American Express Saks Fifth Avenue $50 Twice Annual Credit – Everything You Need To Know [Return Clawbacks]

Update 1/26/19: Some readers returned items that they received the credit on. American Express has begun to claw back any credit issued for items that were returned.

American Express added a new benefit to the American Express Personal Platinum card offering a $50 credit towards Saks Fifth Avenue purchases. You receive a $50 credit on purchases made from January 1st until June 30th and another $50 credit for purchases made from July 1st until December 31st, 2018. You can enroll for the benefit here.

The Fine Print

• Only the Basic Card Member or Authorized Account Manager(s) on a U.S. Consumer Platinum Card® Account can enroll in the benefit. Eligible purchases must be charged to the enrolled Card Account for the benefit to apply.
• Purchases by both the enrolled Basic Card Member and Additional Card Members on the eligible Card Account are eligible for statement credits.
• However, each Card Account is only eligible for up to a $50 statement credit from January through June and up to a $50 statement credit from July through December for a total of $100 per calendar year in statement credits across all Cards on the Account.
• Valid at Saks Fifth Avenue online or at locations in the US and US Territories.
• Not valid on Saks Fifth Avenue Gift Cards or purchases at outlet locations (in stores and online).
• Excludes purchases at restaurants located within the store and Online Bill Pay for Saks Credit.
• Not valid on online purchases shipped outside of the US.
• Please allow 2-4 weeks after an eligible purchase is charged to your Card Account for statement credit(s) to be posted to the Account.
• Please call the number on the back of the Card if statement credits have not posted after 4 weeks from the date of purchase.
• Note that American Express may not receive information about your eligible purchase from merchant until all items from your eligible purchase have been provided/shipped by merchant.
• Statement credit may be reversed if the eligible purchase is returned/cancelled.
• If American Express does not receive information that identifies your transaction as eligible for the benefit, you will not receive the statement credit. For example, your transaction will not be eligible if it is not made directly with the merchant.
• In addition, in most cases, you may not receive the statement credit if your transaction is made with an electronic wallet or through a third party or if the merchant uses a mobile or wireless card reader to process it.
• To be eligible for this benefit, Card Account(s) must be not canceled and not past due at the time of statement credits fulfillment.
• If a charge for an eligible purchase is included in a Pay Over Time feature balance on your Card Account, the statement credit associated with that charge may not be applied to that Pay Over Time feature balance. Instead, the statement credit may be applied to your Pay In Full balance.
• For additional information, call the number on the back of your Card.

Maximizing The $50 Credit

• Make sure you use a shopping portal if ordering online. You can view the best current rates here.
• A list of items that cost less than $50 can be found here.
• You can get free delivery with ShopRunner.

F.A.Q’s

Do gift card purchases work?

According to the fine print gift card purchases do not count. If it automatically posts then you shouldn’t have any issues, but you obviously won’t have any recourse if that isn’t the case. Note that gift cards start at $150 online, but you can get a $50 denomination in store. Data points of it working: 1, 2, 3,

Can you split payment across multiple cards?

Yes you can split payment across multiple cards in store. It seems some stores are either unable to split tender properly or don’t know how to do it.

Do authorized users get their own credit?

No authorized users do not get their own credit, but purchases made by authorized users will trigger the credit. For example if the primary cardholder makes $50 in eligible purchases and the authorized user makes $50 in eligible purchases the total credit received will be $50. Similarly if the primary cardholder makes $0 in eligible purchases and the authorized user makes $50 in eligible purchases a $50 credit will be received.

Does this benefit work on other variations of the personal Platinum card (e.g Schwab)

Yes, it will work on any variation of the personal Platinum card. Keep in mind it does not apply to the business version of the card.

I received a $50 credit, but I didn’t make any Saks purchases?

It seems that if you enrolled before July 1st then a $50 credit is posting even if a Saks purchase was not made. It’s unclear if American Express will claw this back and if it counts as your July – December $50 credit for 2018 or not. Might be a January to June credit though. Update: Looks like this is definitely the January – June credit as lots of readers are reporting receiving two credits in total.

Does this work at Saks off 5th?

Outlet locations are specifically excluded in the fine print, I assume Saks off 5th counts as an outlet location. We don’t have any data points on whether this works or not unfortunately.

How long does the credit take to appear?

Officially it states two to four weeks, in practice it seems to be posting within about a week.

Does the $50 have to be made in one transaction?

No, the fine print specifically mentions purchases rather than purchase. You can make multiple transactions and you receive a credit up to $50.

Do shopping portals work?

Yes, this is just considered a regular purchase and then you get a credit from American Express at a later date. You should have no trouble receiving a portal payout and they are currently tracking correctly.

Isn’t biannual once every two years?

Biannual “Something occurring twice each year”. You’re thinking of biennial. I’ve tried to make the title clear it’s twice every year to avoid confusion.

I have another question…?

Well ask it in the comments below and we will do our best to answer it, or another helpful reader will! Please make sure you take the time to read through this post so you’re not asking questions that have already been answered.