Large "discrepancy" between AMEX rewards for gift cards - point redemption

[MsOnceUponATime]

I know that generally speaking cashing in your AMEX rewards points for gift cards isn't the best use of one's points. But in my case, I have a corporate AMEX account and am simply looking around at my options for using my points and I've noticed a shocking discrepancy between redeeming the points for gift cards.

For a Whole Foods $25 gift card it's 2941 points. But for a $25 AMEX gift card it's 5000 points.

I've noticed that other card points/$ vary as well. Can anyone shed some light?

 

[Dacky619]

I just chalk it up to the same reason you can buy discounted store gift cards from places like costco or bjs but if you wanted an AMEX or Visa they are essentially cash and you aren't going to get a discount. Those cash cards can be used almost anywhere while the gift cards are locked into one place (or a few). This is why I almost always cash in reward points for the best payouts and have a variety of credit cards (hotels, southwest for flights, etc) to cover different things through rewards.

 

[ClapYourHands]

Whole Foods wants to lock you into spending your money with them. So do other retailers. Because those businesses want you to commit to buying from them, they'll offer their GCs at a discount to AMEX, which AMEX will pass on to you in the form of lower point redemptions. They'd rather you buy discounted merchandise from them than not make the sale at all.

Prepaid CCs that work everywhere have no incentive to offer a discount, so you'll pay full price, probably with fees bundled into the price of your point redemption.

 

[ClapYourHands]

The other thing is that a good percentage of GCs are never redeemed. Retailers know this. So if you buy their GCs, even at a discount, there's a good chance you will never use it (free money for them). Or if you do use it, you won't use EXACTLY the amount of the GC. So you'll either leave money on the GC (negating the discount) or you'll buy items totaling more than the GC is for, creating an additional cash sale.

In general, GCs are a great deal for businesses and kind of a crappy for customers. For customers, the trick is buying GCs ONLY for what you would have otherwise purchased in cash, and using them fairly quickly. My husband hates it when I hold on to GCs because once I buy one, that money is no longer earning any interest in our bank account. Most people don't have the foresight or discipline to plan their GC buying in a way that really maximizes the potential.

 

[Anthony1971]

First you have the wrong Amex corporate card they do offer regular corporate cards that have much better GC redemption rates. If you call Amex you will be given options the will meet your needs. If you want the best exchange consider upgrading to a Platinum while it has a high annual fee you only need one you can have free green cards that earn the same benefits with the exception of the free lounge access and truly the benefits far outweigh the fee as your points earning potential is a lot higher with bonus points as well as a lot of free perks for travel.
in other words other Amex will offer you a 1 to 1 exchange rate for gift cards and some better as you can earn more points per dollar spent.

 

[georgina]

Yep, I always just get Home Depot GC since they are $100 for 10,000 points. We will use it eventually. (DH's Gold Card)

 

[MsOnceUponATime]

First you have the wrong Amex corporate card they do offer regular corporate cards that have much better GC redemption rates. If you call Amex you will be given options the will meet your needs. If you want the best exchange consider upgrading to a Platinum while it has a high annual fee you only need one you can have free green cards that earn the same benefits with the exception of the free lounge access and truly the benefits far outweigh the fee as your points earning potential is a lot higher with bonus points as well as a lot of free perks for travel.
in other words other Amex will offer you a 1 to 1 exchange rate for gift cards and some better as you can earn more points per dollar spent.

Thanks for your response. While I don't have the "wrong" corporate card, I have the card that was issued by my company and therefore, it is what it is. Now if I had a corporate card for myself - I may have better options as you posted above. Thank you for that information. Should I ever become self employed I'll have that information in my back pocket.

 

[Brett Wyman]

Its pretty common for some gift cards to be a better points deal than others across are sort of credit card loyalty programs.