How to stack Amex Offers for cash back and bonus points
Reader Questions are answered twice a week by TPG Senior Points & Miles Contributor Ethan Steinberg.
One of the highest-impact things you can do to increase the amount of points and miles you earn is learn to double dip, like stacking an online shopping portal with an Amex Offer, to earn more miles or cash back on a purchase you already planned to make. TPG reader Jack wants to know if it's possible to stack two different types of Amex Offers from the same retailer together ...
[pullquote source="TPG READER JACK"]Is it possible to "double dip" and stack two Amex Offers at once? I have one offer for $30 off $150 at Cole Haan and another for an extra 6 points per dollar spent. Do they both apply? And do I get the 7x points per dollar on the full price, or only the next after I get the credit back?[/pullquote]
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If you're not familiar, check out our guide to Amex Offers to find out how you can earn bonus points or save money on everyday purchases. Amex Offers come in many forms, some offering you a cash rebate after spending a certain amount at a retail partner, some offering bonus points after spending a certain amount, and some offering a higher bonus multiplier, like Jack's offer to earn an extra 6x points per dollar at Cole Haan.
While it's important to remember that you can only load each Amex Offer to one of your cards, if Jack is targeted for both of those offers on the same card he can and should stack them together! As long as he adds both offers to his card and makes qualifying purchases at Cole Haan according to the specific terms of the offer, he should automatically receive credit for both deals.
The second part of Jack's question, about exactly how many points he'll earn, is slightly more complicated. To keep the math simple, let's assume that he spends exactly $150, triggering the $30 rebate. In this case he would earn 7x points per dollar (6x bonus points plus 1x from his normal card earning) on the $150, for a total of 1,050 Membership Rewards points. When Amex applies the $30 credit to his account, they will likely debit him 1x point per dollar on that credit, leaving him with a total of 1,020 points on his $150 purchase, which is still a very respectable haul.
Related: Choosing the best American Express credit card for you
TPG's Points and Miles Editor Jasmin Baron used a similar stacking strategy last year at the Hilton Grand Wailea, a Waldorf Astoria resort. She had two Hilton-related Amex Offers in her account at the time, one for $100 back on a $500+ stay at a Waldorf Astoria or Conrad hotel, and another for $200 back on a $1,000+ stay at Hilton hotels in Hawaii.
Better yet, these offers both appeared on her Hilton Honors American Express Aspire Card, meaning she was able to triple stack and enjoy a $100 discount from the first offer, a $200 discount from the second offer, and take advantage of her card's up to $250 annual Hilton resort credit, for a total savings of $550.
The information for the Hilton Aspire Amex card has been collected independently by The Points Guy. The card details on this page have not been reviewed or provided by the card issuer.
Bottom line
Great stack Jack! If you were already planning on shopping at Cole Haan, doubling up on these two Amex Offers would give you a $30 savings and an incredible return on spend — over 12% based on TPG's valuations.
Thanks for the question, Jack, and if you're a TPG reader who'd like us to answer a question of your own, tweet us at @thepointsguy, message us on Facebook or email us at info@thepointsguy.com.