Amex Offers // Smart + Final

As mentioned before, we have taken credit card miles/rewards/cash back to a level similar of extreme couponing  — without the coupon binder and the 6 extra bottles of free ketchup in the pantry. We had already planned a trip to San Francisco for early May, and it just so happened to coincide with a great deal that was only available in California. Most people wouldn't consider going on a scavenger hunt, stopping at several Smart & Final stores (part of a discount grocery store chain), and swiping credit cards feverishly as "lucked out" but let me explain…

What's an Amex Offer?

Any American Express (Amex) issued credit card can be used to access Amex Offers. Some offers are available to all cards, some require tweeting at Amex, and others are targeted to certain cards. The gist of it is Amex offers a deal at a specific merchant for a set amount of time that a statement credit will be rewarded if you spend x amount of dollars with that merchant.

View of Amex Offers after logging into Amex Account.

A blogger I follow (and receive email alerts when something good comes along) is Frequent Miler. Here is his guide to Amex Offers to learn more about it if you would like.

Some of my favorite offers thus far have been:

• Spend $150 with AT&T — get $150 back (we split the credit with someone who actually has ATT).
• Spend $75 at Home Depot — get $15 back (good place to buy BP gas gift cards).
• Spend $20 at Sam'sClub.com — get $20 back (good gift card selection there too).
• Spend $5 at iTunes — get $5 back. 

One of the greats — $150 off after $150 spent. Just one of my cards had this offer available at the time.

Smart & Final

On April 15, Amex added an offer that normally wouldn't catch my eye — spend $50 at Smart & Final stores and get $25 back (up to 3 times per card). However, I soon after learned that this was a chain of discount stores in California which has a bountiful selection of gift cards (which is the point where an Amex offer can get lucrative).

A beautiful offer I could save to all my cards!

I asked Amanda if she wouldn't mind taking a couple of hours in San Francisco to see if we could scale this offer. We ended up rounding up 12 Amex cards (consisting of personal credit cards, business credit cards, authorized user cards, and prepaid Amex account Serve cards). With a limit of 3 statement credits per card, that meant we could use this offer 36 times!

After enjoying breakfast at the American Express Centurion Lounge at the SFO airport, we took an Uber ride from the airport to our first store (by the way, highly suggest using Uber Pool in San Francisco as it is cheap and easy to use).  

Our goal was to purchase Visa or MasterCard gift cards since we can liquidate those at Walmart and Target to pay off our credit cards used to purchase the gift cards (this is similar to how we pay our mortgage and other bills via credit card). If those gift cards were gone, our next option was to buy gas gift cards since I consider those near cash liquidity since I always have to pay for that anyways.

Our first Smart & Final stop was a bit disappointing. They didn't have any $50 or $100 gift cards, so we used 4 swipes each to buy 2 x $25 cards per transaction (plus a $3.95 purchase fee per card so each card cost $28.95 or $57.90 per transaction). Since each card had that $3.95 purchase fee, each swipe netted a profit of $17.10 ($57.90 - $25 statement credit = $32.90 for $50 worth in liquid gift cards). So after store number 1, we were 8 swipes in, and our profit was at $136.80. On to the next store....

The gift card racks were pretty empty at this particular store, perhaps because of its close proximity to the airport?
We each had 4 swipes here. 

A 15 minute bus ride from Smart & Final store #1 brought us to Smart & Final store #2. My jaw nearly hit the floor as I rushed to the gift card rack to see what was available. They had quite the selection and were flush with $100 MasterCard gift cards!! 

This meant our profit per swipe had the potential of increasing to $22 per transaction if the cashiers were willing to play ball with us. Whereas previously $100 in gift card value meant 2 transactions and 4 x $3.95 in purchase fees, we would now ask if they would be willing to split the one (1) $100 gift card that comes with $5.95 purchase fee between 2 credit card swipes. This way our purchase fees were reduced, as we would charge $50 to one card and $55.95 to another for every $100 MasterCard purchased.

As we approached the register and asked to split the transactions, it was evident others had been doing the same at this location, and the cashiers knew what to do. In fact, Amanda didn't even need to ask! The cashier asked her first if she wanted the charge split!

We each did 10 credit card swipes and took a break to organize receipts, let the lines go down behind us, and called American Express to clear up some fraud alerts on a few of the accounts (3 transactions per card at one store all at the same amount nearly 2,000 miles from home doesn't surprisingly lock up a credit card). After that, we powered through the last 8 of our transactions and successfully completed all 36 swipes by only visiting two Bay area Smart & Final stores! And luckily too, as we cleaned out the last of the $100s this store had.

From there our Smart & Final adventure ended. We grabbed another UberPool ride and made our way to downtown San Francisco to enjoy the rest of our time in the city. Nothing like a little work and a little play on a trip.

Using UberPool from the jackpot Smart & Final store to our hotel.

Our work in two and a half hours, by the numbers:

The last step was to liquidate the gift cards. Our Prepaid Target Redcard does the trick for this. 

How about you?

Does anyone else have American Express accounts? Do you maximize some of these offers to save on purchases you would normally make (or not usually make in this profitable case)?

Celebrating Five Years // Northern Ireland

Just prior to this London + Ireland trip, we celebrated our fifth wedding anniversary at the end of March. Rather than giving gifts (something we just aren't great at to begin with), we decided to celebrate by having a day date in Northern Ireland. Some women would rather have jewelry, but for me, I'd take travel any day. :) Our favorite dates usually include time together outside, local coffee shops, not-so-fancy comfort food, and hiking. This day trip had it all, and nearly two months later, it is still etched in my mind as one of my favorite days from this past spring.

From Dublin, we started driving north and stopped in Trim to take a morning stroll along the river and around Trim Castle, a Norman castle featured in Braveheart. There is just something so romantic about Europe. I can't quite pinpoint exactly what it is, but perhaps it's a combination of it all. The bridges. The arches. The old stone. The rivers running through town. The colors. The history of these places, just to name a few. Croissants for breakfast (and coffee for Matthew) soon followed, and we picked up some items for a picnic at a grocery store. It was a lovely, sunny morning to start our anniversary celebration.

From Trim, we continued north and crossed into Northern Ireland. It seemed only fitting that Rend Collective, one of our favorite bands that hail from the north, accompanied us as background music on the drive. Before reaching Portrush and the sights along the Antrim coast, it was time for a coffee + cocoa stop. We stopped at Lost & Found in Coleraine (one of Rend's favorite Northern Irish coffee shops owned by a worship leader and his wife), and it was awesome with an industrial rustic feel to it. Pendant lights. Brick. White tile. Chalkboard menu. Old maps on the walls. Wooden tables and stools. We felt right at home. 

We continued on and made our way through the town and traffic of Portrush and along the Causeway Coastal Route. This part of the Antrim Coast is a lovely, curvy 20 mile stretch. We sure enjoyed it, and Matt did his best to keep his focus on the road as much as possible. ;)

The romantic, medieval ruins of Dunluce Castle were our first stop along the coast. The castle was abandoned in 1639, after part of the kitchen fell into the sea taking some of the servants with. The scenery is gorgeous with blue-green water, and the ruins perched atop the green, grass covered cliffs.

Giant's Causeway was the next stop. Rather than pay the rates to park in the Visitor's Center, we parked down the hill to save a good 10 pounds or so, but in retrospect, we should have parked further down the road for free. Oh well, you learn these things after the fact sometimes. :) It was quite crowded, both due to the beautiful, windless day and the fact that we timed our visit for low tide which happened to hit in the early afternoon on this particular day.

Both volcanic activity and legends surround this place, and it is pretty marvelous and remarkable how there are so many of these bizarre basalt columns (approximately 40,000), shaped mostly in a perfect hexagon, stacked one on top of another. We hiked the cliff top trail first, went down the Shepherd's Steps, over to the rock pipes of the Organ, and then finally down to the tidal zone. Incredible. There are no words to describe the experience or the sight of these columns. 

Our attempt at a little picnic — fresh bread, Irish salami, white cheddar cheese, chips, and chocolate biscuits. 

Next stop, Carrick-a-rede. For 200 years, local fishermen have hung an arrow 90 foot-high bridge across a 65 foot-wide chasm between the mainland and this tiny island. Today, the bridge (although not the original, but inspected annually, (not to worry mom!) still gives fishermen access to the salmon nets during the summer months. The short scenic hike was indescribable, and the bridge walk was quite exhilarating. It was unforgettable, and as the pictures show, this was hands down our favorite part of our short visit to Northern Ireland.

Before heading to our hotel in Belfast, the last stop of the day was at The Dark Hedges just before dusk. If I remember correctly, I learned about this place on Pinterest a couple of years ago and had made note of it then. It was a little hard to find, but with the help of Google maps, we were directed to Bregagh Road. This country lane is lined with beech trees, planted in the eighteenth century by the Stuart family to impress visitors who approached their mansion. It was quite scenic, and the best tunnel of trees that we've seen yet.

Jeremiah 17:7-8

Blessed is the man who trusts in the Lord,

whose trust is the Lord.

He is like a tree planted by water,

that sends out its roots by the stream,

and does not fear when heat comes,

for its leaves remain green,

and is not anxious in the year of drought,

for it does not cease to bear fruit. 

We praise God for these last five years of marriage. He has been ever so faithful. Our prayer for these next five years is that the Lord would continue to give us grace to trust Him in all seasons and in all circumstances, both in joy and in sorrow. That He would use us and our story to bear fruit for the Kingdom.

And we cannot forget our family and friends who have walked with us all these years. Thank you for your love, support, and encouragement. It is a joy to share life, adventures, and memories with you.