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Update 8/24/20: When writing this post a few months ago, I noted that I was receiving $20 back from Amex each month for my Google Fi bill, except it was coming out of my streaming credit rather than my wireless credit.
That changed recently as both last month’s and this month’s $20 credits have been deducted from my wireless credit. That’s great news as it means I can move back a couple of streaming services to my Amex Platinum as I’ll now be able to use the $20 streaming credit for those each month.
If you were in a similar scenario a few months ago, it’s worth checking your statements again in case Google Fi is coding correctly as a wireless bill for you now as well.
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American Express recently added a couple of new credits on Platinum cards – $20 per month for wireless credits and $20 per month for streaming services.
When these were first introduced, there was speculation that it wouldn’t work for Google Fi service due to the way that codes with Amex. We now have some data points that the statement credits are triggered when paying for Google Fi, but it doesn’t necessarily work in the way that you might expect.
My wife and I have an Unlimited plan with Google Fi and I figured it was worth changing our payment method to my Amex Schwab Platinum card just in case we did end up getting the $20 statement credit each month for the rest of the year.
When checking my account, I did indeed get $20 back from Amex, but it wasn’t for the reason I expected.
As you can see, rather than getting $20 back from the wireless credit, Amex used the streaming credit instead.
What’s even more strange is that this isn’t happening across the board. Tom shared in the Frequent Miler Insiders group that he’d received a $20 credit for his Google Fi payment, except for him Amex assigned it as a wireless credit rather than streaming.
It’s not clear why the credits are being processed differently, although there are a few possible reasons.
The most likely reason is that Google Fi processes payments in different ways for (seemingly) no discernible reason. For example, I used to pay with my Chase Ink Plus card to try and earn 5x. That sometimes worked and sometimes didn’t. When looking at the activity on my account, it sometimes coded as ‘Bills & Utilities’ and other times as ‘Entertainment’.
An alternative reason might be the type of Google Fi plan you’re on. I’m not sure what kind of plan Tom is on, but I’m on an Unlimited plan. If he’s on a Flexible plan, maybe that affects how it codes.
Another potential reason is that Tom has an Amex Business Platinum account and I have a personal Schwab Platinum card, so perhaps the difference between business and personal cards accounts for the difference.
Out of those three possible options, I think the most likely reason is the first one. If Tom’s payment coded as the equivalent of ‘Bills & Utilities’ with Amex, that would explain why he received the $20 as a wireless credit. If my payment coded as the equivalent of ‘Entertainment’, that would explain why my streaming credit was used. Having said that, the transaction on my account shows up as ‘Business Services – Internet Services’, so who knows.
The fact that they’ve used my $20 streaming credit is disappointing though because I’d moved our Spotify and Netflix payments to the same card so that the $20 streaming credit could be assigned to payment for those services. I’ll keep things as they are for now just in case Amex suddenly decides to use my wireless credits on future payments. If not, we’ll go back to my wife’s Ink Business Preferred card for 3x along with the cell phone insurance that comes on that card.
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Anyone had luck with this triggering on a Plat Biz lately? No luck on my end and chat wasn’t much help. I recall it working before however but that was a different card. Does it have to be “setup” on a card basis?
Has anyone tried to deal with this recently? I am realizing that my Google Fi payments (GOOGLE *GOOGLE FI G.CO/HELPPAY# CA) never triggered the credit on my Delta Reserve business card. I asked AMEX chat to look into it and they said that their specialist team looked into it and said that it wasn’t a cell phone bill. Trying to figure out how to get them to look into it again.
Looks like at some point they stopped reimbursing it to me as well. My payment looks just like yours. Chat wasn’t helpful either.
[…] At the beginning the AMEX wireless credits, Google Fi was not triggering the credit but it looks like this problem has been resolved. Check out this post on Frequent Miler for more details about this glitch. […]
GOOGLE*GOOGLE FI GOO G.CO HELPPAY# as posted on the Amex Platinum codes as Streaming Credit since the beginning of the new credit offering. *GOOGLE FI G.CO/HELPPAY# CA posted on the Amex Platinum as of my most recent post date of 28 AUG and did NOT receive the streaming credit. I suspect it will be coded as Cell Phone Service. Unfortunately, I am unable to verify because the cell phone service credit was already used at the beginning of the month with a Verizon Wireless. My payment for Google Fi is via auto pay at the end of each billing cycle.
I have T-mo and paid $20 this month on Personal plat missed my resume date – thought I had switched payment method to Biz plat – but when paused it billed Pers Plat on file – hopefully it will use part of the streaming credit.
Will follow up if it does. It billed on Personal as GOOGLE*GOOGLE FI GOO G.CO HELPPAY#
Need to wait another day or two to see if credit posts.
It is unpredicted on which category AMEX will classify the payment. On my Green caeds it always hit wireless. But on the platinum cards some time it hits steaming and some time wireless.
I chat CS and ask to correct it and they do that and the side effect is that i get more refund.
Cool beans this morning it credited as streaming on CS Plat (now I need to move Hulu to a different card).
Paused Google Fi mid-cycle hopefully the partial credit rolls into January when we actually will use it on a trip as a 4G hotspot.
I think if I wasn’t using a spreadsheet to track Corona Credits (2 Biz Plats, 3 Personal) I would be leaving money on the table.
Still wish we could use G-play credits to pay for Fi.
My May payment was coded as Streaming but since June it is wireless.
I also switched for paying via pay.google.com instead of my auto payment. This way i can split the payment to two platinum and two green total of $60 credit.
Thanks for tip. Its a shame that you can’t use Google play balance to pay.
[…] cell service spend. I use Google Fi, but Fi doesn’t usually code as cell service by Amex (see this post for details). Luckily for me, my wife and son are still on AT&T, and AT&T allows split payments. […]
[…] The only warning I’ve heard is that if you use Google Fi for your wireless service, the credit might not be triggered by paying with your Green AMEX. Check out this post on Frequent Miler for more details about this glitch. […]
Are you paying the annual $550 fees or are you getting it waived by having a Morgan stanley cashplus account with 25k and monthly 5k deposit?
I was thinking about going that route since that card has a tremendous perks like adding authorized users and they get most benefits-priority pass, hotel gold status, etc.
Do you know if the streaming credits and phone bill continue next year?
Thx
My google fi is set to auto bill on the 1st of each month. In May it triggered the wireless credit on May 22, in June it triggered the streaming credit on June 4th.
Vanilla platinum card. Google Fi flexible plan
Stephen, do you only have a single Platinum? Between myself and P2, we have four and I’d have thought you would have had more of them!
Nope, I only have the Schwab Platinum which I only got last year to take advantage of the 1.25cpp for 40k To Far Away. The ongoing benefits simply haven’t seemed worth keeping for us based on our travel. The streaming credits have made getting a new one a little more enticing, but I’m wanting to get below 5/24 and my wife is already below 5/24 and so I don’t want to add to her count for now.
Makes sense. I have a Morgan Stanley, while my P2 has a vanilla platinum, and we each opened a Schwab just recently for cash out purposes – will likely leave some points there should travel return anytime soon, otherwise we’re going to take the money and run (and make use of all the credits we can)!
My autopaid Google Fi on my personal platinum was credited as wireless phone. Locast, which is my only streaming service, wasn’t credited at all.
The list of subscribers that Amex provides has text that says “the purchase must be made from a provider that is included on our list of Select U.S. Streaming Subscriptions”. I don’t have a version of what they originally provided, but I could have sworn it used to say something like “this list is not inclusive of all providers” or something along those lines.
And in case anyone asks, Google Fi is not on the list of Streaming Providers. Go figure.
After seeing some of these data points a week ago, I pushed a manual $20 payment through for my FI and nothing has credited. Charge made on 5/16. Charles Schwab Platinum. Took a while to figure out how to make a manual payment and looks to no avail.
Interesting – looks like Fi requires Autopay then in order to code correctly for some kind of credits on Platinum cards.
This is why I switched to Xfinity mobile. Fi was great for traveling internationally, but I won’t be doing much of that anytime soon.
Are either of you paying through Google pay vs directly for Fi?
Yes, this is the likely the missing piece of the puzzle.
Would like to know also as I have Fi and no longer receive 5x via my Ink+ card. Also, since I do not pay for any streaming, I’m otherwise going to not be able to utilise the streaming credits.
I have it set up as Autopay
This is the Tom referenced in the story, and I likewise am on Autopay for Fi using Amex Bus. Plat. as my payment method.
Thanks for confirming that. I guess Autopay isn’t a factor in how it codes then.