Amex Offers are an incredible way to save money (and make money) and it is a topic that is quite popular here on Running with Miles and on other blogs. While many of the good offers can be used online or in-store, there are some offers that have to be used in-store (or it is a better deal in-store).
On a recent, short trip to the US, I knew I had to make the most of the abundance of cards in my pocket with expiring Amex Offers. One of the ones I was really looking forward to using was the ExxonMobil offer for $10 back on $30 in spending. Even though I am driving a diesel in Greece, fuel prices still top $4.50 a gallon for me so the prospect of getting some really cheap fuel was exciting to me!
Just Barely Squeezing By With An Amex Offer
I just barely eked out my Amex Offer at an Exxon station! | from ExxonMobil
Our family was driving from NY to Washington, DC in a rental and I was keeping my eyes out for an Exxon or Mobil station to use the card at. I was also keeping an eye on the gas gauge that was quickly getting closer to “E” as I drove in the dark hours of the evening. Really, one of the last things I wanted was to run out of gas because I was trying to save $10 on gas! But, up ahead, we saw an Exxon station and I pulled in and pulled out the card that had the Amex Offer saved to it.
Almost Missing The Offer
After sliding the card and pumping the gas, I began to wonder something – this Ford Flex I was driving had seemed to have a smaller tank that I would have thought and I worried that with the gas prices that I may not even hit $30! I mean, my tank was as close to empty as I dared let it get so I knew that this was my shot but I wondered what I would do if the pump kicked off at $29. Its not like I can just pump gas into the garbage can to hit the $30 mark!
Sure enough, I could hear the tank filling and could tell it was going to be close. I hoped some other car would come so that I could offer to pump a gallon for them but there was not anyone in sight. So, I kept pumping and watching. It kicked off and I kept going to top it off a bit. Finally with a full tank, I got back in the car and left. My total? $30.17 That’s right, I had cleared the Amex Offer amount by a mere 17 cents.
Summary
Which got me thinking – most Amex Offers we see have to do with amounts at stores that are easily hittable through spending. But, this was one offer that really could have been a bit of a problem for people with smaller cars. I wonder, has anyone else ever had a problem hitting the spending requirement for an Amex Offer? If so, what offer was it and what was your solution?
I went for the station with the car wash and purchased the car wash with the gas. Still, it was just a bit over $30.
Good thinking!
I had this same issue while renting a Ford Explorer in the DC area. With gas prices so low it’s hard even in SUV’s to hit the $30. The pump stopped at $29.27 so I topped it off so it stopped at $30.01. The car wash idea is a nice idea though for smaller cars.
I recently tried to use the $10 off an Uber trip of $20. Usually I take Lyft to BOS because they charge less airport fees. So I took Uber to BOS and the charge rang up at between $19.00 and $19.99 so I just missed the offer by a few cents!
I was about $2 short of $30 but I began approaching other customers filling up and found one who agreed to accept the free gas after another customer turned me down! Interestingly, he was willing to give $2 at first when he that was what I wanted from him but wouldn’t accept the free gas! Go figure!
I barely missed an offer with Bills Khakis.
They had a flash sale for 70% off. I ordered around $235 in merchandise, with the offer being spend $200, get $50 back.
With the company recently being sold, there were some shake ups. I ended up receiving my order, with 1 item not in it. Called and they do not have any stock and just adjusted my total (a few different discussions over at reddit/r/frugalmalefashion), which puts me at $198. Still a good deal for the quality, but not the deal I was hoping for.