It’s baaaaaack!
If you’re new to the points and miles hobby, you’ll start to see opportunities to redeem points for pretty much anything. Some redemptions are phenomenal and some are terrible. I’ll never steer you wrong, so you don’t have to worry about the latter being posted on this blog.
Anyway, the offer that I’m about to mention falls into that first group…PHENOMENAL!
Over the past year or so we’ve seen this opportunity a few times. Right now you can redeem a small amount of points towards an Amazon purchase and score a 20% discount (up to $50 off). This appears to be a targeted offer so not everyone is eligible. However, I took advantage of this offer in January and February 2020 and, surprisingly, I’m eligible again.
A NOT-SO-GOOD REDEMPTION
Amazon has a program that’s called “Shop With Points” and if you have Amex points you can redeem points for any purchase, anytime. The catch is, and I’m going to straight forward…IT’S A BAD DEAL!
However, the one time it can make sense to redeem points for Amazon purchases is when there’s a great promotion…like right now.
HOW DO YOU SAVE $50?
Amazon is offering a 20% discount (up to $50 off) when you redeem American Express points to pay for a portion of your purchase. In other words, the discount will top out at $250 for the max discount ($250 x .20 = $50).
There are several variations of this deal including (but not limited to):
- Save up to $10 off $100
- Save up to $20 off $100
- Save up to $30 off $100
- Save up to $50 off $125
- Save up to $60 off $120
So here are the steps to check if you’re been targeted:
Step 1: Login to your Amazon account and click on the shopping cart.
Step 2: There should be a banner at the top of the next page that says “Get 20% off when you use American Express Membership Rewards points.” Click on “Learn More.”
Important Note: If you do not see this banner, don’t fret. There’s still hope! You may not be seeing the banner because you have not linked your Amex account to Amazon. CLICK HERE to link your account, then start at Step 1 again.
Step 3: Click the “Activate Now” button. <–This is an important step. You have to do this prior to shopping to receive the discount.
After clicking “Activate Now,” you will receive a message that says “This promo code is now activated and your points will be applied at checkout. Please continue shopping.”
Step 4: Enjoy the savings!!
EXAMPLE, EXAMPLE, EXAMPLE
I activated the offer and returned to my homepage. A Southwest Airlines Gift Card was a featured item (hhmmm…big brother, is that you??) so, I selected the $200 item.
I added the gift card to my cart, and proceeded to the check-out page.
CAVEAT: The amount of points required to cover the entire purchase will be displayed in the ‘points applied’ box. Be sure you change it to .01 (aka 1 point). If you don’t, you’ll be exchanging a lot of points to cover the purchase and THAT’S A BAD DEAL!
As you can see below, I also have a $25 Amazon credit in my account but if you add the $25 to the $134.99 total, you will see that the discount was applied properly.
Again, the discount tops out at $50 but in this example, Southwest Airlines only offers gift cards up to $200 so mine maxed out at $40.
THE GREAT NEWS
It appears that the discount applies to just about anything that Amazon sells, including third party gift cards (as seen above). In other words, you could essentially be saving 20% on Airbnb, Starbucks, Uber, Best Buy, Chipotle, Southwest Airlines, Whole Foods…the list is endless. I know you spend some money at one of these companies, right?
Just make sure you see the discount before pressing “PURCHASE,’ and you’ll be saving up to $50.
FINAL STAMP
This is as easy as it gets. Up to $50 off an Amazon purchase is essentially free money given they sell…well, EVERYTHING!
Again, I’ve taken advantage of this opportunity several times, so I was surprised to be able to do it again. But I kindly accept the gift that keeps giving.
Was your account targeted? Do you plan to take advantage of this offer?
Let’s get straight to the point…some of the links on this site pay 1TattedPassport a referral bonus for anyone that is approved. For our complete advertising policy and details about our partners, please click HERE. Although using the links are completely optional, we are eternally grateful when you do.
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