New Amex Shop Small program - earn 3 bonus points per $1 year-round

[There'sOnlyOneJimmy]

For those in Melbourne, it turns out that the Four Pillars Distillery in Healesville is a Shop Small vendor...

 

[ChrisMars]

The list of shop small places published by amex is not up to date.

I got those 3x points from a shop that is definitly not on the list ( I checked by name and by location), but was a shop small place in the past (there was a sticker on the door, with a previous year, I think 2019).

 

[Dr Ralph]

The list of shop small places published by amex is not up to date.

I

Now there's a surprise.

 

[ChrisFlyer]

Interestingly, Old Parliament House and the National Gallery are both Shop Smalls in Canberra, the Lyric Theatre is a Shop Small in Sydney (drinks etc at Hamilton - but not merch, different payment system), and so is QPAC in Brisbane (both drinks and merch - but not the car park, which doesn't even take AMEX).

However, while in Canberra I also noticed that a number of places come through as 'government' and so earn less points on AMEX, like the cafe at (new) Parliament House, and the gift shop at the War Memorial. You win some, you lose some.

 

[Jurahn]

Made a purchase at Priceline the other day and was surprised to receive a "Congratulations for Shopping Small" email afterwards. Even more surprised today when I purchased some sheets online from Canningvale (VIC) and received another Shop Small email - had no idea they were part of the scheme.

 

[louie-m]

Just made a booking on the Sydney Opera House website. Very surprised to get a Shop Small email.

 

[ChrisFlyer]

Another welcome Shop Small surprise is the duty-free shop at Brisbane Airport.

(Even better was that the gin I wanted was available in 1L bottles at duty-free for less than what Dan's wants for 700ml - quite happy with that.)

 

[sydneyboi]

Another welcome Shop Small surprise is the duty-free shop at Brisbane Airport.

(Even better was that the gin I wanted was available in 1L bottles at duty-free for less than what Dan's wants for 700ml - quite happy with that.)

Seems no shop small credits have come through for over a week now despite getting the confirmation emails

 

[ChrisFlyer]

Seems no shop small credits have come through for over a week now despite getting the confirmation emails

Yeah, I'm finding the same - we shall see!

 

[burmans]

And here too!

 

[daft009]

Shop small and delicious month credit, both at one place tonight

 

[drron]

I got 3 today.One for tonight's dinner and 2 of the stalls at the Harvest Market.

 

[louie-m]

My reading of this - A guide to American Express' Shop Small promotions [2021] - Point Hacks - is that all Square-using merchants are part of Shop Small. I've only had two Shop Small credits post in the last three weeks, both (as far as I can recall) not Square payments; none of the half dozen or more Square transactions have posted Shop Small bonus points. Anyone else finding the same?

 

[burmans]

I had a bunch hit early this week. I'm actually quite happy with this promo based on my experience to date.

 

[fantastikforce]

I've noticed that my bonus points for Shop Small have only been posting on the 3rd and 4th of every month.

 

[sudoer]

I've noticed that my bonus points for Shop Small have only been posting on the 3rd and 4th of every month.

My bonus points were crediting regularly through the first 3 weeks of April without issue (entries on 9 different days between 4th and 22nd) before they abruptly stopped showing up. Then on the 4th and 6th of this month I had about a dozen new lines show up in my points history.

The promotion is appealing, but the opacity is frustrating to say the least:

• No exhaustive list of merchants that qualify - it's a coughshoot. Amex has almost made it as hard as possible to direct earn to merchants that qualify, which I understood to be the whole point of Shop Small
• No coughulative tally of Shop Small points earned. The best option I've found is PDF statements where points are grouped at the end, but even then I need to manually keep a tally across statements
• No dates or descriptions on Shop Small points entries making it virtually impossible to reconcile Shop Small confirmation emails to statement entries. Could they really not work out a way to display Shop Small points in the Bonus Points column alongside the relevant transaction...?

I'll continue earning bonus points incidentally (or accidentally) but not paying much attention to the promotion otherwise.

 

[burmans]

My bonus points were crediting regularly through the first 3 weeks of April without issue (entries on 9 different days between 4th and 22nd) before they abruptly stopped showing up. Then on the 4th and 6th of this month I had about a dozen new lines show up in my points history.

The promotion is appealing, but the opacity is frustrating to say the least:

• No exhaustive list of merchants that qualify - it's a coughshoot. Amex has almost made it as hard as possible to direct earn to merchants that qualify, which I understood to be the whole point of Shop Small
• No coughulative tally of Shop Small points earned. The best option I've found is PDF statements where points are grouped at the end, but even then I need to manually keep a tally across statements
• No dates or descriptions on Shop Small points entries making it virtually impossible to reconcile Shop Small confirmation emails to statement entries. Could they really not work out a way to display Shop Small points in the Bonus Points column alongside the relevant transaction...?

I'll continue earning bonus points incidentally (or accidentally) but not paying much attention to the promotion otherwise.

Personally not having to track a promotion is a positive to me, and in my experience almost every small merchant gives points (plus that ShopSmall sign is a bit of a giveaway!). The main concern I will have is knowing when I hit the point limit but frankly that’s a good problem to have if I do get close across my cards.

 

[sudoer]

not having to track a promotion is a positive to me

Amex providing the information wouldn't be forcing anyone to track it..?

I just want to move my spend across cards as soon as I hit the 40k limit so I can make best use of the promotion.

 

[SydneySwan]

News in from the UK.

Amex is retaining the old model for the Summer 2021 edition of Shop Small with £5 back on a £15 transaction with a cap of £25 per card registered. It will run from 5th to 25th June in the UK.

 

[louie-m]

News in from the UK.

Amex is retaining the old model for the Summer 2021 edition of Shop Small with £5 back on a £15 transaction with a cap of £25 per card registered. It will run from 5th to 25th June in the UK.

Also available on supplementary cards....