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I don’t mean this in a bad way but the whole point of ‘Small Business Saturday’ is to give a boost to the economy. Why then is almost every tzedakah organization telling you to give them the $25 ????? Don’t they have enough Chinese Auctions and what not ?!?!?
You got it wrong, the point of Small Business Saturday is to encourage the use of American Express cards.
What better way to boost the economy than to boost Torah learning!
Wow, I see about 20 tzedakas doing this at http://www.jdonations.com and I’ve gotten emails from many others who are not on that list. Looks like everyone is trying to take advantage. Why not?
Gotbeer
The charities need the money. Just one example is the hurricane funds. It will cost millions to rebuild. Have they raised even half of what they will need?!
pease beware many of my friends and family ran last time to stores with the amex card since its motzei shabbos the stores r trying to fit in as many customers as possible however one big mistake some stores did was they didnt close there cc terminals before midnight so therefore it went into account as sunday and nobody got thier $25 back from those stores
I don’t mean this in a bad way but the whole point of ‘Small Business Saturday’ is to give a boost to the economy.
That is simply false. The purpose of the promotion is to reward and incentivize stores that accept American Express, and to incentivize people to use their American Express card.
Schools accept American Express, so they are part of the group which is meant to be incentived, and we are part of the consumer group meant to be incentived.
Please take your mishigas and bury it in the East River.
Don’t they have enough Chinese Auctions and what not ?!?!?
What an outrageous and ignorant thing to say.
Sure, so we can add a third purpose: to get positive PR by looking like they are trying to help the economy.
And they get that PR even if I give my money to a yeshiva.
To quote R’ Shaffier (https://jdonations.mapletime.com/shmuz25/)
Why is Amex doing this?
For them it’s part marketing, part their way of encouraging
people to give. They figure if people use their Amex card for
good causes, it makes them look good, and makes for more
loyal customers.
The bottom line is that this is a chance to donate $25 and it won’t
cost you a penny!
…
PS- This is American Express’s way of giving back to the community. You simply donate $25 to the Shmuz on your AMEX card, and that amount will then be refunded to your credit card. It costs you nothing. And the Shmuz gains!
Actually, at least one charity is doing a gift card raffle for this pool of donors. So they are perpetuating the ideal of further stimulating the economy and small business activity….
gotbeer:
My contention it would not matter to Amex if I give the money to a yeshiva or a liquor store.
I think your response is that Amex wants to stimulate the economy and that will only happen if I give the money to a liquor store.
You are incorrect for multiple reasons:
1. If I give it to a yeshiva, and they spend the money (as they will), it will stimulate the economy just as well. (and yes, they also patronize many small businesses, and money is fungible).
2. Amex does not care to stimulate the economy. They intend to incentivize stores to accept their card and for people to use their card, and to have good PR.
3. This promotion is not even almost large enough to have any effect on the economy. The stimulus bill was like 1 billion times bigger than this, and may not even have had any effect.
pba wrote:
3. This promotion is not even almost large enough to have any effect on the economy. The stimulus bill was like 1 billion times bigger than this, and may not even have had any effect.
Popa, I thought you were donating $25 Billion dollars to Darchei Popa with all of your AUs. That should stimulate the economy
Gotbeer
I think that the fact that it was cut to $10 is because too many people used it last year (likely for charities) they are trying to save themselves money by cutting out the charities and lowering the amount to $10 and requiring businesses to register beforehand.
This year, Amex isn’t allowing charities for Small Business Saturday. Obviously, last year it was allowed.
FTFY
They also eliminated the credit for online purchases. Does this mean, gotbeer, that anyone selling online is not a small business?
By the way, you’re right that it’s only $10 this year, but many stores are automatically registered. If they’re on the Small Business Saturday Map, they qualify.
Do you need to register your cards?
Yes, if you don’t register your cards you won’t get the credit. They also say that their are limited slots, so register early.
This year, Amex isn’t allowing charities for Small Business Saturday. Obviously bc they aren’t small businesses…….Take that Popa!!!!!
I saw the terms. Charities are excluded. From their website:
The following types of merchants are not eligible: those that are part of a franchise brand with more than 100 stores (if a franchise brand has more than 20 corporate-owned stores, then the entire brand is excluded) and merchants who accept American Express Cards solely through a third party payments aggregator, including those that offer the ability to accept credit cards through a card reader attached to a mobile device, or as part of an affiliate program.
Merchants in the following categories are also not eligible: government agencies, public administration, charities, non-profits, trade associations, shopping property management companies, direct sellers, and political organizations.
Merchants that do not have a physical storefront or location are not eligible and will not appear on the Small Business Saturday Map which will be available from 11/21/13-12/1/13.
Remember, you can still spend the money at a small business on something you need, and then give the $10 you saved to tzedakah.
So gotbeer, AMEX, and Hashem will be so proud of you.
There is lemaysa a stira because it says specifically that charities are excluded but many charities are on the map.
No stira. The map is to inform you which merchants have a physical location. A merchant may have a physical location, be on the map, and be ineligible for other reasons (eg nonprofit etc.)
Nowhere in the terms does it say that all those on the map are eligible.
It is also likely that AMEX will end up paying out to many that are ineligible.
One can ponder whether it’s:
1. they don’t care; or
2. they care, but enforcing it would be too time-consuming/expensive.
Within “2.” one can question whether they have an expectation of self-reporting. I could imagine that each of these could have halachic implications.
No stira. The map is to inform you which merchants have a physical location. A merchant may have a physical location, be on the map, and be ineligible for other reasons (eg nonprofit etc.)
Nowhere in the terms does it say that all those on the map are eligible.
The Small Business Saturday Map is an interactive map created to help Card Members find and shop at small businesses. It is also a resource for Card Members to find a qualifying small business location where they can redeem the American Express Card Member Offer for Small Business Saturday on 11/30/13. The Small Business Saturday Map will be available to Card Members from 11/21/13-12/1/13. Online-only businesses and businesses without a physical storefront or location do not qualify to be included.
The Shop Small Map is an interactive map, available throughout the year (except from 11/21/13-12/1/13 when the Small Business Saturday Map is available), to help Card Members find and shop at small businesses. In addition to displaying merchants with a physical storefront, the Shop Small Map also displays merchants that only accept online transactions or those that do not have a physical business location. Merchants that only accept online transactions or those that do not have a physical business location will appear on the Shop Small Map until after Small Business Saturday, Nov 30, provided that they are eligible.
How do I know that a particular small business location in my area is a qualifying location?
Of course the fact that it’s on the map doesn’t mean that the business was truthful in their application, but the FAQ seems to indicate that the consumer is not responsible to make that determination.
I know of some tzedakahs that are on the map although they never “applied” because they were ineligible. I don’t see any problem going over to one of these places on motzei shabbos to swipe my card…
42, I don’t think you’re right. It’s probably mat’eh aku”m, since they explicitly exclude nonprofits, and the appearance on the map is surely a mistake.
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