American Express — MomStart

AMEX Gift Chain

December 3, 2011 By Momstart 1,243 Comments

I’ve worked with American Express on Holiday Giveaways for three years in a row now. I love working with American Express and they always surprise me with a new and unique way to make gifting during the holiday season fun! This year they have The Gift Chain!

The Gift Chain consists of hundreds of thousands of gifts, ranging from $500 American Express Gift Cards to one-year Shoprunner memberships, to $5 statement credits, to well the list goes on and on and on. In addition to all that, some lucky cardmembers will get three bonus gifts to share with Facebook friends, spreading the joy of the Gift Chain via social media. Seems like everything is tied to Social Media now right? Yep, it’s a part of life now. To join The Gift Chain, cardmembers need to register an eligible American Express® Card and spend $25 or more at a participating online merchant.

Participating online retailers include:

· American Eagle

· Bed Bath & Beyond

· Blue Nile

· Dell

· GameStop

· J.Crew

· Lenovo

· Neiman Marcus

· Nike

· REI

· Rue La La

· Toys R Us

· Vente-Privee

· Walmart

· yoyo.com

· Zappos

Types of Gifts include:

· $500 American Express Gift Card

· $500 Hilton Honors Card

· One-year Shoprunner membership

· $30 Dell Gift Card

· $25 Toys R Us Gift Card

· $25 Zappos Gift Card

· $20 Nike Gift Card

Remember, Each time you shop at participating online retailers and spend $25 or more you will receive a gift. (up to 10 gifts, while supplies last). American Express will instantly send you an email revealing a surprise gift, which for select gifts could be shareable.

This giveaway has ended. Congratulations to the winners: Dana, Jessica T. and royalegacy.

All rules can be found under giveaway rules.

Filed Under: giveaway Tagged With: American Express, AMEX, Gift Card, Gift Chain, giveaway, points program

American Express Savvy Shopping Must Haves $250 Giveaway

November 2, 2011 By Momstart 51 Comments

This season is full of great fashion finds and must have items and since I’ve told you before that I don’t have fashion sense, I have some helpful hints from American Express. I’m working with American Express Membership Rewards again and how Savvy their program is. You can look back on the Savvy tips with American Express post for Savvy Shopping tips, but I’m still going to give you a quick recap on that post.

1) Do Your Research

2) Think Before You Buy

3) Understand return policies

4) Know who you are buying from

5) When using credit make sure you’re earning points

and

There are six major points when it comes to using your American Express Membership Rewards:

Points Don’t Expire
Rewards at a Few Points
Travel Your Way
Find Great Deals
More Choices to Use Points
Redeeming is Easy

Visit American Express To learn even more about American Express Membership Rewards.

Now you’ve seen my plea for fashion help in the past, so I’m not even going to pretend that I could come up with a list of fashionable finds for you. And these finds are quite fashionable from top designers like Michael Kors. (Most of the time I’m sitting in my sweat pants and oversized sweatshirt. The life of working from home I tell you.) Plus, I don’t even have a purse right now, I still carry the diaper bag and my kids are out of diapers.

The American Express Savvy Shopping Must Haves of 2011 are:

North Face Denali Jacket (Retail $165):

Michael Kors Hamilton Medium Messenger Bag (Retail $248.00):

Dooney and Bourke Dillen II Satchel (Retail $248.00):

TUMI Ducati Tank Medium Backpack (Retail $245.00):

Enter to Win:

This post is part of the other giveaway post. Win $250 of merchandise or gift cards through Membership Rewards The other post is here, comments on both posts count as an entry, the giveaway ends Nov 7th.

Gift Cards:

Saks Fifth Avenue: (denominations: $50, $100, $250)

Zappos.com: (denominations: $50, $100, $250)

Neiman Marcus: (denominations: $50, $100, $250)

To Enter:

Please leave a comment on this post. Other entry options are found http://su.pr/8ez72o.

This is a sponsored post on behalf of American Express Membership Rewards.

Filed Under: 2011 Gift Guide, giveaway Tagged With: American Express, American Express Membership Rewards., credit cards, savvy shopping, Shopping Must Haves, shopping tips

Savvy On-line Shopping and American Express – What’s Your Biggest Shopping Mistake?

October 20, 2011 By Momstart 815 Comments

Thinking back to my biggest shopping mistake would have to be admitting that I’m not very good at shopping for cars. I don’t do the research and I am terrible at negotiating a fair price. I hate buying a car and just want to get the process over with as soon as possible. So my biggest shopping mistake was buying a car without going on-line, finding the best price, and then making the dealer I want to work with give me the best price. You can save thousands of dollars by being prepared. I’ve seen my parents do it so I know I can do it.

Next time I go buy a car look out because I’m an on-line informed shopper. My other shopping mistake was overspending. Yep I’m guilty of that too. Sigh!

I’m working with American Express Membership Rewards again to share some Savvy On-line shopping tips with you guys so you make smart purchases all the time.

How Can You Be A Savvy Shopper?

Do Your Research. You should always be in the know before you make a purchase. There are so many tools on-line to find the best price. Before buying a car you can find out how much the dealership paid for it, then you should only pay 100 to 500 more than what they paid for it. Use Consumer Reports for product information and about how much it should cost. Is it worth your money to buy. Know before you buy. While we’re thinking about cars did you know that American Express covers roadside assistance? Cardmembers can use Roadside Assistance if their car dies or blows a tire and they’re stranded. They will be covered for up to four times a year, up to $50 per service call.

Think Before You Buy. It’s very important when you’re making a purchase over 250.00 to think about it first. Make sure you need it and that you won’t regret it. Sometimes sleeping on it is much better than in impulse buy that you are going to regret.

Understand return policies. As I mentioned I’m guilty of overspending on occasion and often have buyers remorse. I’ve taken a thing or two back to the store, but you have to know before hand that the store will take things back. Also, make sure items come with a warranty so that if you get a dud and you opened the box you can still take it back. American Express Return Protection can be used when a Cardmember no longer wants an item they purchased but the merchant’s return policy has expired and they will no longer take the item back. Return Protection refunds the full purchase price of an item up to $300, excluding shipping and handling of eligible items bought with the Card for up to 90 days from the date of purchase. The maximum annual refund is $1,000 annually per Card account.

Know who you are buying from. No I’m not saying you have to personally know everyone that you buy something from. You need to make sure that people you buy from are verified sellers, or trusted retailers. Also, it’s important to understand how your credit card will protect you when you purchase something on-line from an untrusted vendor. American Express Purchase Protection can protect eligible purchases made with the Card against accidental damage and theft for up to 90 days from the date of purchase. This service can be used when something a Cardmember buys is broken or stolen. With Purchase Protection, American Express will repair, replace, or reimburse up to the amount charged to the Card, not to exceed the original purchase price. Coverage is up to $1,000 per Occurrence, up to $50,000 per Cardmember Account per Calendar Year.

When using credit make sure you’re earning points like the American Express Membership Rewards. We are always using points when we use our cards and it’s fun to redeem the points for things we need or want for Christmas. You can easily earn points on everyday items like gas, groceries, phone bills and redeem them for practical items like paying your taxes OR social efforts like donations to charities OR for the things you love – like extraordinary shopping to entertainment to travel rewards – it’s a world of possibilities and the choice is yours! There are six major points when it comes to using your American Express Membership Rewards:

Points Don’t Expire
Rewards at a Few Points
Travel Your Way
Find Great Deals
More Choices to Use Points
Redeeming is Easy

Visit American Express To learn even more about American Express Membership Rewards.

Tell us Your Shopping Mistake

This giveaway has ended. Congratulations to the winner, scottsgal.

I’m receiving products from the American Express Membership Rewards program.

Filed Under: giveaway, personal Tagged With: American Express, American Express Membership Rewards., AMEX, giveaway, on-line shopping tips, savvy shopping tips, shopping tips

Make Your House a Veggie Party with Country Crock Giveaway [200.00 Amex GC 3 winners]

May 11, 2011 By Momstart 1,442 Comments

I love vegetables more than I love fruit. I would rather have a veggie any day. I love all kinds of veggies too and enjoy finding creative ways to present them to the kids. We’ve tried cooking them together:

The kids and I made Roasted Asparagus, and they had a lot of fun helping me, and were even willing to try them. I’ve also tried giving them a rainbow of veggies meal.

You know my daughter’s favorite color is purple and she loves purple cabbage because it’s purple, and she even tried eggplant because of the color, so using the color of veggies is a great way to get kids to try their veggies.

If all else fails, we have a bag of carrots available at every meal. The bag of carrots also serves for a filler. My children (I’m the luckiest mom in the world) love to eat, and if they are still hungry at the end of the meal then they get to have a bag of carrots. Usually that’s how I can tell if they are still hungry or not, because if they go for that extra bag of carrots then they are still hungry. They usually say, uh, no I’m full then.

That being said, carrots and all veggies are better cooked and country crock aims to help with 70% less saturated fat than butter. Country Crock ensures your veggies are not only nutritious but also delicious. Country Crock is my preferred butter choice, I have a HUGE tub of it in my fridge. We use it on grilled cheese, pancakes, and pretty much just about anything, especially when cooking veggies.

Country Crock sent us a “Veggie Party Kit” and it included:

Country Crock Samples
Re-usable eco-friendly grocery tote
”Today I Ate a Rainbow” Kids calendar
Vegetable chopper
Kids’ Aprons
Gardening How-to Kit
Vegetable cookbook

The Veggie Party Kit was a great tool in teaching the kids even more about veggies. I work really hard at teaching Zoe and Miles to make healthy choices and its’ working. Zoe is learning all about making smart choices and will choose a fruit/veggie & cheese plate over Danish.

Our favorite activity in the Veggie Party Kit was the gardening How-to Kit.

The best way to get kids to eat their veggies is to get them involved.

Enter to Win:

200.00 American Express Gift Card (1 winner)

Veggie Party Kit (2 winners (100.00 value)

3 winners total

To Enter:

Visit Country Crock on Facebook and check out what recipes you like and come back here and share which recipe you like the most.

Extra Entries:

Tweet or RT this post and include the link to the post

Country Crock Love Your Veggies 200.00 AMEX GC #Giveaway @Momstart http://bit.ly/iw0R3b

Subscribe to MomStart
Comment on any non-giveaway post
List this giveaway on any giveaway site, dig, stumble, like or share on Facebook (or use any of the share options listed below)
Blog About this Giveaway (10 extra entries, linking to the giveaway)
Follow me on twitter tell me your twitter ID
Follow/Like Mom Start on Facebook
Follow me on Google Friend Connect

This giveaway ends May 30th. All rules can be found under giveaway rules.

Disclosure – A product was provided to me free of charge by the manufacturer or representing PR agency for the writing of this review; however, opinions expressed are my own and are NOT influenced by monetary compensation

Filed Under: giveaway Tagged With: American Express, butter, country crock, Veggie Tales, veggie tips

The 75,000 American Express Membership Rewards Points Program Level

April 22, 2011 By Momstart 29 Comments

In celebration of their 20th Anniversary, American Express launched a new advertising campaign that showcases the endless possibilities that exist within the Membership Rewards program. American Express Membership Rewards Points Program is so easy to navigate, the only trouble is with all the choices how in the world do you make a decision to redeem your program member points? More than likely we would redeem our points for gift cards, American Express Gift Cards. Or I might just use the points to shop through one of the merchants that they have partnered with.

Remember the Key Points:

Points don’t expire

Travel Your Way/ Pay with Points

Find some really great deals

More Options

Redeeming is EASY

Now, I’ve been going through different points levels every week. I picked out my top 5 at 25,000 points, my top five at 50,000 points and now my top five at 75,000 points. And here they are in three different categories.

In The Technology

My husband needs a new set of Bose QuietComfort 15 Acoustic Noise Cancelling Headphones with Graphite 8GB Apple iPod Nano

Bose CineMate GS Series II Digital Home Theater Speaker System

Samsung 32” 720p LCD TV with Monster ScreenClean

Microsoft Xbox 4GB with Kinect Sensor Quick Charge Kit and Wireless Headset

Samsung 10.1 Netbook with Built Sleeve

In the Home

Dyson Air Multiplier Bladeless Tower Fan

Viking Professional 5 Qt Stand Mixer and Blender

Victorinox 8-Piece Forged Block Set Victorinox Swiss Army

KitchenAid Professional 600 Series Bowl-Lift Stand Mixer with Bonus Food Grinder Attachement

Hoover Platinum Collection Lightweight Bagged Upright with Canister

In the Fashion and Accessories Category

The Jewelers Collection Parikh 14K White Gold Diamond Stud Earrings

Roberto Coin 18K white Gold Diamond Star Necklace

Burberry Giant Check Cashmere Scarf

Burberry Penrose Wallet

Antwerp Diamonds Diamond “Star of Brilliance” Fashion Ring White Gold

What would you choose for 75,000 American Express Program Points?

Disclosure: I am being compensated for my participation in American Express’ Membership Rewards Program through complimentary Membership Rewards Points. Thanks to American Express for providing the $100 American Express Gift Card giveaway prize. Information about the Membership Rewards Program has been provided by American Express. The views and opinions expressed here are my own.

Filed Under: Announcement Tagged With: Ambassador, American Express, Membership Rewards, Program points

$100.00 American Express Gift Card Giveaway

April 18, 2011 By Momstart 1,294 Comments

Spending the last few weeks going through the American Express Membership Rewards made me see just how easy it really is to redeem your points and so many different points levels. Even if you have just a very low level of points available to redeem you can find something quite useful like a gift card. I love gift cards and so does American Express! They are offering a $100.00 gift card as a giveaway here at MomStart.

So….

Enter to Win:

100.00 American Express Gift Card.

But First!

I wanted to make sure you know all about the American Express Membership Rewards Points program. I’m sure you realize, American Express is a Credit Card and you earn points every time you buy something. At American Express you earn 1 point for every dollar spent. You will not hit any caps and you won’t lose any points by some crazy expiration date. There are no expiration dates.

There are many different categories in which you can redeem your points. Everyone loves technology these days and if you own an iPad, or iPhone you’ll find all kinds of accessories (yes you’ll even find the iPad available within the search)

To Enter:

Search the Membership Rewards and determine what you would choose at any point value if you could. Just for fun and leave your choice in the comments section.

Extra Entries:

Check out what’s going on with American Express on their Facebook page and get an extra entry for liking them!

Tweet or RT this post and include the link to the post

$100.00 American Express Gift Card #Giveaway @MomStart http://bit.ly/eVLXdC

Leave a comment on 50,000 American Express Membership Rewards Points for Redemption on what you would like at that level

Leave a comment on If I had 25,000 American Express Membership Rewards Program Points on what you would like at that level

Leave a comment on American Express Membership Rewards Program

And Leave a comment on The 75,000 American Express Membership Rewards Points Program Level

List this giveaway on any giveaway site, dig, stumble, like or share on Facebook (or use any of the share options listed below)

This Giveaway Ends May 2nd. All rules can be found under giveaway rules.

Filed Under: giveaway Tagged With: American Express, American Express Giveaway, Membership Rewards

50,000 American Express Membership Rewards Points for Redemption

April 15, 2011 By Momstart 53 Comments

With the American Express Membership Rewards Program you earn one point for every dollar you spend. There is no limit to the number of points you can earn and you won’t lose them because they will not expire. SO if you’re saving points to fly, you don’t have to buy magazine subscriptions like I usually do with my airlines flyer miles I get just for flying. Once you’ve racked up the points then you can redeem them quite easily, that is you can make up your mind. I have quite a bit of trouble picking out certain things. I mean you can use them for retail purchases and access to dining and entertainment events. You can use them to book travel or transfer points to frequent flyer and guest programs. And you can use points toward Gift Cards and Certificates. I liked how I broke up the 25,000 American Express Membership Rewards Program Points into categories so I’m going to give you ideas from different categories again. And starting with my favorite category, let’s take a peak at the 50,000 points range.

From The Tech Category:

Canon PowerShot 12.1 Megapixel Digital Camera with 12x Optical Zoom and 2 GB SD

Apple iPod Classic 160 GB with $25 iTunes GC

Nook 3G + WiFi by Barnes & Noble

Amazon Kindle WiFi And Leather Case Latest Generation

Logitech Harmony One Advanced Universal Remote

From the Home Category:

Cuisinart FP-14 Series 14-Cup Food Processor

Krups XP5240 Precise Temp Espresso Machine

KitchenAid Classic 4 1/2 Quart Stand Mixer

Dyson DC31 Animal Handheld Vacuum Satin Purple

DeWalt XRP 1/2 12V Cordless Drill/Driver Kit

From the Fashion and Accessories Category:

Tissot T-Wave Ladies’ Diamond Watch with Mother-of-Pearl Dial

The Jewelers Collection Amethyst and Diamond Dangle Earrings

Michael Kors Hamilton Large North/South Tote – Navy

The Jewelers Collection Parikh 10K White Gold Diamond Stud Earrings

Parikh Diamond Solitaire Pendant 14K White Gold

Check out what’s going on with American Express on their Facebook page too to keep up with all of the new announcements regarding anything American Express.

Filed Under: personal Tagged With: American Express, Membership Rewards, Program points

If I had 25,000 American Express Membership Rewards Program Points

April 8, 2011 By Momstart 51 Comments

Just to remind you, the American Express Membership Rewards Program is celebrating it’s 20th Anniversary. In celebration of their 20th Anniversary, American Express launched a new advertising campaign that showcases the endless possibilities that exist within the Membership Rewards program.

In Celebration of their 20th Anniversary, I thought we should celebrate with cake. Ok, so you got me, that cake is actually the cake that we used for my son’s 3rd birthday, but it’s the kind of festive I’m going for with this 20th Anniversary Rewards Program. This week, I was tasked with finding out what I would choose at the 25,000 American Express Membership Rewards Program points level. I found A LOT! A Whole Lot. My favorite feature is how easy the Membership Rewards Program was to explore. Searching is quite easy because you can pick how many points you want to narrow it down to and then you can choose a category. From there, I decided if I wanted to look at the points from high to low within the points.

So of course I was curious to find out how I could maximize the 25,000 points for redemption so after choosing 20,001 – 30,000 I chose from high to low. Then I let the search begin. WOW, there are so many different points options. Using the points is limitless, I had such a hard time narrowing it down to just five so I picked five in a few categories, Technology, Home and Fashion. These are things I would use the points to redeem.

In the Tech Category:

Canon 10.0 Megapixel Digital Camera with 2 GB SD Memory Card & Case

Nook WiFi Barnes & Noble

Flip Ultra HD Video Camera

Tom Tom GPS

Logitech Gaming Keyboard G510

In the Home Category:

Waring Belgian Waffle Maker

KitchenAid Stand Mixer Attachment Pack

Craftsman 154 pc. Mechanics Tool Set

Hoover T-Series WindTunnel Rewind Bagless Upright

DeLonghi Expresso & Drip Coffee Maker Combo Machine

In The Fashion and Accessories Category:

Michael Kors Ladies Crocodile-Embossed Strap Watch

Swarovski Nostalgia Heart Pendant

Oakley Jury Aluminum Sunglass – Distressed Grey

Dooney & Bourke Calf Leather Medium Pouchette

The Jewelers Collection Blue Topaz Pendant in 14k Yellow gold

Of course, even if you didn’t decide to purchase an item of some kind, there are so many different gift card options, hotel stays, vacation locations to visit. I’ve spent hours looking at all of the options. I even picked out a few of the travel options that I would love to use at the 25,000 points level. A stay at the Marriott, Hyatt or even a stay at Legoland. Check out what’s going on with American Express on their Facebook page too to keep up with all of the new announcements regarding anything American Express.

Filed Under: personal Tagged With: American Express, Membership Rewards, Program points

American Express Membership Rewards Program

March 30, 2011 By Momstart 43 Comments

American Express Membership Rewards celebrates it’s 20th Anniversary. When it was first launched 20 years ago it was innovative and over the years it has continued to innovate through new partners, categories and features. The program even now offers more than a million rewards from so many different brands, you would be surprised to see what all there is to choose from. Millions of card members have redeemed their points for things from movie tickets to trips to fine resorts.

The points possibilities are endless including social media. Can you imagine using your Membership Rewards as social currency connecting you to people and experiences that you love. American Express launched a new advertising campaign that showcases the possibilities that exist within the Membership Rewards program. Feel free to also check out what’s going on with American Express on their Facebook page.

Key Points to Earn More Points and Enjoy More Rewards

Points Don’t Expire – Ever

Rewards at low points - even as low as 1,000 points

Travel Your Way – Use the Pay with Points feature to book flights, hotels, cruises and vacation packages.

Find Some Really Great Deals – At membershiprewards.com/specials, you can save points with great deals on select rewards like electronics, travel, entertainment, home accessories and more

More Options for your Points – You can automatically use your points on sites you use every day.

Redeeming is EASY – Just check your balance, choose your reward, and click to redeem.

Over the next three weeks I will be exploring the myriad of options to use American Express Membership Rewards on at three different point increments. I invite you to explore the points options with me and at the end of the program we’ll be giving away a 100.00 American Express Gift Card.

Filed Under: Announcement Tagged With: American Express, Membership Rewards

Season of Surprises American Express Surprise Giveaway

November 30, 2010 By Momstart 1,199 Comments

This Holiday Season American Express is all about the surprises. They have so many promotions going on it’s INSANE! You can win a trip home to see your family through their Home for the Holidays Giveaway. American Express supported small businesses with a twitter giveaway earlier this month, and you can Do Good. Gift Great with American Express’ Children’s Health Fund Gift Card.

For every card sold, American Express will donate the $3.95 purchase fee to Children’s Health Fund, a leading pediatric provider of mobile-based health care for homeless and low-income children and their families. Children’s Health Fund is dedicated to bringing health care directly to those in need through the development and support of innovative medical programs, response to public health crises, and the promotion of guaranteed access to health care for all children.

Now the big surprise is HUGE! $100,000 HUGE!

Every new American Express Gift Card purchased is a possible winner for the 100,000 grand prize. What do I mean? Log on to American Express Holiday and enter in all of your information, including your American Express Gift Card number and you will be entered into the sweepstakes. Each American Express gift card even has the chance winning one of 2,000 $25 Gift Cards or ten $10,000 instant win prizes.

Now for the most Fun!

I’m giving away 20 25.00 gift cards in total! I’ll draw 10 winners on December 13th and then 10 more winners on December 20th. You can win more than once. Let me say that again, you can win more than once!

Enter to win:

At least 1 gift card valued at 25.00 from American Express

To Enter:

Leave a comment telling me about the biggest surprise someone has surprised you with.

Extra Entries:

Tweet: RT @MomStart: Season of Surprises American Express Surprise #Giveaway http://bit.ly/ehC5Ct

Subscribe to my blog and Follow me on twitter
Follow me on Google Friend Connect
List this giveaway on any giveaway site, dig or stumble or use any of the share methods below facebook included (just leave a link to this post)
Blog About this Giveaway (linking to the giveaway (3 extra entries))
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This giveaway ends December 20th. All rules can be found under giveaway rules.

Filed Under: giveaway Tagged With: American Express, American Express Giveaway, American Express Holiday, Children's Health Fund, Gift Card, giveaway, Home for the holidays, Season of Surprises, twitter giveaway

Enter to Win:

To Enter:

How Can You Be A Savvy Shopper?

Tell us Your Shopping Mistake

Enter to Win:

To Enter:

Extra Entries:

Remember the Key Points:

In The Technology

In the Home

In the Fashion and Accessories Category

What would you choose for 75,000 American Express Program Points?

Enter to Win:

But First!

To Enter:

Extra Entries:

From The Tech Category:

From the Home Category:

From the Fashion and Accessories Category:

In the Tech Category:

In the Home Category:

In The Fashion and Accessories Category:

Key Points to Earn More Points and Enjoy More Rewards

Enter to win:

To Enter:

Extra Entries:

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