American Express has been championing Small Business Saturday for the past several years, which is intended to promote small businesses the Saturday after Thanksgiving (given that there’s also Black Friday and Cyber Monday around those dates). Historically American Express has lagged compared to Mastercard and Visa when it comes to acceptance at small businesses due to their higher merchant fees, so this is a way to try and encourage more businesses to accept Amex cards.
Going back as far as 2010, American Express has made it lucrative for consumers to take part in Small Business Saturday, by offering statement credits and bonus points for purchases made on that date. Unfortunately over the years Amex has offered fewer rewards through this program. Looking back over the past several years, here’s what the promotions looked like:
- A $25 statement credit per card after spending $25 (2010, 2011 & 2012)
- A $10 statement credit per card after spending $10 (2013)
- A $10 statement per card credit after spending $10, up to three times (2014)
- Targeted Amex Offers for $10 off a $10 small business purchase in the month of November (2015)
- 2x points at small businesses from mid-October through the end of the year (2016)
With Small Business Saturday less than two weeks away, we’re seeing Amex promote the concept of Small Business Saturday. They’re encouraging consumers to “shop small,” encouraging businesses to get Small Business Saturday branding, etc. Amex even has a countdown to Small Business Saturday on their website.
However, we haven’t heard of anything in the way of rewards for consumers who shop at small businesses two Saturdays from now. Well, Dan’s Deals confirms that Amex won’t be offering any Small Business Saturday statement credits or points this year. That means 2017 will be the first time in seven years that Amex isn’t offering any incentive for consumers to participate in Small Business Saturday.
I guess the promotion ran its course and that this was inevitable, given that the rewards have been decreasing year by year. So while I of course still like the concept of supporting small businesses, I’m not going to go out of my way to do so on a specific date of the year (rather than just in general) unless there’s some sort of a reward for it.
At least now we know not to expect anything.
Wow! For the first time, us lot in the UK are better off! £5 back on a £10 spend. I'll be doing my yearly Amex London Pub Crawl!
He'll be p*ssed that UK is getting something that US isn't...
Wow for once we're actually getting a promo in the UK that isn't in the USA :O
Don't worry, our sign-up bonuses and card perks are still lucky if they're a quarter of what you folks get, so this is only one tiny win for us!
@ TravelinWilly @Andy 11235
Thanks for the recommendations, I'll read about this on both forums. I'll be carrying around these two luggages because I'll have no home to return to and even if I'd rent something cheap, it doesn't make sense to pay the rent and the utilities for clothes only and to return from Asia for those clothes.
I like these airlines (based on what I read here and elsewhere): Cathay Pacific, Singapore Airlines,...
@ TravelinWilly @Andy 11235
Thanks for the recommendations, I'll read about this on both forums. I'll be carrying around these two luggages because I'll have no home to return to and even if I'd rent something cheap, it doesn't make sense to pay the rent and the utilities for clothes only and to return from Asia for those clothes.
I like these airlines (based on what I read here and elsewhere): Cathay Pacific, Singapore Airlines, Qantas, Air New Zealand, Air China, ANA, Japan Airlines, Korean Air, maybe Thai and Garuda but I read on this blog that the US authorities doesn't allow them to fly to the US because of safety concerns so I'm kinda skeptical of Thai and Garuda.
Gulf carriers are a big no-no so don't even mention those.
@neu
I rather agree... this is an excellent thing to post in the "Ask Lucky" forum. To help people help you, you need to provide a bit more detail. For example, status requires flying a lot on revenue tickets. Where you plan on traveling will determine what airlines are reasonable targets.
Just to put it out there, that's a LOT of luggage. Asia is full of inexpensive laundry services (and cheap clothing!), so I would...
@neu
I rather agree... this is an excellent thing to post in the "Ask Lucky" forum. To help people help you, you need to provide a bit more detail. For example, status requires flying a lot on revenue tickets. Where you plan on traveling will determine what airlines are reasonable targets.
Just to put it out there, that's a LOT of luggage. Asia is full of inexpensive laundry services (and cheap clothing!), so I would strongly reconsider how much you plan on carrying with you. Also remember that carry-on bags are rarely weighed, so you can help matters by packing the heaviest stuff in your carry on.
Good luck!
@neu - I don't "work here" but your questions are pretty broad and aren't really relevant to this post.
I would suggest you check out FlyerTalk (www.flyertalk.com) or other travel-related sites to see if you can't find your answers, as the answers to pretty much all your questions start with "It depends..." and then leads to numerous other questions based on your initial answers.
Good luck!
Hi Lucky!
I'll become a digital nomad from the next year. In the first year I want to discover Asia because it's cheap and beautiful. I'll be traveling with two 32 inch suitcases and I think each will weigh max 35kg. It's a lot and I may have to pay a lot even though I'll be traveling on business class. How can I minimize these fees? I can't commit myself to one airline because I...
Hi Lucky!
I'll become a digital nomad from the next year. In the first year I want to discover Asia because it's cheap and beautiful. I'll be traveling with two 32 inch suitcases and I think each will weigh max 35kg. It's a lot and I may have to pay a lot even though I'll be traveling on business class. How can I minimize these fees? I can't commit myself to one airline because I want to discover many places but I may be able to stay within one alliance. In which program can I gain status the fastest possible way and which status will get me some extra baggage allowance wit all the airlines within the alliance? I'm European so the US credit cards are not available for me.
Best,
Neu
FYI Amex Shop Small is still running with the same incentive in the UK, as I had the promo mail only last week. That is, spend minimum £10 and get £5 cashback on your statement.