Shopper Gets 422 Million Amex Reward Points – But Why?

Here’s a payment card reward points bonanza. A guy in China buys a ceramic cup and he is rewarded with 422 million American Express points, which is enough for 28 million frequent flyer miles or an $180,000 shopping voucher, Bloomberg reported. To be fair, it wasn’t any ordinary ceramic cup. It was a much revered cup made way back in the Chenghua era (1465-1487). The Chinese collector who made the purchase used his American Express card to pay HK $281 million, which is about $36 million U.S..

But why did the collector, Liu Yiqian, use his payment card for such a large purchase? The reason he used his American Express Centurian Card—multiple times, in fact—was because of cross-border currency restrictions. Specifically, no one is permitted to transfer that much money from China to Hong Kong, Bloomberg reported. “Individuals are limited to moving $50,000 per year outside the country because of capital controls.”

The only way to complete the transaction, therefore, was to use his payment card. He then ran into another restriction, which is a Hong Kong limit of HK$12 million per payment card transaction. The collector therefore had to sign 24 Amex transaction receipts to complete the purchase.

The cup is nicknamed the “Chicken Cup” for its depiction of a rooster, his hen and their chicks, an allegorical representation of the emperor, empress and his subjects, Bloomberg reported.