AMEX CSR: Here is the list of things that won't earn poits: blah blah blah, fees, balance transfers, returns, person to person payments, gift cards, reloadable/prepaid cards... So those won't earn points.
Thanks dude, so helpful.
I did buy several hundred in gift cards on this statement, at the grocery store with other items, but their beta version shows I earned points on that. It does not show points on my tax payment, or the fee I paid to file through tax act, both on April first. Other than that, I have zero items on his list of non-eligible spend.