Over the past few months the American Express Platinum card has evolved into a highly rewarding credit card. Yes, the card comes with a $550 annual fee, which seems high, but I 100% believe the average person can get much more value from the card each year.
For starters card member can easily get back $400 from Uber and Airline of Choice credits. Next, card members receive $100 back annually for purchases at Saks Fifth Avenue. Lastly, card members can also get a lot of value back from Amex Offers, Fine Hotels and Resorts, and other benefits.
Today, I want to talk about one of those “other” benefits I often overlook. In particular I’m talking about the ShopRunner benefit which offers complimentary 2 day shipping from over 100 retailers across the US.
What Is ShopRunner?
ShopRunner is a service which provides free 2 day shipping and reruns with over 100 retailers. To use this service you must sign up and then login to your ShopRunner account when checking out at a participating retailer.
Signing up is easy and takes just a few minutes. Once registered you simply find the ShopRunner icon on a participating retailers website and click to login. When logged in you will see the ShopRunner 2-day shipping option show up with each purchase.
ShopRunner annual memberships typically cost $79, but American Express, Mastercard World and World Elite, and PayPal customers may be eligible for a complimentary membership.
As I mentioned there are currently over 100 participating ShopRunner retailers. You can find the complete listing of participating retailers here.
How Do You Register For ShopRunner?
Signing up for ShopRunner is surprisingly easy. I mean it. You can register either by visiting the official ShopRunner website or by clicking the ShopRunner icon on a participating retailers’ site. I registered while making a Saks Fifth Avenue purchase earlier today.
When I registered I clicked on the ShopRunner registration button found at the Sacks checkout page.
After balking at the $7.50 shipping charge I noticed the ShopRunner icon which mentioned Free 2 Day Shipping. I clicked this button as I instantly became interested. After clicking the ShopRunner icon I was directed to an informational page as follows.
It was on this page that I noticed that ShopRunner was free with an Eligible American Express card. I then selected that option, entered my name, email, and password, and was directed to the following page.
On the above page I simply entered my credit card number and received a confirmation of eligibility. I then received a few emails letting me know that my order had been processed and then a final email letting me know that my orders shipped. Overall the process of signing up was painless and took just a few seconds.
Final Thoughts
I’ve seen ShopRunner before and never given it much thought. I suppose if I had ordered more online in the past that I would have looked into it, but only recently have I begun shopping more online (I know it’s 2018!). As I’ve started shopping more and more online with Amazon I’ve started to expect free 2 day shipping. For that reason, when I saw the $7.50 shipping charge for 5-10 day shipping I just couldn’t place my order. I figured I would just buy the product from Amazon instead. However, it was at that point that I noticed the ShopRunner icon and decided to sign-up.
Overall, I’d bet that I order 5-10 things from participating retailers each year. I’ll estimate that those orders would otherwise cost $8 each to ship and therefore I would incur about $80 of shipping costs each year. Not to mention any additional costs associated with expedited shipping. For that reason, I ultimately decided to sign-up for ShopRunner as it was complimentary from my American Express Platinum card.
While this benefit is definitely not a sole reason to sign-up for a new credit card, it is one that’s worth looking into if you already have an eligible American Express card. Likewise, this serves as a reminder as to why it’s important to always understand ALL of the benefits offered from a particular card. You never know when carrying a certain card could end up saving you a few bucks.
