Are You Ready For Small Business Saturday? Where Will You Be Shopping? Plus A Roundup Of Fees For Additional User Cards.

Dan – any way you can compile a list of stores that will be accepting order forms? I have tons of CCs but the kosher grocery store in the area isn’t participating. There’s a limit to how much take-out food I can eat in one night 😉

@Geshmak:
Why are they not participating?

i know you wrote target redcard doesnt work for sbs but i see you can add more cards, so why is it no good?

@yehuda:
What does the ability to add more cards to the Target AMEX REDcard have to do with its’ SBS eligibility?

When do you need to register cards by?

@Ally:
Registration will open in a couple of weeks.
I’ll post here when it’s open.

If anyone can chime in, what do you think is a reasonable number of au’s I can add without raising any flags for a au. I know there is no “magic number” but do you think 10 is safe? Should i stick with more like 6 or 7? I know people have gotten away with 20-50 and more but i wanna stay safe yet maximize what i can

When swiping 3 times 10 dollars in one store, will that make amex suspect fraudulent activity and thus decline the charges? I read, I think in ddf that someone suggests charging 10.01, 10.02 etc. to avoid that. Dan, do you agree that that’s necessary?

Does the Macy’s American express card qualify for small business Saturday?

I know you wrote that Serve cards also qualify for Small Business Saturday. How can I add add 4 sub-accounts to your Serve card for free ?? My wife and I each have our own Serve account.

@David:
I think 10 would be fine, but something like a financial review can be the sum total of many factors, so it’s impossible to say what exactly will trigger it.

@Fishy:
If they do decline the $10 charge then make it $10.01, what’s the big deal?

@Toby:
Yes.
However with AMEX issued cards they will stand behind it if it doesn’t post automatically.
With 3rd party AMEX cards it can be tough to get honored if for some reason it doesn’t post automatically.

@MO:
Login to your account and click add sub-account.

How do you figure that on the brand new everyday preferred with 1 AU you get $90 on SBS ?

@Timmy:
1 primary+2 AUs=$90.

@Dan: nevermind, i see this Corporate Cards and all prepaid Card products (other than
American Express Serve® and Bluebird®) are not eligible.

By all the cards that have free AU’s, that’s even after first year, correct ?

@Timmy:
Correct.

can we use the same card 3X in the same store? (I realize fluctuating the amount as per fishy)

@ Dan The big deal would be if AMEX shuts down the account due to security concerns and then you have to be busy calling them to reactivate it. Doing that with all the amex accounts can be tiring to say the least..

@dan fan:
Of course.

I did $5 x 3 times on all of my AMEX cards at Miami Beach Chocolates and they all processed just fine with no need to fluctuate the amount.
All refunds came through perfectly.

@Fishy:
Never heard of that happening.

How do u add yourself as an additional??

Called amex to add au to my blue cash and they told me there is a limit of 3 au per blue cash card…. is that new?

@Dan:One of my favorite places to use it, switched to swiping with a square card reader on a ipad. Do you think charges there will qualify this year?

The SBS map for Brooklyn /BP or FB doesn’t have most frum biz,
Are they still a part of SBS if they are a small biz?

You can even add an AU twice!

Also does bb work for SBS? And if yes how many accounts can I add to my bb card?

@Dan can i add additional for serve over the phone or only online?

“When you add additional user cards online you need to give a social security number, but when you add them over the phone you can just say that you don’t have the social security number handy. ”

When you fill out the form online you can just give a random 9 digit number (as long as it passes the requirments here – http://www.ssa.gov/employer/randomization.html ) and it will work.

@Jack:
Online.

@ben:
Never heard of that, though my cards are all mileage cards.

@Kevin:
Dunno.

@Martin:
In my experience it works even if they’re not on the map.
But YMMV.
Might want to try a swipe and see if you get a confirmation email that day.

@Martin:
Or more 😀

@ben:
It says it will work, I guess we’ll know for sure when registration opens.

Better question is why haven’t you switched to Softcard Serve or REDcard 😉

@Shmo:
Should be able to do it either way.

@Shai:
Better off doing it over the phone than committing fraud.

does bb work for sbs?

@fan of dan:
See comment 28.

@Dan:
Yeah, not committing fraud is always a plus.

@Dan:

The kosher store in Passaic doesn’t even accept Amex.

When is registration open to register your Amex cards?

@Dan’s the Man:
11/16.

Dan,not everyone can get softcard, if u use prepaid and Red isn’t in NY yet.
Sad!!

@Martin:
People have gone into cell phone stores to activate Softcard 😉

does it include Amex Hilton card?

@Yoni:
Yes.
Better question is why you have that card though…

To all the people adding themselves as an AU once or multiple times… If that does lead to an FR how do you plan on explaining it? Also bear in mind even if you can pass an F R if it’s ongoing during SBS your cards are locked and you get zero credits. In my humble opinion better safe then sorry….

@Yaks:
FR can be cleared in a couple days.

Plenty or reasons to have multiple cards. To keep charges at different stores on separate accounts to track them, etc.

Ultimately though pigs get fat and hogs get slaughtered, so be smart about it.

Just to confirm, I can add myself to my own credit card as an AU multiple times online (with my SS number), with no problem?

If I sign up AUs on my account through calling without SS, can I then use these cards without adding the SS will I get the refund? Also does it matter what name I put down, can I make up first names and use my last name? If I use my wifes name does this preclude her from signing up for her own card at a later time?

Dan, I’m not sure I follow. You write: “The excellent Starwood card has a $65 annual fee after the first free year, but with just 1 free additional user card you can get $60 in free spending on Small Business Saturday.”
Meaning you can only add one user for free.

Then you write: “-Starwood Preferred Guest® Credit Card from American Express (10K Starpoints for spending $1 plus another 15K bonus Starpoints for spending $5K in 6 months. 25% point bonus for transfers to airlines in 20K increments. $65 annual fee waived for first year. No fee for additional cardholders.)”
Meaning no fee for additional user no matter how many..

Which one is right??

@ rachel: Where in the first statement does it say you can only sign on one AU for free?

Does it need to be a real name?

@Rachel: You’re not reading the first one correctly – he’s saying you don’t even need a lot of AUs to make it worthwhile – even with just one (though you CAN add more), you pretty much make your money back.

ok, added au over phone, got email several weeks later asking to complete AU SS on enclosed link. now what.

@reeeeed: @Anonymous: Got it. Thanks

@Dan:

You can’t softcard if you’re phone plan is on a corporate account

@Anonymous:
Yes.

@REEEED:
You will get the refund.
Adding an AU does not preclude the AU from getting their own card.

@Rachel:
Lol, should be an SAT reading comprehension question.

See comments below for the answer.

@Queen Esther:
Read the post. Card should still work, go ahead and try.

@Anonymous:
I have a corp VZW account and Softcard. Just needed the NFC SIM.

@Anonymous:
I did. You just need corporate to order the special sim for you. It’s free.

dan,

can i add my 5 month old baby as an additional user? Is there an age requirment for additional users?

Dan,

I was added as an additional user & i see it on my credit report isn’t this a hard pull?

@mendy from lakewood:
15 years old.

@David:
No.

is there a list of stores that this will work

Hi Dan. You mentioned Serve. What about Bluebird?

The big question;
Does it need to be a physical swipe?

I recently added an au to my amex business card. They said it can’t bee activated without a social security. Any way to get around that?

-TrueEarnings® Card from Costco and American Express (3% cash back on gas, 2% cash back on travel and restaurants, no annual fee. No fee for additional cardholders.)

You could only add a costco member with the costco mebership# for an additional user and only once.

Someone told that thus year amex says that if u have 8 or more au’s on any acct that do the charges that day then that will cause a FR especially if the cards are not used outside of the promotions. . Does anyone know about that? I have a few accts with 13 au’s. Should limit to 7?

@bizzel:
http://shopsmallnow.americanexpress.com/?linknav=us-loy-open-shopsmall-footermap

@Yebo:
Read previous comments.

@DoGo:
No.

@Yaakov:
Read the post and previous comments.

@ygift:
When you’re done with that someone I have a bridge in Brooklyn to sell you.

@Dan: I read the post as well as all the comments. I never had a problem activating consumer cards, but it seems like business cards need a social even when activating over the phone.

@Yaakov:
As I wrote in the post and comments, you generally don’t need to activate AU cards to use them.

@Rachel: No fee for any additional. Its total $65 annually

FYI: A couple years back i added a bunch of AUs(i think 8 per card for 6 amex cards) close to SBS. I did it over the phone w/o SS#. They FR’d all the cards between Thurs & Fri before SBS & without giving all the SS#s i couldnt clear it up.

Do citi issued amex card have a different number for AUs?

@Steve:
48 cards is a lot at one shot.
And doing it very close to SBS was a mistake.

@Chaim:
No.

everyone, just for a by the way, adding AU’s on ANY type of card, builds their credit. the moment i turned 18, i had at least 4 cards with $40k approved credit. just keep on adding AU’s on your account when they’re young. it builds their profile in no time. also, any info regarding SMS and their map can be found on http://shopsmallnow.americanexpress.com/

@Dan: Well it was done over a number of days, but still…

My larger point was that if you dont have valid ss#s for ur AUs then you wont pass an FR.

@Anonymous:
Good point!

Dan do I have to make the purchase on shabbas ??
As frumer yid it’s kind of hard to shop on saterday if so
2. Does the charge has to be 10$ Exact or any amount above 10 they will give credit 10$ ?

@David: Of course not; Motzei Shabbos is also fine. Any amount $10 and above is fine. Please check your spelling before posting.

Is there a phone number to register? Or only on-line?

Jill’s Unique Boutique will be open in Cleveland on Saturday night for American Express Saturday from 7:30 PM. thru Midnight on Saturday November 29, 2014. Buy Kiki Riki, Linda Leal, NYDJ, and more great clothing for women and girls.

Last year several customers called in their numbers and it worked. Feel free to call me in Cleveland, Ohio 216 382 9909.

Does anybody know if blums party goods in cleveland is going to be opend on motzei shabbos

@anonymous I beleive they are being opened
also @dan if you dont have to give a ss number then they have no way of knowing who the au is so why cant you add a 2 year old as a au?

How can I get special offers for AU? wont allow me to add on line account without SS.

For those who had FR before SBS for AU, what info will be needed?

@The clevelander:
They ask for a birthday.

@Qeeun:
You don’t need an account for SBS.

You register on a page like this one:

https://merchantgeo.secure.force.com/enroll/EnrollmentSitePage?offer=ShopNYC

Any businesses in the Five Towns that will be open Motzei Shabbos 11/29 and will accommodate multiple credit card swipes?

People should take in mind that Shabbos goes out 5:43 on SBS so plenty of non-jewish stores should still be open that time, just make plans ahead so you don’t waste extra time before stores close

The gift registery in Lakewood New Jersey
Great people
Great Customer service.
From a loyal customer

Yiddi’s! New store on tenth and madison in Lakewood. Cant wait for the best melava malka of all time! Their actually opening that motzai shabbos specifically for SBS!

Last year was a phone number to register the cards. Will it be this year to, only via online??
Thanks dan!

@Yehuda: yiddi told me he plans on opening every motzai shabbos soon. always love free food! thanx dan!

Thanx dan I was just wondering If I have 12 amex buisness cards and I ad 8 au to each card do you think they will lock my card?

Dan, thanks f post no 79
Where can I find more like that, for wm n ct offers?
Thank you

Also need to be diff email than card holder?

I have an email from the SBS special dept that it needs to be a physical swipe.

Hello,

To answer your question as far as if they will receive the credit by being key entered, due to the terms and conditions, no they will not receive the credit being manually entered. The card will physically need to be swiped through the terminal at a physical location.  If you have any further questions please feel free to give us a call at 1-800-235-8916, Monday-Friday from 9am-6pm EST.

Have a fantastic day!
Jessica Gundy
Shop Small Merchant Servicing | American Express
1 (800) 235-8916 | ShopSmallHelp@aexp.com

Here is a list of a part of wmsbg. stores where it will work…..
Green Leaf Supermarket,Hatzlucha Supermarket
Grill on Lee, Cafe au Lee, (they’ll be open motza shabbos starting from this week already) Avenue Cafe’, Landau’s Supermarket, Chestnut,Central Market, Choccolicious,Greens Pizza Shop, Ice Cream house,Sanders Bakery, Supreme Health,S&W Ladies Wear,Duddys Bakery, Slices,Lefkowitz Grocery, Frankel’s Grocery,Food Praimid, Marcy Gardens, Lee Gardens, Schreiber Fruit, Yetev Lev Butcher, Kaff Bakery, Steinberg Bakery, Food Expo,

are there any online stores that qualify?

is there anything wrong with giving your SS#
is it better to add the au over the phone?

@Queen:
Doesn’t exist for those offers.

@Queen:
Same email is fine.

@Dogo:
They always say that.
But it’s never needed to be an actual swipe.

By the Miami SBS in August they said the same thing and it worked fine.

I guess we’ll see for sure, but I’m not worried.

@carageenan:
It’s not valid online.

@curious:
Nothing wrong unless the card is poorly utilized which will then hurt the AU.
But a well utilized card will help in general.

DOES THE BLUEBIRD CARD QUALIFY FOR SMALL BUS SATERDAY?

Dan, link where all that are available would be listed?
Would prime holder ss work for on line create am acct add offers?

Please teach how to fish, don’t give me a herring
🙂

I have heard that seasons in queens is a prime place on saturday night.

“Hit the comments to share where you’ll be shopping.”

I have been looking to buy a set of Rav Hirsch Chumashim (the big Orange set) but the $200 has been out of my price range…until Motza”sh!!! Here’s to hoping Safra in Queens is open Sat nite.
The rest will be for local restaurant certificates (e.g. Carlos & Gabby’s).

And I called Amex to ask if it’s okay to add family members as AU’s even though they won’t use the card, just for the benefits. The lady yelled “Of course!” So there’s a way to do it without having anything to fear.

Dan–
They are asking me to provide ssn and dob for each au I added. Is that standard or are they suspicious of me? I added 10 per account that I have. I want to add another 10 for each of my accounts. Will they see that I already added 10?
How can I test if they work without activating them? I am gonna have like 90 cards by the time I’m done.

@CHARLES:
Read previous comments.

@Queen:
http://shopsmallnow.americanexpress.com/?linknav=us-loy-open-shopsmall-footermap

@leah:
They work without activating.

I heard that judaica world in crown Heights will be open for sbs

Hi, I added about 25 au to 2 accounts that I opened within the past 60 days
All cards on my ss
I was trying to load my red card. And the charge got declined, so I called up, they stated asking me a lot of questions, then at the end they said since I spent a lot I need to pay my bill and send them 3 months bank statements, b4 they will reopen my account, do I need to be worried about the aus?

Can I use a Starwood Business Card for Small Business Saturday?

For those of you adding more than a couple AU per card, are you doing this online, or by calling in? I normally don’t like calling in, but I might do that if it means I can avoid giving SSN. But if I call in and add another AU with the same name, won’t the CSR suspect something fishy?

Dan I see that you never write that you get this credit ($30) on the Delta Platinum Card too!! do we get??

will my business spg card work?

Hello Dan,

How about charities? Last year I did it @ a charity & it worked just fine. Can I take thi for granted this year as well?

Thank You

I am torn between two worlds in regards to SBS:

1. Should I create 200 (the max) AU’s on each of my 6 Amex accts and reap the rewards.

or

2. Is it not nice to take advantage like this?

My reasoning for both:

1. They could care less if the same person signs up 1000 cards, if they cared they would forbid such actions on the T&C. Also I would not mind to make some nice cash

2. Just because it is there it does not mean that I need to take advantage. Similar to a website such as this one, I can say that the website is here and open to the public so why not keep hitting refresh on the pages or just post spam in the comments or forums? It is available to me so why not take advantage? The answer my dear watson is because it is not a nice thing nor a ethical thing to do.

I want to apply for the Blue Cash Everyday Card that offers a $50 stmt credit plus 1 year of Prime. When clicking on your link, it doesn’t show that the offer is still active. How would I go about still getting that offer?

@Mplace:
RedCard has nothing to do with AUs.

@Moshe B:
Yes.

@Dave:
Call and just have a reason, see previous comments.

@CE:
Yes.

@moshe:
Yes.

@Hello:
Should work again.

@Miami:
Just do a few and be happy?

@Dassa:
Try another browser.

Hi Dan,

First I’ve heard of adding yourself as your own authorized user!

Think its “reasonably safe” to add myself as an AU to 4 of my AMEX cards or should I be more conservative since…its me?

Thanks!

@Miami: agree with Dan. you’re seriously thinking to swipe 1200 cards in ONE day? the stores would probably kick you out at 10th swipe…or we’d be seeing you in the news…peace 😀

dan, asked for link to find how to enter offers for AU. Not sbs. like sony, macys etc. is there such a link?

also, are GCs ok for MS on new amex cards? biz gold permier?

max chase consumer approved for one person?

Thanks

SBS map this yr shows nothing. last year there were many. why.
also safra said he is not sure if he would be open. anyone confirmed with him?

@Dan:
I was saying, I got flaged (on the card with 25 au) while trying to load my red card
My question was if the reason for the sstop is bc I spent too much without making a payment, will they also make issues about the au’s

@dan if I just opened a amex business gold and I spent the money but the 50000 bonus miles dosent post until I beleive the end of the month, so if I open alot of aus and it goes under a fr (and lets say I fail) and they lock my acct do I lose my miles?

Does anyone know which stores will be open in Crown Heights and have patience to swipe all these cards?

@anonymous:
I think judaica world
Btw how many cards?

Question to all of you cc users for sbs. Are you being charged sales tax on all of these purchases?

Dan,
How many cards are you getting? Have you ever been fr ?

@Anonymous: Not tons but you never know if they’re interesting in doing it for you

How difficult to open a biz acct w amex?
Gc ok f spend? Where else spend?

@anonymous: Hamafitz Judaica

Blums paper goods will be opened

Dan, how many additional users per card will trigger a fr

Could anyone explain how you could apply for serve in a cell phone store? Didn’t it need a SIM also in it?

@Dan, re ur answer @Dave:
Call and just have a reason, see previous comments.

what kind of reason can I say to add my self as an AU???

thanks for your help Dan!!!

@Dave:
Call and just have a reason, see previous comments.

what reason can I say Dan?

You should rather ask the stores if they are ready for the looong lines…
Whrn does the registration open?

I’ll be manning the register at BPS Grocery 19th Avenue & 50th Street. Come early.

Added two additional users to my spg and blue cash . My credit report says there was a hard pull

@samuel:
Next sunday.

@meir:
At most its a soft pull which doesn’t affect your score.

Does the additional cards need to be real people or I can give any name and dob?

@Booky:
I’d strongly advise just using real people.

@dan

how many Amex do you have 🙂
going to use mine to buy jewelry this year!

How are you guys planning to do so many transactions on so many cards? My wife and I have 3 real AMEX and 1 Serve, if all goes well, I’ll have 3 AU on each AMEX and 1 additional card for the Serve– so 14 total cards, 42 total transactions needed between my wife and I. The only thing I can think of is buying a bunch of small gift cards/certificates at stores we like. What I’m still unsure about is how many transactions we can do in each store before the cashier gets suspicious or uncomfortable. Maybe 1 transaction on each of the 14 cards at each store, for 3 total stores? Or 4 transactions per store for 6 stores?

do serve sub accounts get their own separate small business promotion ?

Is there any way for a credit report to see how many AU’s you have on an account? Trying for a mortgage soon and trying to be extra careful…

I have the blue cash preferred and chatted with a customer service rep and was told the SBS promotion was only good for the primary cardholder and not the other AU. What now?

@dan can I add myself twice as au to my husband with same ss # once with married name and once with legal birth name?

Does costco amex card AU qualify ?

BCP, I’ve only used AU card once and that was last year. I didn’t get the SBS credit and called and was told the same thing. But everybody here is so convinced that AU cards work so they prob have experience with that. But I suspect if l doesn’t post for whatever reason, you’re probably SOL.

@jacksassonbk:
Where do you plan to shop?

@david:
Just tell the store what the deal is.

@gh:
As long as you can register them they should.

@Mark:
AUs don’t affect your credit.

@Blue cash preferred.:
Rep is clueless.

@Question:
Go try?

@Moko:
Yes.

@DAVE:
And I’ve done AUs for the past 5 years and never had an issue as have thousands of others.

You get a confirmation email for every card you register.

Note that only AMEX issued AUs qualify.
Citi AMEX AUs or Macys AUs will not.

Breadberry in Boro Park is listed on the Shop Small map.

What about bluebird

Any kosher supermarkets in the Teaneck area open? Or in Monsey? Does Rockland Kosher qualify? Are they open Motzei Shabbos?

@dan REDcard not eligible?

As far as SBS rules…
Can I do all my charges 3 per card on 14 cards at the same store/location?

@Jo:
Theoretically it should work.
We’ll see next Sunday if it lets you register though.

@hvaces42:
No.

@Bottom line:
Yes.

Thanks for the info, just recieved and activated my Blue card. How long does it usually take to get the Amazon Prime code?

@Toby: no and neither does the fidelity amex

Dan I think this year the limits will be reached and registration will actually close as opposed to previous years . Simply BC last year at $10 a card was relatively low and people opened xtra cards to make up for those losses now all of those cards x 3 is an awful Lot more especially since every year more people join and the greedy get more guts (some guy posted he has 400 cards!!) – I would really not be surprised if registration closes after 2 days this year
I understand that amex is writing this off for tax purposes but funds are not unlimited even at Amex

Help! I just tried creating an account for a new AU and received the following message: http://www.uploady.com/#!/download/lg2CVsrLovM/Yzhc5aBoRZ5U7My6. Any ideas? How is it possible to create a separate AMEX login for an AU without the SSN?

Eichlers of Flatbush will be taking cc info before Shabbos so you can order gift cards without physically walking into store

Tnx for the great info as always!!!
Q. Adding someome as AU will make it harder for them to get approved for thier own amex cc since they have already a credit line as an AU?

@sara: they usually have a sale that time of the year but you cant get sale price when you buy with their GC. and so are some other BP stores so it might be very convenient for e/o but you lose the sale price

@Yitz: True, but why would you not rather support a yid?

Are there any restrictions against using all 3 $10 swipes in one store? Do they need to be separate stores?

hi do i need to register me cards in order to receive the offer .
if yes please a link for that anyone
thanks

sruly

@Dan: Dan comment 153 was for u – thanks what’s your opinion ?

Do SPG Open Business Cards work or is that considered a corporate card? How about Business Gold Card?

Hi,

Does anyone know how long it takes to receive a au card from amex?

Is there a list of all participating stores in Borough Park? I tried their website, but am not seeing many stores that have participated in the past. Thanks!

@Tzvi:

They told me 7-10 business days.

Which queens stores will be open? Boro park?
Link to stores lusting?
Seasans n safta said not open

Anyone know if any of the resturants in the city qualify for small Buiz sat?

Shop small business Saturday. Last year estihana tear each ( then Chaiko ) offered gift cards to be used anytime. For every $30 of Amex charge I get a $36 gift card. Crispy beef here I come!!!

How fast does registration generally fill up? Like would there be time and spots for me to register 400 amex cards (99 au’s each for 4 cards) and get a lot of my friends and family to do the same?

Do you think Wells Fargo Prpel AMEX will work?

i received the propel card today & it specifically says that it is eligible for Amex offers

So $400 for sign up bonus & $ 20 for iPhone Apple pay &$100 airline reimbursement total is $550.
Might be au another $30 waiting to see when I get that if it will be like real Amex & different ending digits.

Y is this card so under the radar?

@Eli: mishigina !

DB Electronics In Lakewood is doing it again
they will take your card register it for you and charge it for you on Saturday night

anyone know of any resturants in teaneck or the city thta will take my info down and swipe for gift cards on sbs

do i have to register each individual authorized user cards or the primary activates it for all?

@scott: each individual AU

Luach.com has a list of SBS participating stores for many frum locations at https://luach.com/small-business-saturday

I just saw on Facebook that Merkaz Stam on Kinsgton is already taking phone orders 718-773-1120 in advance and processing them on Saturday night so I think I’ll buy my son’s Tefillin with me and my wife’s 55 cards 🙂

@sara: you can email Eichlers at amex@eichlers.com

I have dillards Amex card issue by wellsfargo will it work?

Can a small merchant register to appear in ShopSmall if they accept Amex through PayPal terminals?

dan i need to ask you something very important,. wat happenes if amex does financial review on you