Amex For Target (update)

See my original post: Amex Gift Cards: Observations, Musings… and Woes.

I previously reported that some Target stores no longer accept Amex cards to load Amex For Target (AFT). I now believe that this is incorrect; I’m now successfully loading AFT with Amex card/gift-cards.

What Went Wrong?

When the cashier asked me for a 4-digit number, I assumed that she was referring to the 4-digit security code located on the front of the Amex card, slightly above the account number. This was a mistake. Unlike most retailers, Target wants the last 4 digits of the actual account number, not the 4-digit security code.

I was so fixated on the assumption that the 4-digit security code was the correct entry, that even when a couple of our readers corrected me on this, I somehow mis-understood what they were saying, and continued to believe that this was an update that Target was rolling out in their new POS.

I knew that this went against common knowledge, but since I saw a couple of others also having a problem loading AFT with Amex cards, I assumed that it must be a new update in the Target system. I now wonder if the others who were having this problem were also based on the same error of the cashier entering the security code, and not the last 4-digits of the account number.

Take-away: if you’re ever having trouble loading AFT with Amex, be sure that the cashier isn’t erroneously entering the security code. The correct entry is the last 4 digits of the actual account number.

Hope this clears it up.