New Amex / Foursquare cashback deals launched

March is here, and with it are two great new Foursquare deals.

As was hinted at last month, two new deals have been launched with Debenhams and Fenwick / Bentalls.

Both work the same way as the February offers at Harrods and House of Fraser:

• Spend £50 on an American Express card and receive a £25 statement credit
• One bonus per Amex card
• Offer ends 31st March

As usual, remember the golden rules here to take full advantage:

ALL UK issued American Express personal cards can take part.  That means all the Amex-issued ones (Gold, Platinum, Green, BA, Nectar, SPG, Harrods, Costco, Cashback etc) plus the Lloyds TSB and MBNA-issued Amex cards.

You need to open a separate Foursquare account for each Amex card you hold.  Make sure you keep a written record of the log-in details of each Foursquare account plus which card is linked to it and which offers you have synced to that card.

Supplementary cards with a different card number to the main card count as separate cards, so you can double-up.  I have 6 Amex cards (3 in my name with a supplementary card on each for my wife) so I can buy up to 6 x £50 gift cards at each store.

The easiest way to take advantage of the deal is to buy £50 gift cards.  This triggers the £25 credit for the lowest spend and gives you 12 months or so in which to use them up.

Gift card purchases made online usually do NOT count for this promotion.  You must go into a store.

The £50 must be spent in one transaction.

Debenhams – extra information

The key items in the small print are:

Gift cards have a 24 month life

You can spend gift cards on the Debenhams website, but only for full payment (ie the order has to be for less than the value of the giftcard.)  It is not clear if multiple gift cards can be used on the website for the same order – to be safe, instead of buying lots of £50 gift cards you may want to keep topping up the same one.

Gift cards cannot be used to purchase third-party gift cards instore or online.

UK-issued gift cards can only be used in the UK stores (Ireland is excluded).

Fenwick / Bentalls – extra information

The website describing Fenwick / Bentalls gift cards is here.

Gift cards have a 24 month life.  It is not clear if gift cards can be used online (assume not until proved otherwise).

Cards can be used at either Fenwick or Bentalls, wherever they are bought.

I assume, since Fenwick and Bentalls are owned by the same company, that you cannot double-up by visiting a Fenwick store and a Bentalls store with the same Amex.

The terms and conditions make vague references to some concessions not accepting gift cards, although no further information is given.  You may want to double-check before making a specific purchase.

How to sync your Amex card to your Foursquare card

If you are new to this deal, this is how you sync your Amex card to your Foursquare card:

Download the Foursquare app onto your ipad, iphone, Android device or whatever you carry!  (A wi-fi only ipad or ipod touch will also work OK)

Sign up. Make a careful note of the email address you use.  Ignore all the screens about linking your Facebook etc accounts.

Sync your MBNA, Lloyds or Amex-issued Amex card with the Foursquare account by going to this website.  You must use the same email address as in 1.

Go back to Foursquare and search for Debenhams, Fenwick, Bentalls etc. You need to click ‘Check In’ and you will see a special offer flick up. Click ‘Load to Card’ and the offer is set up directly with Amex.

Repeat for each Amex card you have, with a new Foursquare account. It would be sensible to make a note of which Amex card and email address links to each account.

(You can actually carry out steps 1-3 on a desktop PC as well. What you cannot do is Step 4, as the ‘Check In’ box is not active.)

There is nothing to show in the shop when you make your purchases. The shop will never even know you are taking part in the promotion. 3-4 days after making the relevant shop purchase, a credit will hit your Amex account.

Feedback

If you have any feedback, tips or questions on these new Foursquare promotions, please post in the Comments below.

---

Want to earn more points from credit cards? – April 2024 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 February 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:

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.

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:

SPECIAL OFFER: Until 12th May 2024, the Capital on Tap Business Rewards Visa card is offering a bonus of 30,000 points, convertible into 30,000 Avios. You must have a Limited Company to apply. Click here to learn more and click here to apply.

For a non-American Express option, we also recommend the Barclaycard Select Cashback card for sole traders and small businesses. It is FREE and you receive 1% cashback on your spending.