There’s a great AMEX offer for a $20 statement credit when you spend $50+ at Jet.com. Play it right and that’s ~40% off your purchase! (Check your accounts online, or sync via Twitter with #AmexJet.)
But here’s something I noticed.
Funny language
The language is a bit different than usual AMEX Offers
There’s no mention of having to spend $50 in 1 transaction.
Another AMEX Offer with the typical conditions
There are several other AMEX Offers that do say you have to spend the required amount all in 1 go, like the one for Delivery.com.
Why this counts
Jet.com is notorious for splitting up transactions. Usually, I love this, because it helps me hit 30 transactions on my AMEX EveryDay Preferred card. But with this offer, I’m not sure if it helps or not.
I added $50 worth of stuff to my cart, and placed the order.
Usually, AMEX is a big ol’ creep and sends out an email right away. Something to the effect of:
This email usually arrives seconds after payment
Not this time. I think it’s because Jet.com splits the order into items sold by Jet.com, and items sold by other merchants.
I hit the $50 mark, but didn’t get the email
When I saw that, I thought, uh oh, this might not count. But then when I looked at the terms and conditions of the offer again, I didn’t see anything about needing to make 1 transaction.
Make sure it’s “Fulfilled by Jet” if you get in on this
I tried to stock up on apple cider vinegar, activated charcoal, and a few other this-n-that items.
Many items are NOT fulfilled by Jet
Going off the totals of the items in the cart, it’s clear Jet.com charges items fulfilled by each individual merchant separately.
I waited about 20 minutes to get the “Great News! You just used your Amex Offer” email, but it never came. So I canceled the order. I’ll try again next month.
Go Amazon for now
Jet.com is an Amazon.com competitor.
And this month, I’m busy buying Amazon gift cards (and donating to charity via Giving Assistant) with my Chase Freedom card to earn 10X Chase Ultimate Rewards points this month. Plus, Discover It is also offering 5% cashback (which will double to 10% cashback for new cardmembers).
I’d rather earn 10X Chase Ultimate Rewards points, especially because:
- The Chase Freedom/Discover It bonuses end on December 31st, 2015
- The Jet.com offer ends January 31st, 2016
- I don’t feel like finding $50 worth of items fulfilled by Jet to see if the offer will trigger or not, and don’t want to risk it when there are other bonuses right now anyway
- 10X Chase Ultimate Rewards points at Amazon is simply too good to pass up
Update 12/13/15: Readers commented the Jet.com AMEX Offer does work regardless of how Jet splits up the transactions. So if you’ve maxed out the Chase Freedom/Discover It promotions, you should be good to go with the AMEX Offer. That said, I’d still choose the other promotions before this one (at least the Chase Freedom deal – Discover It’s 10% cash back doesn’t compare to 40% off). Suffice it to say, you have options!
Maybe in January I can give the Jet.com AMEX Offer another go. And call AMEX to point out it says nothing about a single transaction if it doesn’t post.
Plus, I’m sure I’ll need things for my new house in Dallas next month.
Until then, I’m sticking with Amazon. The bonuses are too good and the safe bet is better than the “risky” one.
Or, try this
If you do want to redeem the Jet.com offer this month, you could try to target items fulfilled by Jet so you’ll be charged in 1 transaction. That seems like it would work fine.
In my case, I didn’t want to buy items I didn’t actually need for the sake of getting in on a deal. But if everything you want is fulfilled by Jet anyway, it might be a great way to save ~40% on household basics.
Bottom line
Wanted to share my experience in case you wonder why the “Great news!…” email doesn’t come right away.
Doctor of Credit reports AMEX might be limiting the ability to sync the same AMEX Offer across multiple cards.
So perhaps they’re backed up/not sending emails within a few minutes, or just buggy/glitchy right now.
Or maybe I’m waaaay off base as I tend to be sometimes.
In any case, I’m waiting until January to redeem the Jet.com AMEX Offer, all else considered.
The Amazon deals are just too good right now, and I’m unsure the way Jet.com charges items fulfilled by other merchants will trigger the AMEX Offer. Besides, next month is another month, and I’d rather take advantage of other deals expiring sooner.
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How can you tell what is fulfilled by Jet?
Next to the product, it’ll say “By [name of merchant].” If it says nothing, it’s fulfilled by Jet.
Or you’ll see it on the final order screen. They break it down by merchant.
I made 2 purchases last night.
1. for $70+, used $20 off code, paid $50+ and although the order was broken down on 3 or 4 purchases I got Amex email confirmation.
2. for $65, used ANDROID20 for 20% off and paid again $50+ with another Amex card, got email confirmation although that order was broken down to 3 purchases as well. YMMV.
Nice! Thank you for confirming!!!
How long before you got the email?
Almost immediately.
Yes, that’s what made me nervous and spurred me to write the post. Because I never got the email.
But it seems like all is good with the offer despite that.
Thank you again for the info!
What does minimum of 50+ mean? It’s either minimum of 50 or 50+ isn’t it? That’s very confusing Amex
LOL, as long as your total is at least $50, you’re good to go.
You can spend exactly $50.00 and still qualify for the offer. 🙂
I figured that’s what it means but still confusing for those who have never tried using Amex offers before
Agreed. Learning this stuff is like a new language sometimes!
Sorry, I was to lazy to go back and find the exact amount after discount. Just keep reading blogs, Flyertalk forums etc. and you will get the lingo sooner than later.
It worked for me. Didn’t matter who fulfilled it. Just had to wait for the items to ship for the charges to process. AMEX won’t pay the reward on authorizations and Jet.com does not charge you until the items ship
Nice, thanks for adding. AMEX usually emails me the second I swipe a card (or place an order) and that didn’t happen this time, so I thought to err on the side of caution. Plus, I can order the same stuff from Amazon and earn points/cashback this month, so I’ll save the Jet offer for next month.
Thank you for clarifying and commenting!
Isn’t Chase Freedom giving 10% through Dec. 31st rather than 5%?
Yes! OMG! Updating now.
Thank you!
Jet.com is going to be a serious competitor for amazon. We see many merchants are desperately looking for an alternative to Amazon. We provide JET API integration services via our platform http://www.geekseller.com, and a demand is huge.
Great! It’s about time!