Using its Card Sync technology, AmEx is offering certain cardholders the option to link their plastic to their Twitter account to buy the firm's gift cards and products from Amazon, Sony, Urban Zen and Xbox 360.

To make a purchase, customers tweet special hashtags - which they find by following AmEx's account - and then retweet a confirmation tweet. The product is then automatically shipped to their billing address.



Leslie Berland, SVP, digital partnerships and development, American Express, says: "Now, we're leveraging our unique technology and closed-loop network to introduce a seamless solution that redefines what's possible in the world of social commerce."

AmEx first unveiled its Card Sync system last March as a way to let customers get coupons from participating merchants through Twitter. In November it teamed up with Microsoft to take the technology further, enabling cardholders to earn real-world rewards for completing tasks in the Halo 4 game.