American Express, also known as Amex, is a multinational corporation dealing with payment card services. Its headquarters are at 200 Vesey Street in Battery Park City in New York City. The company started its operations in 1850 and is among the 30 components of the Dow Jones Industrial Average and collaborates with banks worldwide to offer payment card services. You will learn how to cash out American Express gift card later.
A gift card is a payment tool that allows you to buy goods from specific stores. As their name depicts, the cards are gifts from other people for various purposes such as birthdays, good performances at school, anniversaries, holiday celebrations, among others. When you buy one, you usually load it with money electronically. The person using the card then presents it to the relevant store when buying goods or services.
Gift cards may be tangible or virtual. Tangible ones are the plastic ones that you can see and touch. You can use them at physical stores or online to buy certain goods and services. You only need to provide the number, the CVV, and the expiry date to authorize payments. On the other hand, the virtual one is for online use only. You only have the card number plus the other details that you should provide online when checking out.
The Method To Get An American Express Gift Card
Getting a gift card from American Express is easy as you can purchase one online when you visit the AMEX gift card website. If you are buying one for your best friend, father, mother, boss, and other important people, you need to have enough money in your bank account or debit card for the purchase.
You can get personal or eGift cards depending on your interests, whereby you can select a value of between $25-$3,000 and then add a custom message. You may also get Business gift Cards for clients, groups, and customers. If you buy a tangible one, you will get it in your physical location.
However, you can get the eGift Cards via email delivery. You only receive the card details and are ready to use online. Therefore, you will need to get the recipient’s email address to receive it directly from the company.
In most cases, eGift cards reach the recipient within 15 minutes but sometimes take up to 24 hours. American Express has various gift card categories, including Thank You, Anytime, Congratulations, Birthday, Shop Small, and Milestones.
Various cards that you can get from the company include the following.
- Rose Gold Ribbon
- Love Balloons
- Shiny Ribbon
- Rose Gold Shimmer Box
- Gold Sparkle
- Custom Gift Card
- Congratulations Mint
- Silver Diagonal
- Thank Pinstripes
- Custom Gift Card
- Birthday Candles
- Blue Bow
- Retirement Navy
- Gold Delight
- Baby Moon
Some Ways To Use A Gift Card
The American Express gift card and any other allow you to use it for various transactions. You can use your card to purchase goods online and at physical stores, as I have mentioned above. When you purchase goods from online stores, you only need to provide the number, expiry dates, and security code. The systems then deduct the spent amounts from your card account, and you are good to go.
When using your tangible gift card, you need to present it to the cashier at the register, who then deducts the right amount and hands it over to you. Remember that you can also use your physical gift card online.
You can also use your card to fund a mobile money wallet transaction. There are money transfer apps that accept American Express gift cards. A good example is PayPal. The service also accepts gift cards with Visa®, MasterCard®, or Discover® logos on them.
Procedure To Cash Out An American Express Gift Card
Most card users do not know that you can cash out your gift card. We are used to withdrawing money at ATMs using debit, credit, and prepaid cards. Even though you cannot withdraw money at an ATM point using a gift card, you can use other ways to get money out of it.
Remember, various ways to cash out apply to most gift cards. The same way you cannot transfer an Amazon gift card balance to a bank account is the same you cannot with an AmEx one unless you use indirect ways.
Before converting your card to cash, you should know how much it is worth. To see the balance on your American Express Gift Card, you need to visit the balance AMEX gift card and then enter your card’s number, security code, and expiration date. You will then know the amount of money you should cash out. The following are ways you can get cash out of your gift card.
i) Ask for a refund
You can demand a refund if you are the one who bought the gift card. A time may come when you do not need the card because you may have purchased it without prior planning or changing your mind.
Some particular terms and conditions apply, and you should read and understand them. You can also contact AmEx at 1-833-205-8622 and ask about how you can get a refund on your purchase.
ii) Cash-out small balances by law
You can convert your Amex gift card to cash if the balance is small. That is possible if you live in a state which directs merchants to convert small balances into cash. That is applicable if your balance is below $10. The requirement may vary from state to state. It is not just AmEx gift cards that you can cash out, as you might need to know how to get cash from Vanilla Visa gift cards or any other.
iii) Sell your gift card
Some companies exchange gift cards for cash at a fee. Some operate online, while others carry out the process at physical stores. If you have an Amex gift card, you can sell it at online marketplaces, gift card kiosks, or check-cashing stores. Remember that you will lose some percentage due to the fees involved.
For example, you can cash out Walmart gift cards at CardCash. You can also sell your card on social media. For example, Facebook has a marketplace where you can sell gift cards.
iv) Buy a money order
A money order is a written and signed document with a particular value of money that you can redeem at a bank. Since most money order sellers accept gift cards, that can be an easy way to cash out from your card. Once you purchase the money order, you can cash it out at a bank.
v) Add it to your mobile wallet
As I mentioned earlier, there are mobile wallets that accept gift cards. PayPal allows you to add one the same way you can add a debit or credit card and use it for your transaction. Therefore, you can add one, initiate a PayPal to a bank transfer, and then withdraw the funds from your bank account. By the way, that is an indirect way you can transfer money from a gift card to a bank account.
Other Products You Can Get From American Express
American Express does not deal with gift cards only as you can get other products such as
- Personal Cards
- Savings Accounts
- Personal Loans
- Personal Checking
Some of the personal cards you can get from the company include The Platinum Card®, American Express® Gold Card, Blue Cash Preferred® Card, and Cash Magnet® Card, among other debit cards. AmEx also issues prepaid cards called American express Serve cards.
They allow you to manage their accounts online, whereby you can send money with American Express Serve, buy goods and services online, pay bills and withdraw money from ATMs.
The AmEx serve cards allow you to reload money at various locations, and thus you do not have to worry about where you can add money. The savings and checking accounts from the company are purely online, and you can manage them using your smartphone.
You can receive direct deposit for free add money from other banks and mobile wallets such as PayPal, Venmo, and Payoneer, among others.
Bottom Line
American Express, also known as AmEx, is a multinational corporation dealing with payment card services. Its headquarters are at 200 Vesey Street in Battery Park City in New York City. The company issues gift cards online whereby you can purchase a virtual gift card or tangible gift cards and receive them at your place. There are various ways you can cash out your gift cards if you don’t need to use them.
