American Express Offers $5 off a $5 iTunes/App Store Purchase

[unplugme71]

1) It is only available in the United States (why isn't that mentioned in the article?).
2) I wish Apple would allow things to be bought with AMEX through their App/iTunes store because is the one thing that stops me from owning an AMEX card - the lack of places where I can use it.

Where do you live?

I use my AMEX for almost everything:

Pay my cable/internet bill, car insurance, cell phone, gas, groceries, plane tickets, hotels, car parts/service, etc. I probably use it 90% of the time to build up points for miles or statement credit.

The only thing I dislike about my Amex Preferred Gold is that their Blue Cash offers better rewards and no annual fee with ability to carry a balance. I don't see any extra 'perks' for $175 a year.

 

[akbarali.ch]

Maybe iWallet is close by !

 

[evilrt]

I have a blue cash preferred and it is not offered to me.

 

[WallToWallMacs]

Where do you live?

I use my AMEX for almost everything:

Pay my cable/internet bill, car insurance, cell phone, gas, groceries, plane tickets, hotels, car parts/service, etc. I probably use it 90% of the time to build up points for miles or statement credit.

The only thing I dislike about my Amex Preferred Gold is that their Blue Cash offers better rewards and no annual fee with ability to carry a balance. I don't see any extra 'perks' for $175 a year.

Located in New Zealand (mentioned many times in past posts) - AMEX charges more than VISA and Mastercard hence you're less likely to see AMEX available at stores. The iTunes AppStore/Music store in NZ doesn't support it but the Apple Store does support it (where you buy Mac's etc). I wish Apple would support AMEX for their AppStore/iTunes Store then I'd be more inclined to have an AMEX card.

 

[unplugme71]

Located in New Zealand (mentioned many times in past posts) - AMEX charges more than VISA and Mastercard hence you're less likely to see AMEX available at stores. The iTunes AppStore/Music store in NZ doesn't support it but the Apple Store does support it (where you buy Mac's etc). I wish Apple would support AMEX for their AppStore/iTunes Store then I'd be more inclined to have an AMEX card.

I'm assuming if AMEX is charging more in your country due to higher theft or lack of payment from consumers (Could be other factors too). That extra cost is the reason why they don't accept it on iTunes. It would cause Apple to loose profit on the song, etc.. whereas the Apple Store can handle the increase in transaction fee.

However, the fees can be very small with large companies. I'd be shocked if Apple even pays Amex more than 1%. I believe Wal-Mart pays something like 0.5% or less for MC/Visa transactions due to its significant volume.

 

[macizcool]

Does anyone with experience with Amex offers know how long they take to post to your account?

P.S.- Not showing on my Premier Gold Rewards

 

[WallToWallMacs]

I'm assuming if AMEX is charging more in your country due to higher theft or lack of payment from consumers (Could be other factors too). That extra cost is the reason why they don't accept it on iTunes. It would cause Apple to loose profit on the song, etc.. whereas the Apple Store can handle the increase in transaction fee.

However, the fees can be very small with large companies. I'd be shocked if Apple even pays Amex more than 1%. I believe Wal-Mart pays something like 0.5% or less for MC/Visa transactions due to its significant volume.

It all comes down to volume - Diners Club is pretty much the same situation as well. It is the fact that the infrastructure in NZ either runs on Mastercard and VISA so what you have are two companies for a population of 4.4million which provide the backbone for interbank transactions, EFTPOS, debit card, credit cards etc. which means that both provide a lot of services in NZ which means their over all costing can be lower where as AMEX only provide credit and debit facilities that are only available directly from them where as transactions can be processed by many players and offered by many banks. If AMEX reduced their cost to 30cents per transaction (which would be inline with EFTPOS transactions costs) then there would be more vendors willing to use it but the cost of transactions in NZ can be upwards of 3.4% which most vendors aren't willing to carry. Those costs are coming down - I think part of the problem is the chicken/egg scenario and prior not having a low interest entry level credit card didn't help things either.

 

[rye9]

You can also just gift yourself an app (or a few apps). Not the one where you send directly to their email, but more generically where you print out a gift code. This way it charges to your Amex because gifts are never paid for by credit on your account.

I'm still a bit confused... how do I do multiple apps? I don't think the credit will be given back on the AMEX account unless a single purchase is $5 or more, right? As in, you can't buy two $3 apps and still get it? Maybe I'm wrong...

 

[darkslide29]

I'm still a bit confused... how do I do multiple apps? I don't think the credit will be given back on the AMEX account unless a single purchase is $5 or more, right? As in, you can't buy two $3 apps and still get it? Maybe I'm wrong...

I will explain why you're wrong. You can buy two $3 apps, as you mentioned as an exmaple, or any combination you can think of.

It is not required that you spend all $5 at once. You just need to spend the $5+ by April 30 total, and then Amex will credit your statement.

For example, AmEx regularly has deals like this for places like BestBuy. For BestBuy, it was spend $250, get $25 back. You did not need to spend $250 all at once. It could have been $150 one day, and $100 the week after. Once I finally got over the $250, they immediately sent me an email letting me know thanks for using their rewards program. So long as you hit the threshhold and it posts by the deadline, it'll work.

Note that the $5 is a little inconvenient, in that a $4.99 app will not hit the threshhold and you'll need to spend $1 more. (Or 6 $0.99 apps to reach a total of $5.94).

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Does anyone with experience with Amex offers know how long they take to post to your account?

P.S.- Not showing on my Premier Gold Rewards

It should post within a couple of days. Typically 2-3 days in the dozen times that I've used Amex Sync. In this instance, iTunes charged my card on 4/6, and today 4/8 my credit posted.
After signing up and loading the offer up on your card, it should have notified you "thanks for using Amex Sync" somewhat immediately by App push notification or an email.

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For those who have absolutely no apps they want to buy, and are on the fence about signing up for iTunes Match, or getting iCloud storage, this is a great way to get $5 off.
You will be charged by iTunes, and those two services bypass any gift cards on your account. iTunes Match and iCloud Storage are not payable by gift card or credit on your account. Just make sure to sign up for the Amex offer first, and make the AmEx your default card in your iTunes account.

My yearly billing cycle for my iCloud storage happened to be a couple of days ago. I was charged, and credited $5. And now I'm too lazy to change the default credit card back to anything else. Doesn't really make a difference to me. Well done, Amex. Well done.

 

[bobr1952]

Good timing for me. I've had an American Express card forever but haven't used it much--mostly because of their rewards program. But I noticed a few days ago that they no longer have an annual fee for the rewards program associated with the Blue card--so this iTunes offer seems like a great place to start using my card more.

 

[unplugme71]

I'm still a bit confused... how do I do multiple apps? I don't think the credit will be given back on the AMEX account unless a single purchase is $5 or more, right? As in, you can't buy two $3 apps and still get it? Maybe I'm wrong...

its combined purchases

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It all comes down to volume - Diners Club is pretty much the same situation as well. It is the fact that the infrastructure in NZ either runs on Mastercard and VISA so what you have are two companies for a population of 4.4million which provide the backbone for interbank transactions, EFTPOS, debit card, credit cards etc. which means that both provide a lot of services in NZ which means their over all costing can be lower where as AMEX only provide credit and debit facilities that are only available directly from them where as transactions can be processed by many players and offered by many banks. If AMEX reduced their cost to 30cents per transaction (which would be inline with EFTPOS transactions costs) then there would be more vendors willing to use it but the cost of transactions in NZ can be upwards of 3.4% which most vendors aren't willing to carry. Those costs are coming down - I think part of the problem is the chicken/egg scenario and prior not having a low interest entry level credit card didn't help things either.

Hmm.. I've seen Amex for a new store owner as low as 2.5% which isn't that bad. If they can even do $1000/mo volume, it can drop to 2.3%. And it decreases the rate from there.

 

[darkslide29]

Good timing for me. I've had an American Express card forever but haven't used it much--mostly because of their rewards program. But I noticed a few days ago that they no longer have an annual fee for the rewards program associated with the Blue card--so this iTunes offer seems like a great place to start using my card more.

Keep an eye out for offers. I downloaded the Amex app and they have a rewards section for offers to add to your account. The app says I've saved $350 so far!
I usually will go for things like $25 off $250 at Best Buy (a couple of times now), $5 off $25 at Whole Foods Market, $25 off $100 at Staples, $15 off $115 at Costco, $30 off $100 at TigerDirect, to name a few. My gf really enjoyed the $50 off $100 Flemings Steakhouse offer a while back (and I didn't say a word to her, just went in there like it was no big deal hehe). $5 off $5 at McDonalds was a good one.. Looking at my rewards history, so many.

Note that physical gift cards are OK to get in these deals (and the terms will specifically say physical gift cards OK, electronic gift cards are excluded). So for these BestBuy or Staples deals, I usually go in and buy an Amazon or iTunes gift card and stock up on those gift cards I'll eventually use anyway.

Right now, there's a Lowe's $10 off $50 (they sell gift cards), and a couple of $5 off $25 offers for Petco and Petsmart among others. Offers vary by card (don't know if it is targeted or random, but most probably have these). They seem to add new offers every month or so, especially after this round expires on 4/30, so keep an eye out.

 

[bobr1952]

Keep an eye out for offers. I downloaded the Amex app and they have a rewards section for offers to add to your account. The app says I've saved $350 so far!
I usually will go for things like $25 off $250 at Best Buy (a couple of times now), $5 off $25 at Whole Foods Market, $25 off $100 at Staples, $15 off $115 at Costco, $30 off $100 at TigerDirect, to name a few. My gf really enjoyed the $50 off $100 Flemings Steakhouse offer a while back (and I didn't say a word to her, just went in there like it was no big deal hehe). $5 off $5 at McDonalds was a good one.. Looking at my rewards history, so many.

Note that physical gift cards are OK to get in these deals (and the terms will specifically say physical gift cards OK, electronic gift cards are excluded). So for these BestBuy or Staples deals, I usually go in and buy an Amazon or iTunes gift card and stock up on those gift cards I'll eventually use anyway.

Right now, there's a Lowe's $10 off $50 (they sell gift cards), and a couple of $5 off $25 offers for Petco and Petsmart among others. Offers vary by card (don't know if it is targeted or random, but most probably have these). They seem to add new offers every month or so, especially after this round expires on 4/30, so keep an eye out.

Thanks for the tips--I'll check them out.

 

[adam044]

I have a blue cash preferred and it is not offered to me.

Same with blue cash everyday here.

 

[Cyclone Chris]

Works fine on my Amex platinum.

 

[bliggs]

Same issue I have but I believe if you buy a gift card on iTunes it uses your card and not your credit. Maybe buy a $5+ gift card and get the statement credit? I'll try that later once they confirm enrollment on my card first.

Yes, you are correct. I added my AMEX card, purchased a $10 gift card and then removed it after. It did bill my card for the purchase even though i had gift card money already on the account.

 

[vaniach]

$5 off on %5 itunes

It is really good deal for person who has american express card.

 

[ipodlover77]

Does anybody know if in app purchases count towards the five?

 

[zxj]

Has anyone tried if this offer works for Mac App Store? I don't have anything to buy on iTunes.

Thanks!

 

[scott182]

Has anyone tried if this offer works for Mac App Store? I don't have anything to buy on iTunes.

Thanks!

Just send yourself an iTunes gift card within iTunes (minimum is $10). I can confirm that the $5 credit will show up in your account a few days later. Then you can use it for the Mac App Store as well.