American Express Discussion Area

deemy2004

Yeh , gold credit card

its my first Amex card

rol_3

I thought it would be satisfying to earn money back by paying all my regular Direct Debits with my new Amex Platinum Card. However, so far the only organisation that will play ball is Wyre Forest District Council. British Gas, Severn Trent Water, Telewest, TV Licence Billing, won't do DDs with Amex, though they will with Visa and Mastercard. Considering that I only got this card because Alliance and Leicester Visa are ceasing Money back I'm wondering if it was worth it. Does anyone know why Amex is so unpopular!Having said that there are some very useful posts which do show which retailers accept Amex. Thanks for those - we shall see!

dark_star wrote:

Hi..quick question
The Amex Blue and Circle One rebate cards (I have both) still being widely plugged as the cashback cards to have.
However on reading the T&C's for the Platinum CC is seems to me, that as long as you spend in excess of £6K a year, the platinum CC is now the one to have. T&C's state;
up to £2K earns 0.5%
£2K - £5K earns 1%
£5K+ earns 2%
I'm the first to admit, this kind of thing isn't my strong point...so can someone tell me if I'm missing something?
fankks...I'm not very clever, but I can lift heavy things *;)

mark_jones13

It's not really that AMEX is unpopular, its just that they charge higher merchant fees that's why you are more likely to see AMEX accepted at expensive stores and restaurants.

Darryl

Mr_Nick wrote:

I've had my Blue card for a couple of weeks and I love it. I'm using it instead of my Switch card to earn the cashback, and I like the look on cashiers faces when I present them with an American Express. I must be a snob!

Yep, sounds like it...

Mr_Nick wrote:

I'll give it 6 months, then i'll apply for a platinum card!

When I changed up from Amex Blue to Platinum, they said I had to wait until 12 months after the start of my Blue card account before I could apply. I've got it now though And, as someone else on this board has said, they won't let you have both cards, so the Blue will be cancelled when you go for the Platinum.

Darryl.

omega27

I asked to upgrade my Blue to Platinum, had it for about 10 months. They said I had to apply for a new Platinum so had to go through the application from scratch (although they did ask for my Blue number, so maybe they were just checking everything?). Card turned up after about 3 weeks with a £700 limit (!).

When activating it, they transfered some balance from my Blue card (takes about 10 days...) & told me to keep the Blue open until the cashback comes through Feb/March. Got £54 on there, so I guess I'll have to buy something for that amount & then close the account, transfer remainder of credit limit to Platinum?

pin

When I did it, they transferred my cashback to my Platinum account. However was told I couldn't have a blue and platinum at the same time.

oscarhugo

rol wrote:

I thought it would be satisfying to earn money back by paying all my regular Direct Debits with my new Amex Platinum Card. However, so far the only organisation that will play ball is Wyre Forest District Council. QUOTE]

You're luck that your council accepts CC payments at all! The tightwads that are St.Albans District Council won't accept Council Tax payments by credit card. Bugge£ !

isasmurf

I've just been invited to apply for a Amex GoldCard (the Charge card). I take it for the "small annual fee" (that's what they say) of £95, this isn't a good MSE deal and I should stay well clear? Anybody know what the membership benefits are?

I don't know where they think I've got money from, that's the third thing they've tried to sell me in the past week.

omega27

You get membership rewards, a few insurance benefits & special offers on theatre tickets. Free airline tickets for someone travelling with you/an upgrade on certain airlines - might be worth it for you if you do a lot of travel? If not then apply for the Amex Platinum CC & get the cashback!

CopperPlate_2

Well, I've just got rid of my Platinum Amex. I had it since October last year and was running it and a Smile Gold Visa card together when places wouldn't take Amex (which, as usual, I found the list got longer and longer and longer). Gave up and have cancelled them both. Have got a Tesco Platinum Visa now and will save my Clubcard points to convert to AirMiles. At least I know it'll be accepted everywhere! And, yes, I've lost my cashback but to be honest with you for the sake of the £20 I'd earned in the last three months, I'll take the hit if it's going to be easier for me to spend my money!



CP