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Eligibility is limited for the Amex Offers discussed in this post. Enrollment is required in the Amex Offers section of your account before redeeming.
For years, American Express has been intentional in its support of local businesses and “shop small” campaigns. Have you ever heard of ‘Small Business Saturday' — the Saturday after Thanksgiving where people target small businesses for their holiday-season patronage? American Express started that in 2010. Now, it generates billions of dollars in revenue each year for small businesses.
Unfortunately, many of our favorite small businesses continue to bear the brunt of the financial fallout from the global pandemic. Recognizing this, Amex has rolled out another Amex Offer incentivizing cardmembers to #shopsmall. Through December 31, 2021, Amex cardholders can receive up to $50 in statement credits for purchases at small businesses.
Key Terms
- The incentive is available as an Amex Offer, which must be activated by December 31, 2021
- Amex cardmembers will receive a $10 statement credit for spending at least $10 at a Small Business included on the merchant map (available here)
- You can use the offer up to five times for a total of $50 value in statement credits
- Deadline to make purchases with this offer is December 31, 2021
- You must enroll in the offer before spending to receive the credits
- Offer available on all U.S. American Express consumer, small business, Serve, and Bluebird cards
- Promotion details are available here, where you can enroll if you don't find this offer listed on any of your cards in the typical Amex Offers section
A key difference to note with this Shop Small offer is that—unlike typical Amex Offers—virtually all Amex cardmembers will be able to add it and utilize it. Typically, Amex Offers are targeted and capped on how many cardmembers can take advantage of an offer. However, each cardmember is limited to enrolling in this offer on just one card. So, make sure to choose which card you want to enroll before clicking “Add to Card”.
Locating a Qualifying Small Business
Not sure which businesses qualify for the offer? Amex has a handy tool to help you figure it out. When you log into your online American Express account, you should see a widget titled ‘Useful Links', under which you'll find a link to ‘Find Places to Shop Small‘.
When you click that, you're redirected to a page with a search function and map powered by Google Maps. You can search through the thousands of local merchants of all kinds, filtering by your location, a general area, or searching by name. If a vendor has a circular badge next to its listing that reads ‘Shop Small', you know:
- It's a local establishment worth supporting.
- It will qualify for this Shop Small Amex Offer.
Alternatively, since the American Express vendor map doesn't require you to log in, you can access the same search feature simply by following this link and selecting the “Shop Small Map” filter.
Final Thoughts
Throughout the lockdown, a lot of our favorite small businesses have been struggling to stay afloat. In some cases, this has resulted in widespread closures and appreciable changes to our communities. As consumers, we can help to support the small businesses we love with our ongoing patronage, a fact that American Express is acutely aware of. This ‘Shop Small' Amex Offer is a fantastic way to incentivize cardmembers to do their part.
What's your favorite small business?
The comments on this page are not provided, reviewed, or otherwise approved by the bank advertiser. It is not the bank advertiser's responsibility to ensure all posts and/or questions are answered.
Thanks. Not sure how I missed this on the AmEx page, but glad to see this. A quick check shows many a good place to use this while on Vacation in Hawaii next month!!!!!!
Thanks for the alert., I added it to one of my AMEX cards. I will make sure to use it this holiday season! I appreciate your telling us about these specials since I often miss them.
Really like this promotion. Unfortunately in Australia they devalued the program and then started giving out points rather than statement credits.
Are they still playing games with tying the offer to specific (and only single) cards? I tried using this in the past, but apparently it is limited to one card, and one user since additional-user cards have different numbers. I signed up, but my spouse made purchases which did not receive the bonus. Not very useful in my eyes.
The purchase must be on the enrolled card. That’s in the terms of all Amex offers.
Excellent promotion, it is good that in shops in South America you can, but the Amex of some Argentine banks are not in the promotion. Could it be known why?
Excelente promoción, que bueno que en comercios de Sudamérica se pueda, pero las Amex de algunos bancos Argentinos no están en la promoción. Se podra saber porque?
Let´s start shopping local, we need to give support to them
Unfortunately it wasn’t available to me on my Bonvoy Brilliant AMEX.
Ryan,
November 15, 2021 at 11:50 am
Ryan Smith says:
Stephen – lots of people are getting errors this time around, and we aren’t sure why. We’re digging into it.
Were you able to find out anything regarding the errors?
Thanks,
Ed
Ed – nothing yet.
Wow, thanks for the heads up! I totally would have missed this offer without this post, and definitely plan to take advantage of it. So often the AmEx offers aren’t ones I would ever use, so I’m not in the habit of checking them regularly…
Using the link above, this led me to an AMEX login page and then automatically routed me to my AMEX Everyday Card where it said “Sorry about that! The offer you selected is not available for this Card.” However when I manually go into offers for that card, they gave me “Spend $15+, get $5 back up to 2 times (total of $10) after you Shop Small” so I activated that. I have a second card – AMEX Delta Skymiles. Neither of the offers are on that card at all. I used the $50 offer from the article last year in full and was eagerly awaiting it this year. Spending $10 to get $10 five times is way better than spending $15 to get $5 twice. Total bummer. But I guess better than nothing.
I don’t see this offer at all. I might have to accept a bunch of offers to have this one show up because it is definitely worth it.
I tried my Amex gold, it prompted me to log in and said “Sorry about that! The offer you selected is not available for this Card.” in my list of offers I see:
“Spend $15+, get $5 back up to 2 times (total of $10) after you Shop Small”
I used to love these Shop Small promos. They were a win-win. No love for us on any of our cards.
Just like the other comments, i’m having the same issue where i can’t seem to enroll. It tells me to login and then once i login, none of my cards have this offer.
Didn’t find the promotion in my offers. Tried the link in the story. When I clicked on “add to card”, it took me to a signup page that said: “This page is intended only for holders of American Express Cards that are not issued by American Express. If you have an American Express Card that is issued by American Express or any of its subsidiaries, please visit your American Express online account page to view available offers for your Card.”
Scott – the offer is publicly available, but Amex seems to be having issues enrolling…pretty much everyone. We’re digging into it.
kudos to amex for doing this!
small businesses in this economy can use all the help they can get
I looked our three Amex cards and not one has this. Perhaps the article means it’s coming but I received it last year so something might be off
I cannot seem to sign up. From the page shown, it tells me that I need to sign up on americanexpress.com. When I go there. there is no such offer. So I went back–now logged in to amex and I get the same message. Very strange.
Matt – I had this same issue yesterday and when I tried last week. If I go to the Amex 3rd party website (https://www.americanexpress.com/us/network/shopping.html?fbclid=IwAR1i_9y2RSl2y2nL7kZCuPvXDk6amZtT_x57O3aox_I93rJukDy4aoM2NDo#All) it gives me errors as well. I’m not sure what’s up with this. Amex tells us about the info, but few people can actually enroll. We’re investigating.
NOPE. When I entered my card number at the link provided got a message that I would have to login and add the shop small from my Amex Offers page. Of course, the offer was not at the offers page for any of my American Express cards. Disappointed that this will have to be a pass for me, especially as I remember doing this in past years.
Stephen – lots of people are getting errors this time around, and we aren’t sure why. We’re digging into it.
I wonder if it is targeted. I don’t have this offer on any on my AMEX cards.
not seeing this offer on any of my amex cards
Michael – we’re trying to figure this out with Amex. The promotion page is telling people to go to their card offers, and then it’s not there on the cards. If we get an update from Amex, we’ll provide updates to everyone. I’m in the same boat as you right now: confused.
I do love that Amex has this. I use it every year. I will have to make sure I am signed up. I cannot remember if I had to do that before. Probably.
Doesn’t work for me. I tried a biz card and my Plat. It’s not in any of my AMEX offers either for 4 different cards.
It’s a very good idea. In Argentina it has been applied for several years with a different format, but always promoting small stores.
Is this a targeted offer?
We don’t think so. It’s supposedly available to everyone, yet nearly everyone is having difficulty enrolling. We’re digging into it.
Unfortunately some of the above turned out not to be true. I followed the instructions and my card was said to be valid. However American Express would not let me sign up for this. I called and the representative said that sometimes third parties report things that turn out not to be accurate. This was not on the list of offers shown for my American Express Gold card account, so I could not get it – even though the information shown in the Award Wallet article said: “Offer available on all U.S. American Express consumer, small business, Serve, and Bluebird cards”.
So, I do get to participate in this.
Just in case some others of you have had the same issue.
I do note that all the comments below were dated back in July 2020.
Charles – the offer doesn’t say it’s targeted and is promoted publicly. It looks like the issue is widespread and not so much that it’s targeted/we failed to mention that. It seems like Amex is having some weird issues, which we’re trying to figure out.
I love these Shop Small promos. They’re a win-win both for local small businesses and for AMEX cardholders.
This offer is not available to all, I wasn’t able to get it in my general and accounts for player 1 or 2. I was able to get it through Wells Fargo.
I tried to enroll with the direct sign up page but it directed me to log into my Amex account and then offer isn’t available there.
PLEASE ENROLL ON AMERICANEXPRESS.COM
Based on the Card Number you’ve entered, you can enroll in this offer and other personalized offers by logging into your American Express Account.
Lawrence – lots of people are running into this issue. I had the same, and then none of my cards actually show the offer. We’re waiting for Amex to clarify. If we get anything, we’ll provide updates.
This isn’t available for “all” cards. I have the Hilton Honors card and it comes up “Sorry about that! The offer you selected is not available for this Card.” Doesn’t surprise me given the card, but just letting others know.
Patty – it’s available publicly and it seems like Amex is having issues on their end. Until they fix that, hordes of people are having issues. Keep trying, because this is a publicly-available offer.
So, I got a message back after trying a few times to sign up for this offer w/ my Hilton Amex card. It said not available to Amex Card holders that are issued by American Express. So there’s that. Disappointing.
Currently, due to the restrictions that the covid-19 pandemic continues to impose in my country (Argentina), using the American Express supplier map allows me to find my favorite places to make my purchases, either in person, because it gives me information about the hours commercial. opening as well as online businesses.
Let’s continue to support small businesses as they go through the long-awaited exit from this pandemic together.
It is win-win for both consumers and small businesses.
It does not work for any of my 6 AMEX cards.
Not seeing this offer on any of our cards.
Thanks, but why post this by editing a post from last year with comments from last year? Also, this only works for AMEX cards not issued by AMEX.
When I use the link to manually add this offer, it says log in to your online account to add. But when I log in, the offer doesn’t show up on any of my 4 AMEX cards.
JP – We’re digging into this. Not sure why Amex is having issues enrolling people for this promotion.
The ultimate win-win, have been a big fan of this promotion for years.
Not seeing the offer in my Everyday Preferred account yet.
All comments are for 2020. On 11/13/21, it is not listed in my 100 offers.
When I try via “Promotion details are available here, “, I get:
PLEASE ENROLL ON AMERICANEXPRESS.COM
Based on the Card Number you’ve entered, you can enroll in this offer and other personalized offers by logging into your American Express Account.
BUT THE OFFER IS NOT THERE and is not listed in my Added to Card offers.
Tom – it’s a publicly-available offer, and we’re not sure why Amex is having issues. We’re digging into it. If we learn something, we’ll make sure to share it.
This is certainly a magnanimous gesture by amex and should help out a lot of small businesses.
Yay! This will make up a bit for AF.
Our card does not give information in the app as to how to sign up for this offer.
Didn’t work for my Amex cards. It is a promotion that is not available on all cards.
It’s available here – https://www.americanexpress.com/us/network/shopping.html?fbclid=IwAR1i_9y2RSl2y2nL7kZCuPvXDk6amZtT_x57O3aox_I93rJukDy4aoM2NDo#All
When that happens, it’s available on every card. It just seems like Amex is having some issues.
This AMEX Offer is not available to “All Cardmembers”. This offer does not show for me or my spouse with 8 AMEX card variations between us.
It is available for all members, since it’s also listed here – https://www.americanexpress.com/us/network/shopping.html?fbclid=IwAR1i_9y2RSl2y2nL7kZCuPvXDk6amZtT_x57O3aox_I93rJukDy4aoM2NDo#All
Amex is just having issues, and we are trying to figure out more about this so we can provide updates.
Just a heads up that it looks like they moved the signup date back. It’s now enroll your card by 8/23.
Thanks for the heads up! I confirmed with Amex and updated the post.
I’ve found the #shopsmall map to be one of the most useful things of the whole Shop Small promotion – so many places that I didn’t realise accepted Amex actually do now. It’s an added benefit and means I’ll be pulling out the Amex much more often now!
This is a great idea from Amex while supporting local business in this global situation ! It’s great to have a huge company having this special help to local business!
Good Job Amex! I am user and its sound very good
Is there a waiting period before you can redeem this again? Can you make two purchases back to back at the same store?
It doesn’t seem like there’s a waiting period between redemptions.
Amex is stepping up their game. This is great to help local businesses. Nicely done.
Good promotion also available in uk £50 instead of dollars. Also more time to use
Have you got a link to the UK announcement? I can’t see anything on the website.
I first heard about this offer through my Marriott Bonvoy card but I suspected that it might only be good for one card. I prefer Amex points so I enrolled my Blue for Business Card. It’s the one that I would want to use for this type purchase.
The map is a pain to use, moving it around and looking different places. I guess that will really boost the ‘local’ for me.
Will definitely sign up and support the local businesses. It is great news that AMEX is bringing this back.
Used to love the small business saturday back when they would reward you with a financial incentive. It has been a while since a financial award has been attached so I will definitely use this and reward a lot of my local businesses which are struggling right now.
Glad to see the support for small businesses.
My favourite Amex Promotion, and a great time to bring it back
This is always a brilliant promotion, and a good reason to make use of the (free) supplementary cards available from Amex to ensure others in your household can take advantage too… you can even get a supplementary card in your own name 😉
A few of my local restaurants are in the “Shop Small” list as well as part of the Rewards Network Dining programs (AA Dining, Rapid Rewards Dining and others). Enroll your chosen Amex in the Dining program of your choice, and get additional points/miles when you Shop Small at local restaurants.
Cool offer. Definitely going to use this at some favorite local restaurants.
Happy to see this promo back, especially at a time like this… if only it was back in its original form, where it worked on each card and even AUs!
#FeelingNostalgic
What a great promotion from AMEX. With all of the smaller local stores being heavily impacted by COVID-19, this gives me great incentive to go out of my way to purchase with small businesses. Also, while using these kind of awards can be vague and confusing sometimes, it seems like AMEX is making it easy to know which stores will qualify. Can’t wait to make a purchase!
Does this work for AMEX Blue Cash? I will give it a try, great incentive.
It should be on all Amex cards! Let us know if you don’t see it on there.
Yes, it works perfectly
Awesome. Just signed up. Haven’t used that card for a few years. Thanks!
We must support our local small businesses and if we happen to earn more miles then this is a no brainer.
Honestly a great little program. Their map of small businesses is easy to use and many would surprise you. I know we are going to pick up groceries today and will use it to get a discount from Spangles when we’re getting groceries. Love AMEX!
If I sign up for the promo on 6/30/20 do I start getting credit for purchases immediately or not until after the 7/26/20 date?
It should be immediate after enrolling. The 7/26 date is the date that you have to enroll by.
Great, win-win promo. I’m glad to see lots of businesses near me that are participating.
We should all support small businesses especially during this pandemic.
It is much easier to do so this summer because people are not traveling abroad.
This is really cool.
Does the merchant code identify if a business is big or small? Interesting how they know what is big and what is small.
I don’t think that it’s coded in the merchant code. It seems that small businesses have to apply to be considered a small business here: https://merchant-global.americanexpress.com/login/public-profile
A good promotion from Amex which will hopefully provide some stimulus for small local operators.
This is certainly very creative of AmEx. Especially combining this with the Aspire credit, it would be an interesting combination.
This is such a cool treat and win-win situation. Amex members can obtain a free benefit and small businesses can boost their finances a bit in this crazy pandemic times. Come on Visa, you are next now 🙂
Easy way to get a free $50 in statement credits while helping out small businesses. Why Not?
The promotion corresponds to AMEX’s tradition of promoting small businesses.
Does anyone how this deal would work with the Hilton Aspire resort credit on restaurants if it is a small local restaurant?
Interesting idea. I don’t see why it wouldn’t work! And you might get more in statement credits than the cost of the meal if you keep it under $15.
Now I’m kicking myself for not enrolling with my Aspire!
Hmm. Great idea. Can you report back and let us know?
I would, but unfortuantely I enrolled my Amex Platinum in this offer.
Are you limited to one Amex offer per person?
Yes, in almost all cases
Well done for Amex!