning and had received a confirmation after getting tickets! That was a surprise. Then we used the second one for a yummy dinner at a Japanese restaurant.. Final card credit was used at a cheesey beach souvenir store since we have never been into one the multiple times we have been here.. :rofl:

Are your Costco cards on the same account? If so, I never thought to register both cards! I'll remember that for next year.

I tried to use ours at our local day spa to buy a gift card for my daughter but the owner doesn't accept Amex. When I mentioned the small business Saturday promotion he told me that the vendors have to pay for that promotion. I assumed that Amex and FedEx paid for those promotions. Does anyone know who really subsidizes this promotion?

 

[amycurl]

Yes, you can register each card you have on the account. Yay! (Which is why I was also bummed that we failed to register both cards on our Delta Skymiles AmExes...)

And, no, the merchant doesn't pay (well, outside of their regular merchant fees, I suppose, for taking AmEx in the first place.) They didn't even have to "opt-in." As long as they
1) take AmEx
2) were locally owned (and not a national franchisee) and
3)"small"
they were automatically included. It did look like some merchants were able to get signage for their stores--I'm not sure if they had to purchase that from AmEx if they wanted it, or if it was free and they just had to order it from them. None of the places we purchased from had it, although we did see the signage at other stores in the weeks leading up to Saturday. A few places had been sure to mention it it as their "offer" on Foursquare that day.

 

[Sandi Bo]

Thanks Denise. We used ours, as did my Dad in Florida, and my daughter. It was an interesting exercise to increase awareness for our small business owners (and who uses Am Ex).

Kind of funny, I first purchased a gas card from a BP station. They came up on the Am Ex website as qualifying. However, I did not get a congratulatory email. I used the the card again at a locally owned restaurant and did receive the email. (So I'm out the gas card I thought made sense to purchase and give to my son - the pizza delivery boy).

My daughter shopped online. She picked someone she thought would qualify, but was not sure. She did not receive the email on the first purchase, but did on a second merchant. I can only guess that the first merchant did not process her transaction real time.

I had to do my homework on my Dad's, as I had to register him and tell him where to go. The first restaurant, even though it came up on facebook, did not accept Am Ex. I ran into that a couple times. But for Dad I did call ahead and make sure he could use it and he did get his Congratulary email. He was thrilled.

Bottom line, watch for you Congratulatory email to be sure your purchase qualified. That seemed to be the only way to really know.

 

[DebBrown]

I'm just bummed that we realized too late yesterday that we had failed to register our two Delta Sky Miles cards (that we don't regularly use and carry) so we left $50 on the table. (We had registered our two Costco cards, and my DH HH biz card.)
.

Same here! I registered 5 cards and forgot about 2 others that were through citibank. Maybe I don't need to be so greedy. We got $125 credit and supported our favorite local retailers. It was a nice and easy promotion.

Deb

 

[pwrshift]

The offer is for all AMEX card holders.

To get the $25, you must spend $25 at a small local business on Nov. 26th.

I came across this thread after the closing date, but it probably didn't apply to Canadians anyways.

Brian

 

[Jestjoan]

Many thanks to the OP and TUG. We bought an all wooden dog brush at our dog
show. The email from AMEX was sent practically right away.

The vendor tried to get DH to use a different card.

 

[sail27bill]

Thanks Denise for posting this

We used both our cards. Used Hubby's for breakfast and mine for our drycleaning. Love our Tug membership.

Anita

 

[klpca]

Thanks for the info. I kind of figured that the vendor that I spoke to was wrong - he's a bit on the cranky side (it's a good thing he works for himself because I'm not sure he would last anywhere as an employee, haha)

And next year I'll register both cards!

Yes, you can register each card you have on the account. Yay! (Which is why I was also bummed that we failed to register both cards on our Delta Skymiles AmExes...)

And, no, the merchant doesn't pay (well, outside of their regular merchant fees, I suppose, for taking AmEx in the first place.) They didn't even have to "opt-in." As long as they
1) take AmEx
2) were locally owned (and not a national franchisee) and
3)"small"
they were automatically included. It did look like some merchants were able to get signage for their stores--I'm not sure if they had to purchase that from AmEx if they wanted it, or if it was free and they just had to order it from them. None of the places we purchased from had it, although we did see the signage at other stores in the weeks leading up to Saturday. A few places had been sure to mention it it as their "offer" on Foursquare that day.

 

[Carol C]

Denise...you rock! I was able to read this thread in time to register two Amex cards, and hubby and I had a nice lunch at a good Mexican restaurant we used to frequent. And I also bought two CDs at Criminal Records in ATL for nephews' stocking stuffers. You saved me 50 bucks...thank you so much for all you do for TUGgers. Happy holidays to you and yours!

It looks like this is for ALL AMEX holders.

AND - This offer is good for ALL small local businesses that accept AMEX - NOT just the ones on Facebook.

You can ignore the Facebook list of restaurants - it's merely a list of restaurants with Facebook pages..

-------------------------------------------------------------

This is the real deal - I did it last year.

If you and your spouse have cards with different numbers, you can each get the offer by registering each card separately: https://www.facebook.com/SmallBusinessSaturday?sk=app_183558821725512



Note that you must REGISTER each card separately.

Yes, the announcement is on Facebook, but the registration link takes you to AMEX, and AMEX sent me an email with the Facebook link - so no worries.

 

[DeniseM]

One thing to note for next year is that the business doesn't really have to be SMALL - it just has to be a locally owned business that is not a chain. We were in Tahoe on Saturday and we got our credits by charging meals at 2 local hotel/casinos. They aren't really "small" but they are locally/privately owned.

 

[judyjht]

I registered and used both of my cards but did not get a congrats email from AMEX. What does that mean??

 

[DeniseM]

I registered and used both of my cards but did not get a congrats email from AMEX. What does that mean??

Where did you shop?

Did you check your spam folder?