Free $25 from American Express: Small Business Saturday (Updated 2012)
Registration is live for 2012. American Express has confirmed that they will bring back Small Business Saturday (SBS) on November 24th, 2012, where you can get a $25 statement credit per card for shopping at any small business and spending $25 or more in a single, in-store transaction. You must link up your American Express card first, and registration starts on November 18th at 12 AM Mountain Standard Time (2 AM Eastern). The number of participants is limited and this promo is getting quite popular, so I would plan on enrolling some time during the first day to be safe.
This year, in an apparent attempt to avoid confusion as to what qualifies as a “small business”, AmEx is stating that you must visit a business located on their Shop Small® Map at ShopSmall.com or one of these Square merchants that take AmEx. I tried it out and the directory is pretty thorough, although I’d avoid the map and look carefully instead at the text listings on the left. Many, many places to choose from. If you don’t have anything specific in mind, even gift cards to a local restaurant, grocer, hardware store, or clothing boutique count.
I think this is a very creative way for American Express to tell the public that they’ve greatly increased acceptance of their cards at small businesses, which has always been their relative weak spot due to their slightly higher fees for the merchant. (It also makes small business that aren’t accepting AmEx to think twice…) A small business owner yourself? This year AmEx is offering some free geo-target online advertising for you.
I’ve already mentioned that the only annual fee card I voluntarily pay for is the Starwood Preferred Guest® Credit Card from American Express which has an annual fee of $65 (first year is free). But I love that promotions like this effectively cancel out the annual fee. My wife gets her own card as an authorized user with no additional annual fee. As each American Express card has its own unique number, each one can be enrolled separately for a $25 credit. Multiply that by the multiple AmEx cards that my wife and I have, and we’re getting over $100 with SBS.
You can also get the same perks from no annual fee AmEx’s like the Blue Cash Everyday® Card from American Express with 3% back at supermarkets (now first $6,000 a year) all year round. Prepaid and Corporate cards will not work.
Selected fine print:
1. Limit one (1) $25 statement credit per American Express Card. To be eligible, Cardmembers must enroll an eligible American Express Card in this offer at ShopSmall.com. Prepaid and Corporate Cards are not eligible.
2. The number of enrollments is limited. Enrollment opens at 12:00AM MST (“Mountain Standard Time”) on November 18, 2012, and will continue until 11:59PM MST on November 24, 2012 unless the enrollment limit is reached sooner.
3. To receive the $25 statement credit, the Cardmember must use his or her enrolled Card to spend $25 or more in a single, in-store transaction at a qualifying small business location on Saturday, November 24, 2012. To receive the credit, the transaction must equal $25 or more (for example, if your transaction is only for $15, you will not receive a credit). Multiple transactions of less than $25 will not qualify even if the combined total of those transactions is over $25.
4. Qualifying small business locations are those identified on the Shop Small® Map, available at ShopSmall.com. In addition, small business locations that accept American Express through Square also qualify and can be found on the Square Directory at https://squareup.com/directory/?cmpId=amex or from your mobile phone using the Square Wallet app. Small business locations that do not appear on the Shop Small® Map or that do not accept American Express through Square will not qualify for the $25 statement credit offer.
6. Statement credit will appear on your billing statement within 8 weeks after American Express receives information from the merchant about your qualifying purchase. Note that American Express may not receive information about your qualifying purchase from the merchant until all of the items from your qualifying purchase have been provided or shipped by the merchant.
“Disclaimer: This content is not provided or commissioned by the issuer. Opinions expressed here are author’s alone, not those of the issuer, and have not been reviewed, approved or otherwise endorsed by the issuer. This site may be compensated through the issuer’s Affiliate Program.”
By Jonathan Ping | Credit Cards, Deals & Offers | 11/18/12, 12:53am
November 8th, 2010 at 1:13 pm
I signed up but how to find a small business in my neighborhood that accepts AE?
November 8th, 2010 at 2:32 pm
“Eligible merchants include any independently owned small businesses that accept the American Express Card.” Until Nov 27th, just shop as usual and ask if the local businesses you visit take AmEx. Then think of this offer as a $25 off $25 coupon for lunch, dinner, clothes, dry cleaning, flowers, etc.
November 8th, 2010 at 4:26 pm
Anyone have any other ideas for finding a small business that accepts AE? I don’t want to go around knocking on the doors of 20 small businesses…
November 8th, 2010 at 5:32 pm
Hmm, do you think if a place has two locations, would that be considered a “franchised business location”? My favorite resturaunt has two locations. Sadly, most of my favorite small businesses do not accept amex (stares sadly at chinatown, because $25 at the mom/pop grocery stores would go a long way!)…
November 8th, 2010 at 6:45 pm
I’m not able to speak for AmEx, but I don’t think two locations meets the definition of a franchise. You could ask them if they are both owned by the same folks.
AmEx tends to be accepted more at small biz’s that sell “premium” products. A store that sell fancy dog toys comes to mind. (Opportunity for cheap/free holiday gift?)
If you don’t have something in mind, I would say food would be the easiest thing. My feeling is that if the place is expensive enough that dinner for 2 costs $25, the odds that it takes AmEx are pretty high.
November 8th, 2010 at 7:01 pm
How are you sure that this is a true AMEX website and not a phishing expedition? I definitely trust you Jonathan but can you say anything to assuage my fears?
November 8th, 2010 at 7:56 pm
@John B – Just google “small business saturday” and you’ll see several press releases and news articles on the subject.
Here’s one official-ly link at nyc.gov
November 8th, 2010 at 10:21 pm
Thanks Jonathan. Just triple-checking to make sure everything is legit and that there is no chance of fraud with this. My girlfriend and I plan on using this at a local wine bar (assuming that it accepts AMEX cards).
November 8th, 2010 at 11:10 pm
Wow thanks for the heads up Jon. Was able to register successfully using my business credit card.
I wish Amex provided some kind of locator for small businesses on their site. I’m sure they have the information and it would save us time from searching blindly.
November 8th, 2010 at 11:34 pm
find Amex merchants here: http://amexmerchants.us.disk11...../Search.do
November 9th, 2010 at 7:35 pm
on that locater site Ted added, there’s no restaurants within 25 miles of my zip code, weird. I live in a really populated area too.
November 9th, 2010 at 7:51 pm
@ Ted
Thanks for the link! Useful starting point.
@ pogo
I got the same results, or lack thereof. I live in an urban area and supposedly there are no small businesses registered with Amex under the Food/Beverages category. I see mostly electronics and auto related businesses……hmmm.
November 9th, 2010 at 7:54 pm
like Jonathan said, businesses who sell premium products are a safe bet. I’m choosing sushi places. mmm, sushi for thanksgiving.
November 9th, 2010 at 8:23 pm
Well I love sushi and was thinking about that too. I have a ton of those places around here so that’s why I was surprised not to see any listed in the locator. I guess I can always call.
November 9th, 2010 at 10:40 pm
@Ted – Thanks for the link. However, it is a B2B directory – business to business, so the listings are limited to those that would sell things to other business. So restaurants are (at least mostly?) out.
Really, it shouldn’t be that hard to find a restaurant that takes AmEx. Retail sit-down food is a high-margin business. Just use Yelp, find a few independent places that you like, and call them up. I can’t imagine it taking more than 2-3 calls and thus about 2-3 minutes.
Nov 27th is the Saturday after Thanksgiving. Take a friend/date/loved one out to lunch. You don’t even have to use a *gasp* coupon. I’ll be actively avoiding any shopping.
November 10th, 2010 at 2:27 pm
@Jon
Yeah thanks for the clear up. I thought that was kinda strange….and you’re right, I just called a local sushi place and they said they take Amex. Woot woot… I guess I have a sushi date now
November 18th, 2010 at 11:11 am
I have two Amex cards – you think I can sign up both and get $25 credit on each? I don’t see anywhere that says I can’t.
As always, thanks for posting this – this site has saved/made me a lot of money.
November 18th, 2010 at 10:02 pm
In regards to the “eligible merchants” question, then why does the first paragraph of the terms state “you must spend $25 or more at _participating_ small business merchants”.
“Participating” makes it sound like it’s only small businesses that sign up for the promotion. Yet I agree that the 2nd paragraph of the terms implies it’s any “small” business.
Also interesting that there are over 300k friends on FB, but I was able to still register my card today. So less than 100k of the 300k have registered? Won’t be surprised if this is as big a mess as the free KFC promo, except it will just be a ton of people bitching about the $25 shafted them on.
November 19th, 2010 at 11:07 am
I got a response from AMEX. “The participating small businesses would be any locally owned independent small businesses that accept American Express.”
They were not able to confirm my registration as one of the first 100k, but I did receive an email confirming my registration late yesterday. I guess that will be proof enough if the $25 just doesn’t get credited on it’s own.
November 23rd, 2010 at 7:35 am
Maybe I’m reading to much into this but if I use my AMEX at more than one small business will I receive a $25 statement credit for each SB I use my card at? Or is this a one time $25 credit??
November 23rd, 2010 at 2:08 pm
I think it is 1 offer per card.
Jeff – are your sure that the offer applies to any small business that accepts AE? That ‘participating’ statement is misleading.
November 23rd, 2010 at 3:43 pm
DJ – am I 100% certain, no. The quote I posted is the response I got via email from AMEX in regards to my question as to what “participating” meant. I agree that the language they used in the terms is confusing at best.
Ann – “Limit one statement credit per Cardmember.” From the promotional email I received today from AMEX.
December 11th, 2010 at 12:08 pm
My wife and I both registered our AMEX cards and then spent $25 at an independent, non-chain restaurant on Saturday, 11/27. Neither of us have received our $25 statement credits that are supposed to be posted within 5 business days.
Has anyone else gotten theirs? I can’t find anyone to contact about this either.
December 11th, 2010 at 12:24 pm
Troy: I did this on two different amex cards and received a $25 credit on both of them within 5 days. It’s possible they didn’t consider the place you made your purchase a small business. I’d call the number on the back of your card. They extended the offer until 12/31 – so you have time: http://www.mymoneyblog.com/ame.....-1231.html
December 11th, 2010 at 1:02 pm
Had the most delicious steak on the 27th. $25 statement credit was posted the 29th.
Who to contact? Call AMEX or login and send them a secure message; after all, they are the ones running this promotion.
December 11th, 2010 at 1:27 pm
Thanks for the responses. The place I went to is independently owned, not a chain and very small so if they don’t consider it qualifying then that’s an error on their end.
My card is actually a Citi AMEX. I called them and they know nothing about the promotion since it’s being run by American Express. I call American Express and they can’t do anything because my card is with Citi.
Maybe they wanna screw me because they know I have no recourse. I’ve actually made other charges at small businesses since then but I keep referring to the one I made on 11/27 since that’s what the original policy called for.
If Cit AMEX cards were not supposed to be eligible, then they should have never sent me the email confirming that my card had been successfully registered.
December 16th, 2010 at 10:23 pm
We know someone who used a Macy’s and they got it.
But, I used a Citi and did not get it.
When we contacted Macy’s, they did not know about this promotion, nor does Citi!
Therefore, we do not know whom to contact!
December 29th, 2010 at 11:18 pm
I think this thing is a big scam. I registered my card, spent $33 on Nov. 27th at a locally owned and operated small business and have still not gotten the $25 credit. I have emailed Amex, called them and get the response that, “Don’t worry, you will get the credit” B.S. I think this is a scheme to get you to make a charge believing it will be credited back “normally” within 5 business days, but it takes two or more complete billing cycles for them to process. They hope that you won’t pay it and incur interest. I have 6 friends who did the same promotion and none of them have gotten a credit yet. STAY AWAY from this one!
December 30th, 2010 at 7:48 am
I received my credit within a week…checked via the web and on my most recent statement the $25 credit was still there.
December 30th, 2010 at 8:07 pm
I still haven’t gotten my credit and it’s now been one month. Seems to be very hit or miss so I’d suggest only doing this if it’s money you’d be spending at that small business anyway.
October 24th, 2011 at 6:23 am
I’d avoid doing this promotion unless you are spending $25 on your AMEX anyway. I did it last year (registered, received the confirmation email, spent $25 at a small merchant) but never got my statement credit. The big problem is that there is no one to contact to follow up. I searched high and low for an email address, mailing address, phone #, anything but couldn’t find anything. I called AMEX numerous times, explained my situation but the people I spoke with were not able to do anything nor did they know how to reach anyone who was involved with the Small Business Saturday promotion. I also sent in letters to their general mailing address but never heard back at all. Very very frustrating.
October 24th, 2011 at 6:58 am
I did it three times. Once for me, and 2x for my parents. We all got our statement credits within a week after our small business purchase. Hope we’ll have the same luck this year!
October 24th, 2011 at 11:15 am
Do you have to spend the $25 on a particular Saturday in November or just within the given promotional period?
October 26th, 2011 at 10:20 am
Hi Debbie,
Are you stating your last year’s story or do you mean you already got the $25X3 = $75 bonus for three persons this year of 2011?
Thanks,
Andy
October 29th, 2011 at 8:47 am
last year! Sorry for the confusion
October 31st, 2011 at 3:27 pm
People, read the terms and conditions carefully. Not all American Express cards are alike and nowadays WHO issues your American Express card is important.
Within my family, we used Amex issued and bank issues (FIA and Macy’s/Department Stores National Bank) cards last year and they worked. If you worry, about getting your money’s worth, buy a gift card/certificate at the local merchant for the $25.
Corporate cards will NOT work. Also do NOT use the ExpressPay function, as these transmit different card numbers than what is printed on the card.
November 14th, 2011 at 11:54 am
Hi Jonathan,
I have multiple AmEx cards and I have registered all of them with email confirmation responses. Besides, I did not find any restriction such as limit one $25 bonus per person.
Do you know whether one with multiple AmEx cards can earn multiple bonus?
Thanks,
Andy
November 14th, 2011 at 12:06 pm
Hi askmrlee,
Would like to make sure that I understand what you said.
1. …”If you worry, about getting your money’s worth, buy a gift card/certificate at the local merchant for the $25. “…
Did you mean we can register our AmEx gift card to get the $25 bonus? Or, you meant that, if we are not sure what to buy, simply buy a $25 gift card at a local small business store?
2. … “Corporate cards will NOT work.”…
By Corporate cards, do you mean that AmEx business cards are not eligible for the $25 bonus?
I registered my Amex business card and got the email confirmation. Would like to make sure whether AmEx business card is eligible for the bonus or not.
3. You mentioned FIA and Macy’s card. Did you own multiple Amex cards and get multiple bonuses last year using two or more of the cards? My point is, I have multiple AmEx cards and have registered all of them. Am I eligible for multiple bonuses?
Thanks in advance.
Andy
November 23rd, 2011 at 9:34 pm
Is it a total of $25 or more (i.e. $10 spent at one merchant and $20 spent at another merchant will quality) or does it have to be $25 spent at a single merchant?
November 25th, 2011 at 6:06 pm
There is a good reason why many small businesses do not accept AMEX. They charge small businesses up the rear just to accept their card, plus percentage fees for each transaction. Do the small stores a HUGE favor and use cash. That’s how you can really help out the mom and pop shops.
November 25th, 2011 at 9:20 pm
When I successfully registered my card, a Macy’s Am Ex, the fine print stated that it could take up to 2 billing cycles to see the $25 credit. Made my purchase at a company that advertised they were in this promotion, so we’ll see. The company also gave me an additional 15% discount & free shipping as well, so I was happy with that. The $25 credit will be a nice bonus (if I get it!).
November 26th, 2011 at 9:38 am
I couldn’t sign up. Apparently they limited the number of cardholders that can sign up. R I P O F F for me and the small businesses.
November 26th, 2011 at 10:26 am
Follow this link for the list of participating merchants.
https://www.facebook.com/SmallBusinessSaturday?sk=app_183558821725512
November 26th, 2011 at 1:03 pm
@Sra Egan – Just wanted to clarify that your link is to a list of merchants who have registered with AmEx to announce that they are actively promotion Small Business Saturday, but there are many more small businesses out there that will work for the promotion.
November 28th, 2011 at 7:09 pm
@SA Wallick. Sorry you feel this is/was a scam. It’s not. The registration was limited to 200,000 and started on November 1, 2011. At the small business where I spent my $25 credits the owner reported that they were able to register on Thanksgiving day the 24th but their son could not do so on the 25th Black Friday because the offer limit was reached. From your post date it seems you tried on the 26th. All I can say is try again next year.
I got confirmations upon registration and a few minutes after I made the qualifying purchases.
@andy. 1) I meant but a $25 gift card or certificate from the merchant if possible. That’s what I did with the $5 credit for $20 spend Whole Foods offer. I wasn’t ready to buy $20 of items and it was the last day of the offer.
2) Business cards like Open are NOT Corporate cards. If you got a confirmation upon registering then you are OK.
3) I was able to register my card and my wife’s cards which are on the same account but have different numbers plus we have our own separate accounts too. We received confirmation emails upon registration and after making the purchases on all cards and accounts.
I do not believe Citi was a qualifying issuer for this promo. Again read the terms carefully. BofA (FIA) and Macy’s/DSNB qualified.
November 28th, 2011 at 8:45 pm
Amex gift cards or any prepaid value product do not qualify.
February 24th, 2012 at 8:40 am
I suggest it IS a scam and/or fraud. It is now Feb. 24. I have been fighting with Bank of America (who issued my AmEx card) ever since that day to get my credit. They keep throwing up bogus roadblocks even though I have email proof from AmEx that I have earned the credit. Even BoA’s customer rep has finally agreed that I’m owed the credit. AmEx says it’s BoA’s job to get me the credit and they wash their hands of it.
September 26th, 2012 at 10:50 pm
American Express has confirmed that they will bring back Small Business Saturday (SBS) on November 24th, 2012.
September 27th, 2012 at 6:18 am
Jonathan, curious as to why you don’t pay the $75 annual fee for the Amex Preferred, getting 6% back at groceries? Thanks for the heads up, small businesses sometimes need this $ reminder to steer us away from big box stores.
September 27th, 2012 at 11:50 am
@brandon – I do recommend the AmEx Preferred with the annual fee as if you spend $25 a week in groceries the annual fee is covered with the extra cash back.
http://www.mymoneyblog.com/blu.....eries.html
I was just trying to think of the best no annual fee American Express card and the Blue Cash everyday came to mind for low spenders.
September 27th, 2012 at 12:31 pm
Awesome! Definitely taking advantage of this in November!
September 28th, 2012 at 8:37 am
Jonathan,
The card number for authorized users of the Starwood Amex is the same as the owner’s card number. So you wouldn’t qualify for two $25 bonuses, right?
September 28th, 2012 at 9:57 am
Jonathan – Thanks for the update. I have benefit from you and your column significantly and also improved my financial knowledge. Please keep up the great work.
When is the a signup (if required)?
September 28th, 2012 at 1:23 pm
Would love to do it but the link seems to lead to facebook. I’d rather be dead than use facebook. Not worth $25 to sell my soul to that POS company.
September 28th, 2012 at 1:26 pm
Ah at Amex I found this:
http://www.smallbusinesssaturday.com/
Thank heavens. Facebook and twitter can burn…
September 28th, 2012 at 2:34 pm
Did you ever think to register a “fake” Facebook with zero friends and then opt out of sharing once you fill in the form instead of complaining about how horrible FB is?
September 30th, 2012 at 5:45 pm
@Andrew. One credit per unique card number registered when the promo goes live.
@playcentric. Around November 1.
September 30th, 2012 at 6:27 pm
@MAC – Thank you for the update
October 1st, 2012 at 1:56 am
@Andrew – No, the number for authorized users is not the same for American Express. If you add an authorized user they will have a unique credit card number, and thus be eligible for their own $25 credit.
October 3rd, 2012 at 7:16 pm
Has anyone heard the rumor that there will be a limited amount of promotions for this offer? Another site is saying to sign up quickly as not everyone will be able to participate.
I hope this is not true, but I am wondering if this is going to be like last year or have they changed it. Last year it seemed very simple and straight forward, and to my knowledge there was no cap on the number of people that could qualify for the statement credit.
October 3rd, 2012 at 7:25 pm
There was a limit in previous years as well, but it was quite high at something like 200,000+ people. I don’t recall them running out of room, even very close to the actual date. This year may be different, but I think American Express would at least allow a week for people to sign up, otherwise they will get some bad publicity. Just subscribe to comments and you’ll be notified when it goes live
October 3rd, 2012 at 8:39 pm
See my previous post about late sign up. If you wait until a day or two before the day you’ll probably be out of luck. These promos always have a limit of number of participants and this was disclosed in previous years.
My advice is to subscribe here and at Amex’s small business Saturday site for notifications and don’t delay registering.
I bet there will be someone moaning and groaning that they couldn’t register the day before and then they will call this a scam.
November 2nd, 2012 at 11:38 am
Still no word on sign up date? I called Amex on10/31 and they said “it hasn’t been announced yet.”
November 7th, 2012 at 9:26 am
Awesome! Thanks for sharing. The registration date is Nov 18, starting at 2AM.
November 7th, 2012 at 10:05 am
Signup starts November 18 @ 12 AM MST
In the T&Cs for this year there is a clause that the merchant must be one of the small shops else you do not get the credit. Was this there last year?
“Qualifying small business locations are those identified on the Shop Small® Map, available at ShopSmall.com”. “Small business locations that do not appear on the Shop Small® Map or that do not accept American Express through Square will not qualify for the $25 statement credit offer”.
https://www.americanexpress.com/us/small-business/Shop-Small/#
November 7th, 2012 at 2:04 pm
Thanks for the tips! My wild guess is that sign-up will close after 3 days. They moved the sign-up date closer to the actual date because they know it will fill up.
@MAC – I think something similar was in their last year, but I’m sure they got enough complaints about “why didn’t store XXX count” that they want to make it very clear that only businesses on their list count. The map is actually pretty good (well, the list is good, the map not so much), it even lists a lot of people that work from home in my neighborhood, ha.
November 8th, 2012 at 10:55 am
Hi Jonathan,
One question: did you mean your wife (as an additional user of your AmEx Spg card) and you both can get $25 (total $50) bonus when you use both cards separately on eligible purchases? Are you sure the additional user can get the $25 bonus in addition to the $25 primary user already gets? Thanks.
November 8th, 2012 at 4:52 pm
Jonathan,
Where do you see the places listed on the map? For me it only states “COMING SOON”. Does anyone else have this issue?
November 8th, 2012 at 5:40 pm
@Andy – Yes, just be sure to register both cards separately. Yes, it worked for me last year and the terms are the same as last year. It’s per American Express card, and they view each card as an American Express card with its own individual card number.
@Eric – You’re right, it appears that they have disabled the map. It was definitely working before. Perhaps they’re tweaking it?
November 9th, 2012 at 6:15 am
When I go to the Small Business Facebook page, it says liked but I cannot see how to sign up and register my card.
November 16th, 2012 at 4:10 am
I signed up for promotion in 2010. Purchased my $25.00 merchandize from Ace Hardware on small business Saurday and was not credited on my next statement from AX. I called and they said ACE indicated I did not purchase on that day, I had received an e-mail confirming my purchase on that Saturday and they corrected and gave me credit the next month. How can we insure that we are going to get our purchase credit on the right day from the business we visit?
November 16th, 2012 at 7:50 am
Just a reminder to everyone: their business lookup site was horribly overloaded on Small Business Saturday last year. Find the locations you want to shop at before Saturday because if you wait you might not be able to see the website. Fortunately I had two stores picked out beforehand, but would have been out of luck if I wanted to look further.
November 18th, 2012 at 12:18 am
The Registration has started – Enrollment is limited so act early before enrollments run out. Corporate and prepaid cards are not eligible
https://www.americanexpress.com/us/small-business/Shop-Small/
November 18th, 2012 at 3:35 am
Does the bloomingdales American express card qualify?
November 18th, 2012 at 5:21 am
Yes, the co-branded cards like Costco AmEx and Bloomingdales AmEx should work fine.
November 18th, 2012 at 9:58 am
I can confirm that the Costco Amex cards do in fact qualify; it let me signup without a problem.
November 18th, 2012 at 6:15 pm
Why does Kmart show up as a small busines?
November 19th, 2012 at 10:58 am
will bank of America, America Express card work too? so is bank of america will credit the $25 dollars?
November 19th, 2012 at 2:13 pm
Looks like all the Safeways near me is on the list. Could that be accurate?
November 19th, 2012 at 4:04 pm
If you’re not sure if the card will work, just go to the sign-up page and try it as it will verify the card number.
I personally wouldn’t buy something at a national chain like Kmart or Safeway, even if it was on their map. There are so many good small businesses out there, why not go ahead and support one of them?
November 19th, 2012 at 6:06 pm
I agree on supporting small business, but I was just shocked to see them on the list when I was searching for vendors.
November 19th, 2012 at 6:28 pm
I wasn’t able to see the Kmart’s or Safeway’s in my area, so it may be a local thing. Not worth having to worry about possibly being disqualified for the credit either.
November 19th, 2012 at 6:45 pm
My costco card worked fine. Looks like free Mexican food for me on Saturday, woohoo!
November 20th, 2012 at 12:22 am
Actually Safeway does show up for me, but if you look closely it’s only the Blockbuster Express kiosk instead (which actually are all Redbox now anyway).
I’m getting pizza.
November 23rd, 2012 at 9:51 am
I found the directory/map search very difficult. It’s even not up to date as some list shops are no longer in business in my area.
Is there a phone # to call to confirm the participating shops? Is Home Depot or Lowes qualified? What qualifies a small business? I remember Obama during the debate stated Donald Trump is a small business.
November 23rd, 2012 at 1:55 pm
Does anyone have experience with using multiple cards at the same location (different cards, same card user)? Seems like it should be OK, but I just wanted to check.
@playcentric I’m no expert, but there’s no way that Home Depot and Lowes would qualify as small businesses.
November 24th, 2012 at 4:27 am
Where do I find verification of my registering my American Express for shopping on small business Saturday?
November 24th, 2012 at 6:12 am
Adam – Multiple cards use should be ok. I did last year. Make sure to sign a different slip for each card.
Nancy – Verification email is sent to you within minutes at enroll. Check your junk email folder if it’s not in your inbox.
November 24th, 2012 at 8:04 pm
I did all my purchases at the “Small Business Saturday” at the same location today; all the charges descriptions were “Square”. That means the charges were all small business qualifying charges, I think. Now, I am counting the eight weeks for these statement credits. Happy holidays to all of you players.
November 24th, 2012 at 10:55 pm
I got a confirmation e-mail after doing my Small Business Saturday purchases today with the subject line “Thank you for Shopping Small”. I decided to just get a couple of $25 gift cards at a locally-owned hardware store that I often use for small home improvement projects when I don’t want to drive all the way to Home Depot or Lowe’s.
November 24th, 2012 at 11:18 pm
The stores I had picked out were closed today! Bummer!
November 25th, 2012 at 3:47 pm
Closed on a Saturday during the biggest consumer zombie-fest weekend of the year?!
November 25th, 2012 at 10:19 pm
Received two email conformations after my 2 purchases, hopefully will see credits by Tuesday the latest, great success this year, I bought a bunch of boneless chicken and Italian sausages filled the freezer up.
November 26th, 2012 at 4:57 pm
I registered my Blue Cash Amex as well as my FIA Amex and received email confirmations of both. However, when I used them on Saturday, I only received a “thank you” email for the Blue Cash Amex. I called Fidelity and the rep had no idea what I was talking about. I called Amex directly and the rep looked up my card and said that it was a bank issued card and that, yes, it qualified. However, I need to call Fidelity regarding the credit. Ugh. Frustrating.
November 26th, 2012 at 5:02 pm
Crystal,
I had the same problem with FIA last year. It took many phone calls but eventually they credited me the $25. Fortunately this year I received a confirmation regarding that card but I didn’t receive the confirmation for 2 other Amex cards that I used. I hope I won’t have a big hassle like last year.
November 26th, 2012 at 5:03 pm
I previously thought that I would have to count 8 weeks before receiving the $25 statement credit. Wow, it’s been less than 48 hours since the purchases and I have received all the statement credits for that. Thanks to AMEX and Square San Francisco; thanks to all the bloggers here, too; and thanks to those small businesses that accept AMEX. See you players next year.
November 26th, 2012 at 5:09 pm
@Crystal – I belief you will receive the credit. I have a Macys AMEX that qualifies too and I received the credits for using Macys AMEX this year and last year–under different description for the same credit amount of $25. Please go to your Fidelity statement account to find it. If anyone has an AMEX issued by Citi Bank, purchase made using it will qualify, I think.
November 26th, 2012 at 6:09 pm
I registered my card then spent more than $25 at my local Publix grocery store. It didn’t seem like a small business to me but it was listed on the map. I received a confirmation when I registered but no confirmation when I shopped. Do you think I will get the $25?
November 26th, 2012 at 11:11 pm
@Eric and Wanny, thanks for your input. I will stay on top of it and hopefully be able to get the credit.
November 27th, 2012 at 11:34 am
Received credit on my Blue Cash AMEX, still awaiting credit on my Citi AMEX, looking at my Blue Cash AMEX activity online, I see next to the charge I made on Saturday it says: (Shop Small Offer), so look for that on your credit card activity page.
November 28th, 2012 at 9:54 am
Small business owner here. Returning the purchases is pretty uncool. An entire extended family made purchases last week, and today returned each of those $25+ purchases. A real PITA.
November 28th, 2012 at 7:30 pm
Received credit on my Citi AMEX, that was easy.
November 28th, 2012 at 8:49 pm
Just checked both of my statements and I’ve received the credit for my Fidelity Amex as well as the Blue Cash Amex. Woot!
December 14th, 2012 at 6:25 pm
I was able to register my Macy’s Amex (first year I’ve used this one), but I never got the “thank you for shopping small” email after the $25 purchase on Small Business Saturday. I just checked the account, and no credit is shown. My other regular Amex cards showed credits within a couple of days. Am I to believe that this credit should work on my Macy’s card? Especially since it allowed me to register the card number? Who do I call . . . Macy’s or Amex? Thank you!
December 16th, 2012 at 5:24 am
I registered and received my confirmation email. Checked out the map and saw that my local supermarket (Publix) was listed. Spent over $25 there on Saturday Nov 24. But have not received the credit. I called my AmEx issuer (Hilton Honors) and they had no idea what I was talking about. Don’t know who to go to now. Or could it be that my supermarket was not really a small business even though it was listed on the site. I am starting to feel like I was rooked.