Talk about simplifying the purchasing experience. American Express said on Monday that it has teamed up with Twitter to turn #hashtags into purchases. Powered by the creditor’s proprietary Card Sync technology, American Express customers can now sync their eligible cards at sync.americanexpress.com/twitter and tweet special #hashtags to buy American Express Gift Cards and products from Amazon, Sony, Urban Zen and Xbox 360.
For example, $25 American Express gift cards can be purchased for only $15 starting Monday by tweeting #BuyAmexCard25. This introductory discount, limited to one per card member, will end on March 3, 2013. Meanwhile, the company plans to launch the remaining catalog of products this Wednesday, February 13 at 12pm EST. The full list of special product #hashtags will be released and highlighted as "favorites" on the @AmericanExpress Twitter page.
"Based on the initial success of Amex Sync for offers, we know there is significant power in combining our assets with Twitter's platform to bring value to Cardmembers and merchants," said Leslie Berland, Senior Vice President, Digital Partnerships and Development at American Express. "Now, we're leveraging our unique technology and closed-loop network to introduce a seamless solution that redefines what's possible in the world of social commerce."
In addition to the $25 gift card, American Express will also offer discounts on other select items starting Wednesday including the Kindle Fire HD ($149.99), the Xbox 360 4 GB console with a 3-month LIVE subscription and 2 game tokens ($179.99), an Xbox controller ($29.99) and a few more items. All purchases will include local tax, the company said.
To purchase a product using an American Express #hashtag, here are four simple steps:
* Sync your eligible Card at sync.americanexpress.com/twitter.
* Cardmembers tweet special product #hashtags for the product they want to purchase with their synced Card.
* Cardmembers then check their Twitter mentions in the @ Connect tab (https://twitter.com/i/connect) for a response from @AmexSync containing a confirmation #hashtag. Tweet the confirmation #hashtag within 15 minutes of the response from @AmexSync to confirm the purchase.
* All products will be shipped to the Cardmember’s billing address via free 2-day shipping, courtesy of American Express.
While the idea of purchasing through #hashtags is rather nifty, this convenience could become somewhat dangerous when a hacker takes control of an American Express-enabled Twitter account. Then again, the same could be said about Facebook as well.
