UPDATE: The terms of the Amex offer states “in 1 or more transaction”. The analysis I did below assumed the $50 spend has to be in a single transaction disregard the analysis below and will re-post later today with correct analysis this is actually a good thing!!
Earlier today I wrote about an Amex Offer that will give you a $15 statement credit with a $50+ purchase at 1-800-Flowers (tweet: #Amex1800Flowers). The great thing about this offer it that since it is available via Twitter you can register every single Amex card you have. While this might not be worthwhile to any of you for regular use, this could be a great way to start earning Southwest companion pass qualifying points. While you most likely will not be able to earn your entire companion pass from this method, this can definitely help you get one step closer as 1-800-Flowers is a Southwest partner and ultimately you can earn 1,000 points per order placed.
For every order placed of $29.99 (excluding taxes and delivery fees), you’ll earn 1,000 Southwest Rapid Reward points. Just make sure to use promo code RR22. As of currently writing this post, these points DO count as qualifying points towards the Southwest companion pass. You can view the specific 1-800-Flowers site discussing this promotion here.
Now remember, with the $50 requirement for the Amex Offer, this amount CAN include tax and any additional charges. If you plan on taking advantage of this, I suggest getting the 1-800-Flowers Celebration Passport subscription which will give you free shipping.. While it is $29.99 a year, you can sign up for a free 30-day trial here. Just make sure to cancel it if you will not be using it after the 30 days. Or if you plan on taking advantage of the many 1-800-Flowers deals that surface to earn points and miles, the $29.99 is well worth it. You’ll also earn Celebration points ($1 spent = 1 celebration point) which will allow you to earn free flower purchases in the future.
For all purchases make sure to go through an online shopping portal. Currently, the best ones I found include:
- United Airlines: 30 points/$1 spent
- Mr. Rebates: 15% cash back
- American Airlines: 10 points/$1 spent
I personally recommend the United shopping portal as 30 points per dollar spent is awesome. But, if you are just looking to recoup some of the cost and getting cash back right in your picket, go through Mr. Rebates.
UPDATE: Readers are reporting that you cannot earn the points when using a coupon code. I am not sure if this is for all portals, but I’d assume United and American won’t work
The Math
This is going to be a perfect case scenario assuming you spend exactly $50 per transaction.
Spend: $50 on the flowers minus the $15 statement credit = $35 total spent.
Earn: 1,000 Southwest points = ~$15 + 1,500 United points = ~$25
So while you are spending $35, you are earning $40 in points – a win overall! And I was pretty conservative of the United miles valuation, so you could actually make out even better. Take advantage of this offer/promotions/deal 6 times and that “pays” for the Celebration Passport amount you paid of $29.99. My math also does not take into consideration the Celebration Passport points you’ll earn as I do not put much value on it.
My Experience
I have not yet taken advantage of this yet since the Amex Offer just came out today, but I plan to. I personally currently have 12 American Express cards registered, so I plan on taking on placing 17 separate orders. I am a huge Southwest Companion pass person and my current pass expires December 31, 2017 so I will be actively earning points throughout the year to secure the pass again for 2018.
I personally only recommend taking advantage of this if a) You actually have purchases you were going to make anyways, or b) You are looking to earn the Southwest Companion Pass.
Also keep in mind that things could change at any point. Southwest could not count the points earned towards the companion pass (this happened a few years ago with a different promo code), the online shopping portal payouts could change, etc.
Will you be taking advantage of this? Comment below with your experience!
The responses below are not provided or commissioned by the bank advertiser. Responses have not been reviewed, approved or otherwise endorsed by the bank advertiser. It is not the bank advertiser's responsibility to ensure all posts and/or questions are answered.
It has been my experience you will get either the Southwest points with the promo code or the portal points (if you use the promo code it will be Southwest points), not both.
I don’t think you can double dip, to get the 30 miles from United you need to enter their promo code MP55. Also based on a previous order I placed the points don’t qualify for the companion pass.
I don’t think your math is correct. You say you’ll spend $35 and get $40 in benefits. I think you’re actually spending $50 to get $40 in benefits.
Don’t you need to earn the points at the beginning of 2018 to get the pass for 2 years? Why earn them now?
@ATX – If you want to earn for 2018 and 2019, then need to wait till beginning of 2018. If you want to earn for 2017 and 2018, then start earning asap!