Amex Gift Card - The Perfect American Express Gift For Any Season or Reason

On 30 September 2009 American Express announced their ground-breaking decision to become the first major issuer of  branded gift cards to eliminate all after-purchase fees on all of their gift cards.

This means that American Express Gift Cards are the only universal gift cards that do not attract fees for activation, monthly service fees, checking of balances or replacement of lost or stolen cards.

These changes came into effect on 30 September 2009 and were applicable to all American Express Gift Cards , including those that had already been purchased prior to the announcement.

This will most certainly give American Express a competitive edge and make them the Gift Card of choice. It also makes an Amex Gift Card a more perfect gift. No longer do you need to stress about the monthly charges eroding the wedding, birthday or thank you gift that you gave.

The recipient can take as long as they wish to decide exactly how they wish to spend their gift – the Amex Gift Card never expires.

This brave step in the right direction will certainly pay-off  as the Simon Property Group, Inc. have already announced that it has expanded its relationship with American Express who will now become the primary provider Simon Gift Cards.

Besides being one of the pioneers of universal gift cards the Simon Property Group owns highly productive regional malls, Premium Outlet Centers® and The Mills®. Since its inception the Simon Gift Card program has sold over 41 million gift cards.

Becoming the primary provider of  Simon Gift Cards is sure to go a long way to compensating for the loss in revenue for American Express with their new gift card policy.

It is not a credit card nor a debit card nor is it a charge card. It is a prepaid gift card with the value of the card denoted on the face of the card.

The American Express Gift Card can be used in the United States, U.S. Virgin Islands and Puerto Rico at over a million different businesses that accept American Express Cards. There are certain usage restrictions and the gift card can not be used at Casinos, Cruise Lines, ATM’s or for International airlines. It can not be used to pay for recurring billing purchases such as cellular phone services or subscriptions.

Despite the restrictions there are still a multitude of exciting opportunities to use the gift card including online purchases, entertainment, dining and travel purchases. American Express Gift Cards can also be used to enjoy the savings on special offers that are exclusive to American Express Cardholders.

American Express Cards cost slightly more than the value of the card and purchase charges range from $3.95 to $6.95. This will be the only costs related to your American Express Gift Card. All after-purchase fees on their Gift Cards were abolished by American Express on 30 September 2009.

American Express Gift Cards can be purchased on-line or at participating banks, retailers or malls and are available for the following prepaid amounts: $25, $50, $100, $200, $500, $700, $1000, $2000 and $3000. If purchased online these gift cards will be sent to the purchaser.

To add a more personal touch to the gift card you can opt for a Personalized Gift Card which is only available on-line. These name of the recipient will be embossed on the card as opposed to the words “Gift Card Recipient” that appears on the ordinary American Express Gift Card.

These Personalized American Express Gift Cards can be sent directly to the recipient together with a personal message. Personalized Gift Cards are available in the following prepaid amounts: $25, $35, $50, $75, $100, $150, $200, $250, and $500.

American Express offer a wide selection of Special Occasion Gift Cards which include gift cards for the bride and groom, for birthdays, thank you gift cards and for teens. These are really Gift Cards to give for any occasion.

Please note that once an American Express Gift Card has been ordered it can not be cancelled or refunded.

We often feel the need to show our appreciation by giving someone a gift as a token of our appreciation for a special deed that someone has done. The problem is that in most cases we are not quite sure what gift would be the most appropriate for that particular person.

A special Amex Thank You Gift card demonstrates your appreciation but allows the recipient to purchase the gift of their choice.

A Special Amex Birthday Gift Card has become a very popular gift as this allows the person to chose their own gift at their leisure.  As the American Express Gift Card does not expire the recipient can keep the card and use it to purchase something when they need it most.

For the trendy youngsters it just looks such much more trendy to give them an Amex Specially for Teen Gift Card.

This is one way of making sure that you are not giving a duplicate gift or an unwanted wedding gift. With so many outlets and ways of spending their wedding gift card this is always a welcome gift.

Felicidades means "Best Wishes" in Spanish and an ideal way to convey a message of wishing a person well for whatever reason.

An ideal way to celebrate an exceptional business achievement by one of your colleagues or staff members.

Instead of buying all your staff members the same gifts to show your appreciation for their loyalty and hard work give them a gift card to enable them to choose a gift that is most suited to their particular needs.

For that person that is off on some new adventure - whether it be for a holiday or a birthday bash an Amex "have a Blast" Gift Card says it all!

The American Express Gift Card has no expiry date and is therefore valid indefinitely. It does however have a “Valid thru” date depicted on the face of the gift card. The main purpose of this date is to enable the card to be usable at merchants whose systems require an expiration date to validate a purchase.

Should you still have funds available on the Gift Card at the time of the expiration of the “Valid Thru” date then you will need to request a replacement card or a redemption of the available funds from Customer Services at American Express. The card will then be replaced free of charge. Should you wish to redeem the available funds their will be a 10 day waiting period before a check is issued to allow American Express sufficient time to ensure that all transactions have been processed.

It is recommended that on receipt of your Gift Card you sign your name on the back of the card. Prior to using the card, the Gift Card Number as well as the customer service number should be written down on a piece of paper. These numbers will be required to report a lost or stolen card so it is advisable to keep them in a safe place, preferably not in your wallet.

If your card is lost or stolen it is imperative that you contact the Customer Services number of American Express. They will cancel the stolen/lost gift card with immediate effect and issue you with a new Gift Card to the value of the available funds at the time of such notification. American Express will not however accept liability of fraudulent transactions that take place prior to notification.

Should you need to call Customer Services with regard to a query about the Gift Card you will be required to furnish the Card Security Code. Some American Express Gift Cards require activation and if this is applicable the instructions will be provided with the Gift Card.

Balance inquiries are now free of charge and can be obtained at  American Express Gift Card. It is advisable to keep track of the amounts spent using the gift card but in the event of uncertainty you may check your balance whenever necessary.

If you intend using your Amex gift Card to shop on-line it is advisable to first register the gift card with American Express and provide the details of your name and address. Most on-line payment options will request this information for verification purposes.

If you have not registered your gift card and provided the details you may experience problems when attempting to use your gift card to make an on-line purchase.

American Express Gift Cards are not reloadable and once the total value of the card has been exhausted it should be destroyed. The most secure means of destroying any credit or gift card is by cutting it in half and discarding it. It is however recommended that the card be retained until you are certain that you will not be returning any merchandise purchased with the card.

If you do need to return merchandise and the merchant is prepared to give you a credit on your American Express Gift Card you can expect 3 – 7 days delay before the funds are reflected on your balance on your card.