Sponsored Post: American Express Holiday Challenge & Membership Rewards

American Express has come to my emotional rescue by putting me into their Holiday Shopping Challenge Program.  Let me tell you why.  With 14 shopping days until Christmas, I need to apply a little more, shall we shall “structure” to my shopping list.  Who amongst us is actually done with their holiday shopping? Who I say?  I know my brother doesn’t even start his shopping until Dec. 24th.  Seriously, that’s the day he likes to go to the store because he claims that only men are there shopping on Christmas Eve so it’s easy to get in and out.  For most of us, I think two weeks pre-Christmas is the time we really get serious about our gift buying.  So with 14 days left to go, I am accepting $250.00 and 40,000 Membership Rewards points to shop for five family members. The shopping gauntlet has been thrown down!  The best part for all of you: I will soon be giving away a $250.00 American Express gift card to one lucky reader to do their holiday shopping.  Watch this space for the giveaway post!

I’m actually a very generous gift giver, so this is a really stringent budget for me.  I tend to really go all out for the holidays to lavish my family with gifts. With a $250.00 US budget, divided by 5, I have about $50.00 to spend on each person, including sales tax.  With the addition of the points, I have 8,000 points for each person on my list.

My Holiday Challenge Gift List: Making my shopping profiles
I will be shopping for these five family members. To help shop for them, I am taking a few minutes to jot down their shopping “profile.” I recommend doing this with individual on your list so you can target them with gifts that suit them, not just stop you find on “sale” or impulse buy because it looks cool.

1) Mom, a classic fashionista. She likes wardrobe staples (pearls, anything from Talbots, the new Chicos Diane Keaton collection.) Nothing to hip or trendy can be purchased for Mom.  She is not shy about doing returns.
2) Dad, the most difficult person on my list.  He has everything. He hates clothes. The one saving grace, he is a mammoth epicurean who enjoys eating out  like no one else I know.  He is also very skinny and eats whatever he wants.  So not fair.
3) My niece, age 11. The self-proclaimed Recessioniecesta enjoys fashion and all technology items from a little company some of you may have heard of called, Apple.
4) My nephew, age 8. This amazing boy is also a technology wizard.  He has autism, but that does not slow him down.  He uses communicator programs on his iPod Touch, loves Thomas the Train and enjoys a good game on the Wii.
5) My brother, a genius programmer and technology geek bar none. He is hypnotized by his new Kindle. He is a lover of all things on Amazon.com.

These are the five people that I will be using for the holiday shopping challenge.  There are three people left off this list, and you know who you are! My two sisters and my boyfriend.  You will all be gifted, but you are more difficult to shop for, so you are not on my challenge list.

Pictured: Save 20% this Holiday Season when you use your rewards for gifting.

The Recessionista’s Holiday Smart Shopping Tips using Membership Rewards
As I prepare to shop using the dollars so thoughtfully provided by American Express and those fab American Express Membership rewards points, these are some things that I have learned which I want to pass on as holiday shopping tips.  I am an American Express Card Member and have been for almost 20 yrs.  To find out how to best make use of the 40,000 points shopping allotment, I logged onto my Membership Rewards portal, and learned a few things.  If you are a card member, check out these Membership Rewards benefits you may not be aware of. Remember, beyond the holiday deals on points, as an American Express card member you receive fraud and theft protection all year long, 24 X 7, plus purchase protection.  Lots of benefits and no finance charges when you pay on time.  Note to self, pay on time.:)

• Get in on the Sale. There’s actually a sale on now where you can save 20% off the price of items when you use American Express membership rewards to purchase items on your gift list. Until  Dec. 31, 2011, cardholders who shop through the American Express shopping portal will receive at least five times their membership rewards points for 20 top merchants including Apple, Barnes and Noble, Crate & Barrel, Macy’s, Target and Home Depot. Visit the site for details and restrictions.
• Redeem well. The holiday season is a great time to redeem your rewards that you have been compiling all year because you can great deals on MembershipRewards.com at retailers including Hotels, Airlines and fashionable retailers like Burberry, Saks Fifth Avenue, Neiman Marcus, Banana Republic, Michael Kors and Kohl’s (Vera Wang, Elle.)
• Shop at discount prices. Get discounts by redeeming membership rewards for merchandise at the shopping portal site ShopAmEx.com.
• Check the Deal of the Day for savings. Go to the Membership Rewards Facebook page and check the deal of the day.  There maybe a great deal on an item you want ( I see a lot of electronics there.) You just need to check back often since these are Daily.
• Redeem points at Amazon.com for a wide array of items from books, to fashion, to electronics. Using points to shop Amazon allows you to pay for a purchase in full with points or pay partially with the points. That’s such a nice system, because if you don’t have enough points saved, you can get a nice discount with the points you do have. Just remember to go to the MembershipRewards.com portal site and link your American Express card to your Amazon account. Once you are linked, you’ll get a message tell you how much you have to use to shop in points and in dollars.
• Get gift cards with points for dining at restaurants and entertainment events so you can give anyone of your list a night on the town.  You can even cash in points for a new category called Online Social Games.  I know some kids, and adults, who would like that one. 
• Register to be part of the American Express Gift Chain, Gifts range from statement credits to gift cards, some of which you can share with 3 Facebook friends.
• My final tips are be sure to link your card to other American Express Savings Program like Link, Love, Like and Foursquare.  With the Link, Love Like program, load deals from American Express on Facebook directly to your card, with no coupons required.  You get the deals, and when you shop, you can get Membership Rewards points too.  Sync your card with Foursquare to get deals when you check in and use your card at the Merchant.

Tune in later this week to hear more about my shopping challenge and how you can enter to win a $250.00 gift card for your own shopping.  Happy holidays readers!