American Express Holiday Online Promotions Make Gifting Easy

As we're finalizing our Christmas gift shopping this Holiday season, we may want to consider giving gift cards. According to the American Pulse™ Survey conducted by BIGresearch 52.1% out of 4,069 respondents say they would rather receive a gift card or cash. One reason may be that consumers don't like gifts that were chosen for them (45.4% of those who received clothing as a gift in the past didn’t like or didn’t wear it). Another possible reason is that 46.3% of those who participate in gift giving/receiving during the holidays say they hate to return gifts because it is a hassle.

American Express is capitalizing on this trend with an online promotion enabling shoppers to receive a free Gadget Lover's Card worth $25 from American Express Incentive Services when they purchase five American Express Gift Cards. Shoppers can take advantage of this online promotion by visiting the website, purchasing any five American Express Gift Cards in one order and then submitting a rebate form. 

The Gadget Lover's Card can be redeemed for three months after the date of issue at U.S. locations of participating electronic retailers, including f.y.e., Sam Goody, The Sharper Image and Suncoast.

"With consumer electronics in such high demand, American Express is looking to make the holiday shopping experience simpler and more rewarding," said Stefan Happ, VP and General Manager, American Express Gift Cards. "With our Gadget Lover's Card, we are offering American Express Gift Card customers something extra to use when shopping for the hottest new gadgets this year."

Besides purchasing the gift cards online they are also available at participating retailers such as CVS and Albertsons as well as through a new partnership with Bank of America, however the promotion is only good with online orders.

American Express is also making it easy for their Cardmembers to give rather than receive through their GivingExpress program which connects them to more than one million charitable organizations. Cardmembers can make a donation in another person's name and then notify the person via email of the contribution through the GivingExpress program website (or find their own unique way to present the gift). Plus the Cardmember then earns double Membership Rewards.

American Express earlier this holiday shopping season brought back it's popular interactive My WishList cyber-storefront which was open Nov. 27 - Dec. 13. My WishList's storefront offered all Cardmembers the opportunity to buy limited quantities of some of the season's most wished-for items and experiences at unbelievable savings. From the luxury lover, to the gadget geek, to the adventure seeker, it provided must-have gifts for everyone plus it also featured dream experiences like a VIP shopping spree in 10022-Shoe, Saks Fifth Avenue's enormous New York shoe department, and a trip around the world with Continental Airlines.

Cardmembers were able to sign up for e-mail alerts that notified them when their My WishList items were available and also were able to pre-register their card info for quicker clicking. New to the site this year was a "tell a friend" viral marketing component that passed on the My WishList invite karaoke-style. Cardmembers also could send a holiday rock star greeting simply by choosing a song, styling the singer and dedicating it to the person receiving the e-card.

Past My WishList promotions have been overwhelming successes; last year, My WishList experienced over 7 million visits to the site. "Our merchants are thrilled with past response from Cardmembers to My WishList, noting significant spikes in sales after the promotion," said Penni Berns, VP, Network and Merchant Marketing, American Express. "It is these strong relationships with the world's top merchants that allow us to offer new and amazing wishes each year."

Well American Express sure seems like the closest thing to being an online Santa this year. Maybe next year I'll get luckier with the My WishList promotion. However this year I am going to take advantage of that Gadget Lover's Card. I still have a few more people on my list I need to check off today!