Maximizing The Lululemon $300 Credit On American Express Platinum Card

American Express added $300 in annual Lululemon credits to their consumer Platinum card with a new $75 credit available each calendar quarter (Jan-Mar, Apr-Jun, Jul-Sept, Oct-Dec). 

Caveats

1. Enroll: Be sure to enroll in the Lululemon credit before using. Just enroll the first time when you get the card and that enrollment lasts forever on that card. 
2. Payment: Apple Pay in-store is fine. Readers report that online Paypal payments have been working to trigger the credit as well.
3. Timing: Be sure to do any online purchases a few days in advance of the end of the quarter in case the item doesn’t ship right away or the charge doesn’t complete right away. Please comment below if you have success with an online order on the last day or two. Store purchases should be fine until the last day of the quarter.
4. Only works in U.S., not international stores. 
5. The credit works on the Lululemon website and at Lululemon stores. Does not work at Lululemon Outlets.

AmEx has a tracker for the Lululemon credit, along all the other benefit trackers there. You can find it in the online login or the AmEx app. You’ll typically see the spend show up in the tracker a couple of days before the actual statement credit posts to your account.

Stack Opportunities

1. Portal: When shopping online, go through an online shopping portal. Compare rates here. Historically, Rakuten seems to bump up their rate to 10x every few weeks, and occasionally even to 12x or 15x. 
2. Amex/Chase Offers: There are often Amex Offers or Chase Offers for Lululemon. Even if you don’t get the AmEx Offer deal on the Platinum card itself, it still should be possible to go into a Lululemon store and ask them to split the purchases between cards. E.g. if you’re spending $200, put $75 on the Platinum card and the other $125 on a card with an Amex/Chase Offer.
3. First-time coupon: You can get 15% off your first online order of full-priced items when you sign up for Lululemon emails. (Exclusions include: We Made Too Much, Accessories and Gift Cards.) If you don’t see the pop-up, go incognito and it should pop up.
4. Deals: Check this DoC tag #lululemon to see if there are any relevant deals. There are also often deals on Black Friday, Cyber Monday, and likely other times, so keep an eye out.
5. Gift cards: The terms exclude gift cards from earning the $75 credit. In practice, it possible that buying a physical Lululemon gift card in-store or online would work. (Online e-gift cards are unlikely to work since they are processed by Cashstar.) There’s always a chance that, at some point, they’ll recode their online checkout and/or their store checkout so that gift cards are distinct and can be excluded from the credit. 
   • Data points on gift cards working in-store: 1, 2, 3, 4
   • Data points on physical gift cards working online: 1, 2, 3, 4
   • You should also be able to buy $150 gift card in-store and split it between two Platinum cards. And you can buy $150 physical gift card online and use Paypal to split the charge between two cards – multiple reports say that Paypal payment works.
6. Cashing Out: You can try cashing out the $75 credit by purchasing a Lululemon gift card and then reselling it – here is an old/dated guide I once wrote on selling gift cards. Or you can try buying actual clothing and reselling them on eBay. Or finding a friend who uses Lululemon clothing and work something out with them.
7. Return stacking: Another option might be to buy a $75 item one quarter and then go back in-store within 30 days to return the item for a store credit. This can help you ‘roll’ multiple $75 credits into a single item. I’m not an expert on how Lululemon processes returns, but hopefully there’s a way to ask them for a store credit instead of a card refund. 
8. Splitting payment: if you have multiple Platinum cards, go in-store and the cashier should be able to split the item between two cards.
   • It’s also possible to split the charge online by using Paypal  – HOWEVER, we don’t yet know if Paypal purchases work to trigger this credit (probably not). Update: readers report having success getting two credits by splitting payment via Paypal. 
9. Cheap items: If you want something completely free, search a specific category and sort by price. Here is a sample link of a specific category showing the low-cost items on top. Here’s a link to low-cost accessory items; some people talk about their Everywhere Belt Bag as a popular item (currently $24). There’s also a backpack currently $49. You can do a bunch of small purchases and get reimbursed until you finish the $75; no need to spend it all in one purchase.
10. Double-dipping: When you signup for the Platinum card, you can usually get five $75 credits within the first year. For example, if you apply during November, you’ll get the Q4 credit of that year and then the the Q1-Q4 credits of the following year. If you really hone in on timing, it’s possible to get six $75 credits by applying in the middle of the final month of the quarter (March, June, September, or December), and then keeping the card for a few weeks after the annual fee posts. People often like applying in December to try triple-dipping on the various annual credits that align with the calendar year, and doing so can work to squeeze in one more $75 Lululemon credit as well. (Even if you cancel the card before the charge posts completely you are likely to still get the $75 credit.)
11. Military, First-Responder: Lululemon offers 15% off for military (active, reservist, veteran, retired),  including spouses and dependents from the same household. Also for First Responders (firefighters, law enforcement, search and rescue, EMT’s, medical doctors, licensed nurses). Apparently it’s sometimes 25%.
12. Fitness professionals: Fitness instructors, trainers, gym owners, athletes, coaches, and staff may also qualify for Lululemon’s ‘Sweat Collective’ program, which gives 25% off full-priced items for personal use.
13. Let us know what we’re missing. 

You can track the progress of your Lululemon spend by going to the dedicated tracker in the Amex app or website. (If you return something, some report that the tracker updates to show that you have more spend credit available.)

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