| by Mr Credit Card |
American Express Gift Cards are one of the most popular gift cards. They can be purchased online here in denominations of $25, $50, $100, $200, $500, $700, $1000, $2000 and $3000 (subject to a shipping charge, in addition to the purchase fee). But American Express Gift Card are a little different from Visa Gift Cards and below are some explanations to frequently asked questions about them.
The American Express Gift Card is a non-reloadable card that can be used anywhere in the US, Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands (as long as the merchants accept Amex off course!). They can be used at both off-line and online retailers as well as mailorders. However, they cannot be used at cruise lines, for recurring billing purchases, or at casinos or ATMs and international airlines.
What to do before you use the card? – Before you use the card, you should sign on the back of the card. American Express advices gift card holders to actually write down their customer service number and their gift card number separately in case they lose (good advice). You should also take note of the four digit security number at the front of the card.
How to use your card? – You can use your card simply at merchants that accept American Express. Just make sure you sign your receipt as you did on your gift card. If you do not have sufficient funds in your account for a particular purchase, some merchants may split the transaction so that you pay some with the gift card and the other portion with a check or some other means. Some merchants however, will not allow that.
Things to be aware of – Because gift cards are not credit cards, there are a couple differences that you have to be aware of.
Service Fees – If you do not use up your gift card by 12 months, American Express will deduct a monthly service fee of $2.
How to track your balance? – To obtain your balance or if you have any questons, you can go to www.americanexpress.com/giftcard or call toll free within the United States – 1-877-AXP-GIFT (“Customer Service Number”).
What if you lose your gift card? – The number to call if your card is stolen is 1-877-297-4438. You must call immediately because you will only be reimbursed the amount that is used “after” you call to report your lost card. Hence, it is very important to keep that sheet of paper with your gift card number and their phone number handy.
Purchase Fees – The cost for purchasing an American Express Gift Card will obviously be the amount you want in the gift card and also a fee of $3.95 plus shipping cost.
Verdict – The American Express® Gift Card is one of the most popular gift cards. Unlike many other Visa type gift cards, the card is actually pretty good looking and smart. You can them in $25, $50, $100, $200 and $500 denominations. You can also up to 50 cards at once and up to $5,000 worth of card within a 14 day period.
Amex also offers a American Express® Business Gift Card. You can the business gift cards in $25, $50, $100, $200 and $500 denominations. You can up to 1,400 cards and the maximum value that you can in 14 days is $35,000.
If you do not have an idea for a gift for someone, then something like the American Express Gift Card will make a perfect gift.
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March 2nd, 2011 at 16:46
The American Express gift card that I received was not accepted by almost all merchants who accept American Express. The clerks do not know how to use them. Some of them would swipe the card then tell me they did not know what the balance was, others told me that they showed a balance but they were sure it was not accurate as they never are. They did not know how to apply the card if my purchase was more than the balance. I called the AE help number on the back only to get an option to talk to a rep, and when I would press that option it would disconnect (I tried 3 separate occassions). Also if I tried to take the survey, that option also diconnected me. What a ripoff! The card is useless. I will never give them as a gift in the future again after receiving one. I pity those people I gave them to in the past. Sorry, folks.