Has anyone helped out friends without credit cards for points

One of my friends who doesn’t have a credit card just bought a new MacBook Pro that was on sale. The only card he has is a Capital One Platinum with no rewards. I went with him to Best Buy and earned 4800 points by paying with my USBAR, and he sent me the money back right away.

I do this all the time when going out to eat with friends. I’ll pay the bill with my Gold card and have everyone pay me back instead of splitting it.

Does anyone else do this too?

When my wife started her job, she was the junior partner out of six. They always made her buy Visa gift cards for the Christmas gifts for the staff. I guess everyone had cards but didn’t want to do it, so they pushed it onto her.

So we got an Amex Gold card and bought the gift cards at a grocery store, and her partners just Venmoed her their share. We’ve been doing this every year since and end up getting about 40,000 to 60,000 Amex points and about 4-6 free tanks of gas just from the grocery store points.

@elizabethtodd
Has Amex ever given you trouble for that? That’s a lot of gift cards, and I know they can be a bit tricky about it

Nolan said:
@elizabethtodd
Has Amex ever given you trouble for that? That’s a lot of gift cards, and I know they can be a bit tricky about it

After doing it for two years, I heard they might have an issue with people buying gift cards. So I called and asked them about it. I told them this wasn’t manufactured spending, and if I could not use an Amex, I would use another card.

At first, the rep told me that it was against Amex’s terms, but then she put me on hold. After about five minutes, she came back and said it was fine and that I’d keep earning 4x points for it.

I’m not sure why they said it’s okay; maybe they believed it was organic spending or maybe because we spend a lot on our Amex cards every year. Either way, I asked them to note it in my file that they said it was fine, just in case.

@elizabethtodd
Keep us posted on how that goes

Blue said:
@elizabethtodd
Keep us posted on how that goes

It’s been 4 years now with no issues.

elizabethtodd said:

Blue said:
@elizabethtodd
Keep us posted on how that goes

It’s been 4 years now with no issues.

That sounds good, but this is definitely against their rules. If they change their minds, which they can do anytime, you might lose all your points and accounts. Their policies are strict.

@Vine
I told them what I was doing, and they said it was fine. They even noted it in my file. If they screw me over after that, it just means they’re not a company I’d want to deal with anyway. I’m fine with taking my business elsewhere.

@elizabethtodd
A random rep saying it’s fine doesn’t really make it so. Just getting a note in your file doesn’t change anything. Their terms are strict, and they can flag accounts with high rewards from things against those terms.

Amex isn’t a bad company. Every company has its quirks, and they aren’t any different. Think about going to Chase? They can shut down people’s accounts just for small things. Or with Capital One? They just had a big issue with ACH. And Citi? They are known for shutting people down easily due to fraud concerns.

So it takes a lot to get shut down by Amex, but this is definitely something they watch closely. Just keep that in mind.

@Vine
What exactly is against their rules, buying gift cards? I’m a bit confused.

Dustin said:
@Vine
What exactly is against their rules, buying gift cards? I’m a bit confused.

Kind of. They say that gift cards aren’t eligible for rewards. They don’t actively stop you, but they look for it, and if you do it a lot, they could consider it misuse and take your points or close your accounts.

So you can buy them, but it’s a bit risky.

@Vine
How is that against their terms? Would they even know if the store doesn’t say it was gift cards?

Fifer said:
@Vine
How is that against their terms? Would they even know if the store doesn’t say it was gift cards?

Amex can sometimes access detailed transaction data.

Tracy said:

Fifer said:
@Vine
How is that against their terms? Would they even know if the store doesn’t say it was gift cards?

Amex can sometimes access detailed transaction data.

I didn’t realize they could. Thanks for the info!

Fifer said:
@Vine
How is that against their terms? Would they even know if the store doesn’t say it was gift cards?

Every Amex card mentions that buying gift cards is ineligible for rewards, and making those purchases repeatedly, especially in large amounts, triggers their misuse terms.

Every. Single. Time.

As long as I trust the people I’m with, for sure

titusspinks said:
As long as I trust the people I’m with, for sure

Exactly, no IOUs over here

Not for huge expenses, but for things like Airbnb or big group meals, definitely. It’s usually a struggle to convince them.

For sure. If I’m with friends who play the credit card game, we take turns paying for meals.