Retailers take American Express track to new discount program

NEW YORK — McDonald’s, Whole Foods Market and Best Buy are among the retailers participating in a new American Express program that allows shoppers to load discounts onto their American Express cards via Twitter.

Under the program American Express card members can sync their card with Twitter at sync.americanexpress.com/twitter, and when they tweet using special offer hashtags, couponless savings are loaded directly to their synced cards. When the card members subsequently use their synced card for qualifying purchases online or in-store at participating merchants, the savings are automatically delivered via a statement credit within days.

“American Express is turning Twitter content into commerce by connecting card members to merchants and delivering real world value to both," said Ed Gilligan, vice chairman, American Express. "With the continued convergence of online and offline commerce, our closed loop continues to enable us to bring seamless, relevant ways to connect our card members and merchants on the most powerful social and digital platforms."

Other retailers participating in the program include 1-800-Flowers.com, Century 21 Department Store, The Cheesecake Factory, Dell, The Sports Authority, and Zappos.com.