Introduction
From decreasing the cost of everyday purchases like groceries and cell phone bills to Hacking the Cost of an Engagement Ring, Amex Offers provide one of the most lucrative opportunities in the credit card churning game. The opportunity is so lucrative that earnings can rival signup bonuses as the best return on credit card spend. This post summarizes how I have used Amex Offers to save/profit an average of 21.6% on spend for a combined $3,587 over the past 15 months.
For anyone not familiar with the program, check out our Introduction to Amex Offers.
The Offers
Below is a table that summarizes my Amex Offers activity over the past 15 months, including the merchant, total dollar amount spent per offer, total savings/earnings, rate of return per offer, purchase details, and the number of Amex cards utilized for each offer (see the intro link above for more information on this).
Details regarding my calculations include:
- Additional 1x Membership Reward (MR) earned per dollar spent offers at merchants such at Best Buy are NOT included.
- Base points/cashback and points/cashback earned from category multipliers for spend at grocery stores, gas stations, etc. are NOT included.
- I nearly always cash out my MR via the AmEx Charles Schwab Platinum card at 1.25 cents per point (cpp). Savings for MR-earning offers are calculated to reflect this.
- Cashback or points earned from making purchases through a cashback portal are NOT included.
- In all cases, the “total spend” category corresponds to the cumulative dollar amount on my receipt(s) from the qualifying merchant. For example, if I spent $107 while using a Shipt.com offer for $50 off of $100 spent, the savings is calculated as the quotient of $50 divided by $107 (not $100).
- Activation fees for visa giftcards (VGC) have been included in the total spend column and subtracted from the total earnings per offer. The total rate of return per offer is then calculated. In these cases, the total earnings/savings column reflects profit without accounting for costs associated with liquidating the giftcards.
| Store/Brand | Deal | Number of Cards | Total Spend | Total Earnings/Savings | Rate of Return | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| AT&T | Spend $150, Earn $100 | 2 | $300 | $200 | 66.7% | Available only on business cards. |
| Best Buy | Spend $300, Save $30 | 5 | $1500 | $150 | 10% | Stacked with 2x MR offer per $1 spent. Combination of a TV and 3rd party giftcards. |
| Best Buy | Spend $250, Earn $25 | 6 | $1656 | $94.40 | 5.7% | Purchased (8) $200 VGCs. Stacked with 2x MR per $1 offer. VGC fees subtracted from "total earnings." |
| Boxed | Spend $75, Earn $25 | 10 | $794 | $250 | 31.5% | Stacked with 2x MR offer per $1 spent |
| Cable/Satellite Bill | Spend $100, Earn 1,000 MR (up to 3x) | 5 | $1,500 | $375 | 25% | Cable and cell phone offers stacked. Every $100 in spend net 2,000 MR. |
| Cell Phone Bill | Spend $100, Earn 1,000 MR (up to 3x) | 5 | (stacked with cable offer) | (stacked with cable offer) | (stacked with cable offer) | AT&T purchases triggered both the cable and cell phone offers. The return is calculated jointly above. |
| eBags | Spend $125, Earn $25 | 1 | $129 | $25 | 19.4% | |
| Exxon | Spend $25, Earn 1,000 MR | 8 | $204 | $100 | 49% | |
| Hilton | Spend $175, Earn $35 | 5 | $902 | $175 | 19.4% | |
| Lowe's | Spend $50, Earn 1,000 MR | 4 | $206.95 | $43.05 | 19.6% | Bought (1) $200 VGC. VGC fee subtracted from "total earnings." |
| Lowe's | Spend $50, Earn 1,000 MR | 17 | $857.78 | $184.70 | 16.8% | Bought (9) $200 VGC and paintbrushes. VGC fees subtracted from "total earnings." |
| Martha Stewart Wine Club | Spend $50, Save $40 | 8 | $415.78 | $320 | 77% | 22 bottles of wine purchased ($4.35 per bottle). |
| Office Depot | Spend $50, Earn 1,000 MR or $10 | 5 | $250 | $62.50 | 20% | Purchased Home Depot giftcards |
| Rug Direct | Spend $400, Save $80 | 3 | $1237 | $240 | 19.4% | Purchased rugs for new house. |
| Sam's Club | Spend $1,250, Earn $250 | 2 | $2529.64 | $470.25 | 18.6% | Purchased (5) $500 VGC. VGC fees subtracted from "total earnings." |
| Sam's Club | 5x back up to 1,500 MR | 5 | $1863 | $31.06 | 4.1% | Purchased (9) $200 VGC. VGC fees subtracted from "total earnings." |
| Sam's Club | Spend $30, Earn $15 | 4 | $120 | $60 | 50% | Purchased 3rd party giftcards. |
| Supermarket Rewards | Spend $100, Earn 1,500 MR | 4 | $400 | $75 | 16.9% | Purchased grocery store giftcards. |
| Shipt | Spend $100, Earn $50 | 7 | $884 | $350 | 39.6% | |
| Staples | Spend $100, Earn 2,000 MR | 3 | $414 | $61.10 | 14.7% | Purchased (2) $200 VGC. VGC fees subtracted from "total earnings." |
| Stitch Fix | Spend $50, Earn $25 | 2 | $132 | $50 | 37.9% | |
| Total Wine & More | Spend $100, Earn 2,000 MR | 8 | $800 | $200 | 20% | Purchased merchant gift cards. |
| Walmart | Spend $50, Save $10 | 7 | $350 | $70 | 20% | Purchased merchant e-giftcards. |
| TOTALS | $16,645 | $3,587 | 21.6% |
Conclusion
My total spend across all Amex offers is $16,645, leading to a combined savings and profit of $3,587 and a rate of return equal to 21.6%! This rate of return is actually lower than the true rate earned on spend because rewards from cashback portals or reimbursement for work travel/purchases are not included in my calculations.To take full advantage of some of the offers, such as the stackable AT&T and cell phone/cable TV offers, I prepaid my accounts to lock in the savings. Having money to float certainly helps when a limited time offer appears.
Additionally, this post summarizes why I’m an advocate for diversifying your Amex card portfolio across a combination of personal, business, credit, and charge cards, as some offers only become available on a particular type of Amex card.
Have you been able to use Amex Offers to save money or earn some profit? Other Questions? Let me know in the comments!