$60 In Free Wine From American Express Offers, Is There Anything Worth Drinking?

by Gary Leff

I receive compensation for content and many links on this blog. Citibank is an advertising partner of this site, as is American Express, Chase, Barclays and Capital One. Any opinions expressed in this post are my own, and have not been reviewed, approved, or endorsed by my advertising partners. I do not write about all credit cards that are available -- instead focusing on miles, points, and cash back (and currencies that can be converted into the same). Terms apply to the offers and benefits listed on this page.

American Express has an ‘Amex Offer’ that I’ve added to my Platinum Card® from American Express for (2) $30 off $30 statement credits for purchases at Wine Insiders:

Regular readers know that I love wine and have some very specific preferences. I don’t like wines with high acidity, I like well-structured reds and don’t mind a bit of oak. That colors my take on any bottle shop (or airline selection).

A reader asks for my take on this offer,

Here are key things to know:

  • Offer not available to everyone because of wine shipping laws, so if you like in Alaska, Alabama, Arkansas, Delaware, Hawaii, Kentucky, Mississippi, Rhode Island, South Dakota or Utah you’re out of luck.

  • Is there any way to get wine free, or with free shipping, using this offer? You need to make a $30 purchase excluding tax and shipping to earn the credit. So a $30 purchase means paying perhaps $15 still. You can get free shipping with 6 bottles, but then you’re spending more than $30. So no – while this is $30 off $30, it’s not free.

  • Can you stack offers? Generally, no, which is unique for an Amex Offer which normally just sees you made a purchase from the merchant and issues you a credit. They offer $25 off first purchase of $50+ (with the person doing the referring getting a $25 coupon) unfortunately the terms explicitly say you cannot combine a first-time customer offer with this statement credit.

Now here’s the most important question, is there any good wine you can buy? There are, though I actually think the bigger question is whether the juice is worth the squeeze.

Take the South African 2019 Trebuchet Shiraz-Viognier, it’s a $12 bottle for $9.50, but it’s not the ‘discounted $18 bottle’ they say it is. It’s categorized as a “90+ Rated Wine Under $20” but while this is a bottle I’d happily try (I haven’t had it before) they don’t tell you who is rating it 90+ like wine sites usually do.

At the end of the day they sell wines I’d more happily drink than those from the $6 wine clubs you earn miles with (although they also sell Martha Stewart wine). But I’m not seeing free wines, or deals as good as the site says they are. And a $30 Amex credit is really only marginally better than $25 off $50 they give a new customer (you can’t use both at the same time).

So if you see something you like, use the new customer deal without the $30 off $30, and then use the Amex offer on a separate second purchase and a separate third purchase.

Seriously though have a look and share if there’s anything you see that jumps out at you as worth the effort? And here’s another frame to consider, where I don’t have the best expertise but could probably consult with my chef wife:

Hare the terms of the offer, line breaks added:

Enrollment limited. Must first add offer to Card and then use same Card to redeem. Only U.S-issued Consumer Platinum and Consumer and Business Centurion American Express® Cards are eligible. Limit 1 enrolled Card per Card Member across all American Express offer channels. Your enrollment of an eligible American Express Card for this offer extends only to that Card. Offer valid for purchases made online at wineinsiders.com only.

Excludes voucher purchases, taxes and shipping costs and promotional offers through www.wineinsiders.com/promos/ , www.wineinsiders.com/promotion/ , www.wineinsiders.com/collections/ , and www.wineinsiders.com/vouchers. Excludes Refer A Friend promo codes at Checkout.

Offer not available for delivery to AK, AL, AR, DE, HI, KY, MS, RI, SD and UT. See merchant website for additional terms and shipping policy. Must be 21 years or older to purchase and to consume alcohol, please drink responsibly. Offer is non-transferable. Limit of 2 statement credits (total of $60 back) per Card Member.

The enrolled Card account must not be cancelled or past due to receive statement credits. Offer is available for eligible Card Members with active accounts as of 11/1/2020. Any benefit earned from this offer is in addition to the rewards (i.e. Membership Rewards or cash back) earned as part of your existing Card benefits, but your ability to earn spend-based rewards for the purchase will be based on the amount after any statement credit or other discount is applied.

Statement credit will appear on your billing statement within 90 days after 6/30/2021, provided that American Express receives information from the merchant about your qualifying purchase. Note that American Express may not receive information about your qualifying purchase from merchant until all items from your qualifying purchase have been provided/shipped by merchant. Statement credit may be reversed if qualifying purchase is returned/cancelled.

If American Express does not receive information that identifies your transaction as qualifying for the offer, you will not receive the statement credit. For example, your transaction will not qualify if it is not made directly with the merchant. In addition, in most cases, you may not receive the statement credit if your transaction is made with an electronic wallet or through a third party or if the merchant uses a mobile or wireless card reader to process it. By adding an offer to a Card, you agree that American Express may send you communications about the offer. POID: K1IR:0001

If you’re interested then bear in mind eligibility is limited and enrollment is required in the Amex Offers section of your account before redeeming.

About Gary Leff

Gary Leff is one of the foremost experts in the field of miles, points, and frequent business travel - a topic he has covered since 2002. Co-founder of frequent flyer community InsideFlyer.com, emcee of the Freddie Awards, and named one of the "World's Top Travel Experts" by Conde' Nast Traveler (2010-Present) Gary has been a guest on most major news media, profiled in several top print publications, and published broadly on the topic of consumer loyalty. More About Gary »

More articles by Gary Leff »

Editorial note: any opinions, analyses, reviews or recommendations expressed in this article are those of the author’s alone, and have not been reviewed, approved or otherwise endorsed by any card issuer. Comments made in response to this post are not provided or commissioned nor have they been reviewed, approved, or otherwise endorsed by any bank. It is not the responsibility of advertisers Citibank, Chase, American Express, Barclays, Capital One or any other advertiser to ensure that questions are answered, either. Terms and limitations apply to all offers.

Pingbacks

Comments

  1. My mom got the offer a few months ago. We don’t drink and only buy wine for gifts or friends who enjoy wine. It seemed like an insurmountable challenge for me to figure out what is enjoyable to take advantage of an offer. (On my part, I have been reading up on regions and gone to an occasional tasting event). For someone who is already in the know and likes wine, the three-step procedure you describe sounds like a good way of stocking up.

  2. I’m not sure how Amex is going to differentiate whether your $30 purchase includes shipping or not. This company somehow partners with Martha Stewart Wine Company. My Amex Offers is coming with the same offer for both companies

  3. I agree with @tim I think you are going to do this offer I’d do the new customer version and pay with AMEX. I believe some other credit card companies may have offers for this same company though.

    I sure miss the old US Air Grand Slam events. I bought so much crappy wine and didn’t care 🙂

  4. I ordered the wine. it was better than expected but the offer did not track on Amex or a cashback website. Seems like a common problem with Amex offers.

    if you call them, they give you an enormous runaround.

  5. Any comment on the $50 rebate @ Home Depot?
    And the $50 rebate for $150 spent @ The Container Store?
    Has anyone received those credits with Amex Platinum?

  6. meh, their prices are way off. They were advertising a wine on sale for $10 (normal price $200……but local store near me sells same wine for $6.

    Previously got a Martha Stewart collection from this lot via amex offers and much of it was very poor, better off sticking with Costco, Total Wine etc and buy stuff you actually like (for less)

  7. I searched Wineinsiders.com. There really isn’t anything special. My everyday red choice is zinfandel. None, zero of any of top CA red zins. So I checked sparkling for something in the $30 range, very poor selection. I’ll pass. I have better things to do with my time.

  9. Read the fine print on this offer. A lot of wines are excluded including special deal wines which are most of the items available for sale. I got screwed on an order and did not get any rebate from AMEX.

  10. Unlike most AMEX Offers, this one is a bit of a scam. You’re basically not allowed to use any discount and, ,of course, all their wine is sold at discount! So don’t buy yourself a headache and stay away from this offer.

  11. While I love Amex offers and definitely will get full value from the PayPal credit (easy to use instead of a credit card for stuff you would order anyway) and also the Best Buy/Home Depot credits (can’t imagine a person that couldn’t find stuff they buy anyway at a competitive price) this one isn’t that good IMHO.

    First of all I’m not a big wine drinker but do enjoy the occasional glass so added the offer to my card. I personally found the selection limited and that I could find better prices (or much lower cost wine for comparable quality) at my local wine store. Then you add in all the ways you wouldn’t get the $30 reimbursed (clicking through a shopping portal, using coupons, ordering from one of their associated discount sites, selecting sale items, etc.) plus the fact for any order under $50 there is a shipping fee ($15 in my case) and I didn’t see value in the offer.

    Personally I only use offers if I was going to buy from the vendor anyway or, in this case, if I had a chance to use the offer at a new vendor for something I would use. Otherwise you really aren’t saving anything, even at a discount. There are dozens of “shopping” offers but I add very few to my card and this is definitely one that won’t be used.

Comments are closed.