AMEX to Use Twitter Hashtags to Offer Merchant Discounts

Last night, American Express launched a program on Twitter that allows cardmembers to "tweet their way to savings" by syncing their AMEX card with Twitter at sync.americanexpress.com/twitter and tweeting merchant-specific hashtags to load couponless offers directly to their Card. When the cardmember makes a purchase in-store or online, an automatic statement credit is issued within days.

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

Participating merchants at launch include 1-800-FLOWERS.COM, Best Buy, Century 21 Department Store, The Cheesecake Factory, Dell, FedEx Office, FTD, Gulf, H&M, McDonald's, Seamless.com, Sports Authority, Ticketmaster, Virgin America, Whole Foods Market and Zappos.com.

American Express will showcase the new Twitter experience during a live-streamed concert from SXSW - "Amex Sync Show Presenting Jay-Z" - on March 12 at 7 p.m. CT via youtube.com/americanexpress.