American Express / Foursquare 2013 …. what I’ve discovered so far

UPDATE – JUNE 2025:  This is an old article, and the credit card information given is likely to be out of date.

To learn about current credit card bonuses, benefits, terms and interest rate information, take a look at our directory of the top UK travel credit card offers – please click HERE or use the ‘Credit Cards’ menu above.  Thank you.

Keep up to date with new UK credit card bonuses by signing up for our free daily or weekly newsletters.

So, how is the American Express / Foursquare 2013 promotion going for you so far?!

(See here for details of the current deals if you are new to this.)

On Wednesday I picked up 6 x £50 gift cards in Harrods, and on Thursday I got 3 x £50 in House of Fraser.

I learnt a few things:

Harrods

I probably made a mistake in Harrods by buying 6 separate £50 cards with my 6 Amex’s.  A comment on Flyertalk said that the Harrods tills cannot process more than 4 gift cards when you redeem them, so I can’t use all 6 at once on that basis.  The only workaround would be to buy a £200 gift card using 4 x £50 gift cards and then redeem that!

I’ve already had Foursquare notifications for the BA Amex and Amex Platinum transactions.  I got nothing for the Lloyds TSB cards but that is par for the course.  I have always got cashback on the Lloyds cards before even without receiving notifications.

The T&C’s in the original email on this promotion said that only Harrods Knightsbridge was included.  This presumably means that purchases at Heathrow do not count, neither do online purchases.

Harrods gift cards cannot be used at Heathrow according to their website, but they can be used on the harrods.com website and at all bars and restaurants in the Knightsbridge store.

You cannot double up on Harrods Rewards points.  Whilst they will swipe your Harrods Rewards card when buying a gift card, it does not earn points.  You will earn points when you spend it.  However, as you need 500 points (£500 of spend) to earn any rewards, it is not worth it if you don’t plan to visit the store again this year.

House of Fraser

For House of Fraser, I went to the Victoria store.  This is the store that time forgot – I can only assume they are tied into a lease they can’t escape.  It never has any customers (at least outside lunchtime during the week) and only about 1 in 10 tills is manned.  A large part of the basement has been sublet to Gap.

Looking at the receipts, the House of Fraser gift cards are valid for two years.  This gives me confidence to buy another 3 gift cards – there is no risk of not being able to spend £300 in 2 years, even if it all goes on cosmetics for my wife!

House of Fraser gift cards can be used on their website.  Yesterday, I used £53.99 of my new balance to buy a new smart cover for my ipad.  For some reason, House of Fraser is discounting their remaining ipad smart covers by 10%, so if you want one then take a look online.  Quidco cashback is also available.

You cannot buy gift cards online to trigger the bonus – the website confirms that they go through as ‘Voucher Express’ and are delivered by a third party.  It is not clear if other houseoffraser.com purchases will trigger the Foursquare bonus.

Comments elsewhere have focussed on the fact that the Oxford Street flagship store does not offer the ‘special’ on Foursquare.  However, people have successfully ‘checked in’ at Victoria Street and spent the £50 at Oxford Street and got Foursquare notifications.

The Victoria House of Fraser has a fantastic off-licence on the top floor!  There is a surprisingly decent selection of premium wine, spirits and a very wide range of champagne.  The champagne seemed a little pricey, but only because supermarkets are so aggressive these days.  Cloudy Bay Chardonnay 2008 was £21, which was only £1 above Laithwaites.

I did not check if you can earn Recognition points in their loyalty scheme for buying the gift cards – I have enough points balances to juggle as it is!

Other offers

The other current deals are (ending 28th February):

• GAP – Spend £50, Get £25
• Banana Republic – Spend £50, Get £25
• Carphone Warehouse – Spend £25, Get £10

Plus the three older offers which are still running:

• Starbucks – Spend £10, Get £5 (to 13 February)
• Pizza Hut – Spend £30, Get £15 (to 6 March)
• Shell – Spend £50, Get £15 (to 18 April)

I am deliberately giving these a miss, though!  I can’t do everything ….

PS. If you are not a regular Head for Points visitor, why not sign up for our FREE weekly or daily newsletters? They are full of the latest Avios, airline, hotel and credit card points news and will help you travel better. To join our 70,000 free subscribers, click the button below or visit this page of the site to find out more. Thank you.

Want to earn more points from credit cards? – June 2025 update

If you are looking to apply for a new credit card, here are our top recommendations based on the current sign-up bonuses.

In 2022, Barclaycard launched two exciting new Barclaycard Avios Mastercard cards with a bonus of up to 25,000 Avios. You can apply here.

You qualify for the bonus on these cards even if you have a British Airways American Express card:

Barclaycard Avios Plus Mastercard

Get 25,000 Avios for signing up and an upgrade voucher at £10,000 Read our full review

Barclaycard Avios Mastercard

Get 5,000 Avios for signing up and an upgrade voucher at £20,000 Read our full review

You can see our full directory of all UK cards which earn airline or hotel points here. Here are the best of the other deals currently available.

SPECIAL OFFER: Until 15th July 2025, the sign-up bonus on the Marriott Bonvoy American Express Card is TRIPLED to 60,000 Marriott Bonvoy points. This would convert into 25,000 Avios or into 40 other airline schemes. It would also get you at least £300 of Marriott hotel stays based on our 0.5p per point low-end valuation. Other T&C apply and remain unchanged. Click here for our full card review and click here to apply.

SPECIAL OFFER: Until 14th August 2025, the sign-up bonus on the Hilton Honors Plus debit card is TRIPLED to 30,000 Hilton Honors points. You will also receive Gold Elite status in Hilton Honors for as long as you hold the card. Click here for our full card review and click here to apply.

American Express Preferred Rewards Gold Credit Card

Your best beginner’s card – 20,000 points, FREE for a year & four airport lounge passes Read our full review

British Airways American Express Premium Plus Card

30,000 Avios and the famous annual Companion Voucher voucher Read our full review

The Platinum Card from American Express

50,000 bonus points and great travel benefits – for a large fee Read our full review

Virgin Atlantic Reward+ Mastercard

18,000 bonus points and 1.5 points for every £1 you spend Read our full review

Earning miles and points from small business cards

If you are a sole trader or run a small company, you may also want to check out these offers:

The American Express Business Platinum Card

50,000 points when you sign-up and an annual £200 Amex Travel credit Read our full review

The American Express Business Gold Card

20,000 points sign-up bonus and FREE for a year Read our full review

Capital on Tap Pro Visa

10,500 points (=10,500 Avios) plus good benefits Read our full review

Capital on Tap Visa

NO annual fee, NO FX fees and points worth 0.8 Avios per £1 Read our full review

British Airways American Express Accelerating Business Card

30,000 Avios sign-up bonus – plus annual bonuses of up to 30,000 Avios Read our full review