As you may or may not already know, American Express currently has a Shop Small promotion running through July 4, 2012, allowing you to get a $10 statement credit after spending $10 or more at a small business in Boston, Chicago, and/or Philadelphia. This promotion is great for those who reside in one of those three cities or those who plan to visit during the promotional period.
In the past, during similar city-specific American Express promotions, we were able to purchase a gift card from a major chain store with headquarter offices in that city or even donate to a local charity to take advantage of the promotion. This time around, the promotion is strictly limited to small businesses, and the T&C states that non-profits, charitable organizations, and mass retailers will not qualify.
For those who live outside of Boston, Chicago, or Philadelphia, you may still participate by purchasing an e-gift certificate from a participating small business. I personally have purchased a number of $10 gift cards from http://www.tastesofchicago.com (one $10 e-gift card per registered American Express). Since I will be attending the Chicago Seminars again this year, I will be able to use my gift cards for a free dinner at Lou Manalti’s (there’s one only a few miles away from the event). Shall we do a Chicago deep dish pizza “DO”?
MilesQuest notes that a purchase from The Spice House worked for him too.
If you haven’t done so already, you can sync your AmEx card to your social networking profiles by visiting https://sync.americanexpress.com/
Then you can register for these city-specific promotions via social media the using the following methods:
- Foursquare: Sync eligible card with Foursquare, check in at an eligible small business, and then add the offer to your synced card.
- Twitter: Sync eligible card with Twitter and tweet #AmexShopBos, #AmexShopChi, or #AmexShopPhi to add the appropriate offer to your card.
- Facebook (Link, Like, Love): Sync eligible card with Facebook and add the offer to your synced card.
- Boston – https://enroll.amexnetwork.com/US/en/bos/
- Chicago – https://enroll.amexnetwork.com/US/en/chi/
- Philadelphia – https://enroll.amexnetwork.com/US/en/phil/
Good idea getting a gift card for a Chicago restaurant! Deep dish sounds good!
Fab idea about the gift card. Sitting in the red carpet club and leaving the country till after the fourth so thought I had missed th opportunity. Thanks for the brilliant idea!
how long did it take for the credit to show on your account? thanks!