American Express is no stranger to social saving initiatives: In July 2011, they introduced the “Link, Like, Love” Facebook app that tailored deals to places that users “Liked” or checked into via Facebook Places. Through their partnership with Foursquare, they have also launched several savings programs such as loyalty rewards and rewards for shopping at small businesses. Now, they have brought the savings over to Twitter with their new Sync with Twitter program.
The program allows you to sync your Twitter account to an American Express card by going to sync.americanexpress.com/twitter (Note: the program does not work with protected Twitter accounts). Once a user’s accounts are synced, they can send tweets with special offer hashtags and the corresponding offer will be automatically loaded onto the synced card. When the user then goes to buy a featured item at a participating retailer, the savings are automatically delivered via a statement credit within a few days. No coupons, no promo codes; you don’t even need to let the retailer know you are part of the program: it’s all automatic.
The current special offer hashtags can be found on AmEx’s Favorite Tweets page. Current participants include Best Buy, Sports Authority, Cheesecake Factory, H&M, McDonald’s, and Whole Foods. These are some of the current offers so far:
- Best Buy: Tweet #AmexBestBuy to get $10 back one time on your next single purchase of $100 or more with your synced card
- Dell: Tweet #AmexDell to get $100 back one time on your next online purchase of $599 or more with your synced card
- Virgin America: Tweet #AmexVirginAmer for 10% back one time on main cabin tickets with your synced card
As you can see, tweeting can actually save you a huge amount of money on certain items. American Express has been trying to appeal to younger customers and promote spending, and I believe it is working. When I first started noticing Foursquare deals for AmEx cardholders, I wished I could redeem them, but not enough to open a new credit card.
But with each new social initiative, I want an American Express card a little bit more. For those obsessed with social media, it can seem worthwhile. At this point, most of the places I check-in to on Foursquare have special offers from American Express. It now feels like I have to spend more money because I have a different credit card, and that’s why these initiatives will work.
American Express is paving the way for integrating social media into spending. We have to spend money from time to time, and it’s not fun. But social media is fun, and if there is a way people could save money while having fun, I’m all for it.
What do you think of this new program? Sound off in the comments!
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