AmEx Issued AmEx (Explorer) to Buy Westfield Gift Cards

• 

  neil on 22/03/2017 - 13:46

  +1

  Anybody buying the Westfield Gift Cards

  Yes, I use it at Aldi as they don't take Amex and no surcharge for EFTPOS. Works anywhere where they take EFTPOS. (Note there are users here who will try to deny it because they are worried Westfield will shut down the loophole.) Don't know about points question. Wouldn't it depend on the retailer?

  I've started working on this gift card wiki, still a work in progress but have put basic info in there.

  • 

    joeiwu on 22/03/2017 - 13:59

    Thanks Neil, good info. Re. the points question, it would be the primary motivator for me to even purchase the gift card so that everyday spends are still returning points even at retails that doesn't accept AMEX or has unreasonable surcharges. If I may ask what kind of card you purchase your Westfield GC's with, and you still get points as per usual spend at any retailer it is being categorised at? i.e. lets say I bought the Westfield GC's at the Westfield Concierge in person, would my AMEX Explorer still accrual the points as usual? (perhaps this is a question for those who actually have this card?) Thanks!

    • 

      neil on 22/03/2017 - 14:15

      Bought from Westfield via the AMEX Cashback deal. No surcharge for any AMEX cards. Got points as per usual spend (only get extra points for restaurants).

      From the AMEX Explorer Site:

      Earn 2 Membership Rewards points per $1 spent on all purchases except government bodies in Australia where you will earn 0.5 points per $1 spent

      So as long as it's not the government/council etc it should be fine. AMEX don't know what you are spending it on nor do they care.

    • 

      rhodesy22 on 22/03/2017 - 14:15

      +4

      Another option if you're just looking to get amex points on every day purchases - I've found using Apple Pay with my AMEX allows me to use amex where they aren't usually accepted and means I don't get a surcharge. It also removes the tap and pay $100 limit.

      • 

        joeiwu on 22/03/2017 - 21:10

        Didn't know that Apple Pay removes the $100 limit I thought the limit still exists and you will still have to punch in the pin? And re the surcharge perhaps just lucky if they don't ask you what kind of card you are using for Apple Pay right? But this is definitely a good tip, thanks!

• 

  points4life on 22/03/2017 - 14:36

  +3

  You still have to pay $4.95 card fee to get the card + the inconvenience of keeping track of the balance. Why not get a high point earning visa such as the new ANZ https://www.anz.com.au/personal/credit-cards/frequent-flyer/…?

  • 

    joeiwu on 22/03/2017 - 14:59

    +1

    Valid point, was weighing this up and actually we are moving away from ANZ (have Adventures card) because of them removing AMEX but found the AMEX Explorer to have much better earn anyway. Re the inconvenience for a gift card I think it is bearable provided you get a gift card of a max value ($995 I think?) if you +$4.95 it is effectively 0.5% in fee/surcharge for paying for stuff anywhere where AMEX isn't supported or have AMEX surcharges imposed.

    Happy to hear your opinion but I see some advantages in the GC approach v.s. having a VISA:
    1. All points collected are in one place (AMEX Gateway) for flexibility in points transfer
    2. Some places have VISA/MC surcharges but free to use EFTPOS which is essentially what the GC is (an EFTPOS card)
    3. Although annual fee-free first year, from the second year you will be stung with an annual fee. Could cancel and reapply but isn't that more effort (and also hit on credit rating) than to just use $995 dollar GC through AMEX purchase every time required?

    At the moment I have a Coles MC which isn't a bad earn for annual fee of $89 but need to spend $8900 (or thereabouts) to breakeven with annual fee, so thinking whether it is worth keeping.

    Happy to hear your views, thanks!

    • 

      nickomac on 22/03/2017 - 15:16

      -1

      If you haven't already signed up to the Explorer, make sure you use a referral code to get 80k points for the signup instead of the 50k.
      https://www.ozbargain.com.au/deals/americanexpress.com#refer…

      • 

        joeiwu on 22/03/2017 - 15:26

        +1

        Have already thanks for the tip (already used a random referee so hopefully it helped somebody out there).

• 

  daveozsydney on 22/03/2017 - 15:15

  +2

  Yeah I agree with points4life. You're paying for the card plus lose the interest free period (better off in mortgage offset account) and WF make money from people leaving $$ on the card that can't be spent e.g. under $10 when places have $10 minimums, or the cards expiring or being lost. I just got the citibank prestige for 1 point per dollar on visa. Explorer 1.5points per dollar. Not a huge difference. (Explorer are not real Amex points so equivalent of 1.5 points per dollar). Why bother when you can get 75,000 in five mins signing up for the ANZ Black or various other offers that come up. It would take a spend of 150,000 to make that up. Better to focus on the big picture.

  • 

    joeiwu on 22/03/2017 - 15:31

    Hmm food for thought thanks for your views. I guess it does take a bit of organising skills to be able to go the GC route, I thought about the Prestige and I think there's a lot of benefits in that card just not sure if I can justify the annual fee but it also depends on how much use you get out of the perks that come with the card. With a credit check hit do you know how long it takes for the score to move back to the level it was prior to the credit check? Thanks.

    • 

      tomclancy on 22/03/2017 - 15:44

      With a credit check hit do you know how long it takes for the score to move back to the level it was prior to the credit check?

      For me and the Mrs it bounces back entirely the following month (this observation is based only on Credit Savvy reporting)

      • 

        joeiwu on 22/03/2017 - 21:07

        That's nice to know, thanks!