Following up on the post a couple weeks ago about Amex sending out 1099s for prizes from their Gift Chain promotion including duplicate ShopRunner memberships, our TPG intern Ryan came across a FlyerTalk thread that at least gives new hope to savvy consumers who took advantage of the promotion that they might not be on the hook for unused prizes.
Amex will be issuing revised 1099s to customers who did not redeem their ShopRunner memberships and/or Next Purchase statement credits, and sent out the following letter to participants in the Gift Chain promo:
“Dear Cardmember,
We are writing to let you know we are reissuing a 1099 form to you for the value of the gifts you received through the American Express Gift Chain promotion. As a courtesy, this new 1099 form will not include the value of any ShopRunner memberships or any Next Purchase statement credits you received if you haven’t redeemed them. You will receive the form within the next two weeks. If you don’t receive the new 1099 form in this timeframe please call the number on the back of your Card.
If you have already used the original 1099 form to file your 2011 tax return please contact a tax professional for assistance.
Thank you for your Cardmembership.
Sincerely,
American Express Customer Care”
So consumers who received and redeemed prizes will still have to pay taxes on those, but at least this is a decent move on the part of American Express not to penalize loyal cardholders for unused prizes, and seems like a pretty fair resolution to this particular issue. If you did not claim your prize and you don’t receive a revised 1099, be sure to contact Amex about it soon!