American Express Guide

reclusive46

Kenneth131 wrote: »

Cheers Lazyloki I would like to think amex will keep this practice as from all my experience with them it has been nothing short of brilliant compared to the other card companies.

I am really glad I have got this card but need an alt back up for the likes of google wallet and paypal for certain merchants until amex become as widely accepted as others.

I hope the prediction of it being as widely accepted as MC and Visa by 2020 are right as I think they would become the preferred card by many for cashback and service which would maybe shake up the shoddy market leaders at the moment.

Anyway Thanks for the help

Was told that Google wallet with Amex in the UK is coming very soon. If you add an Amex in google wallet now, it even shows a £1 pending charge from them.

DJBenson

Lazyloki wrote: »

Worth a go. It may simply be a case that you've not been with them quite long enough. Seeing as you already have an account they might give you a bit more info than simply saying that you were declined - I've always found them fairly helpful.

Spoke to a lovely lady called Emma @ AMEX tonight and although she couldn't give me specifics, she did assure me it was their internal score I'd failed on.

I've written a letter to their appeals department giving them a bit of background info into my conduct and hopefully that will counteract whatever scared them off.

thewestbridge

Just Great Information. Its very helpful information. Thanks a ton

buglawton

MBNA is about to shunt me onto it's American Express card. I did not request this.

It means I will also have to carry a standard MBNA card around with it as AMEX is not accepted in many popular outlets. They supplied 2 brand new cards for all this. Plus it means a round of phone calls and updates to Paypal, car insurance etc etc to ensure they have the new card details or accounts/auto renewals will fail.

Now, the carrot is a 1% permanent cashback on the AMEX, better than the old 0.5% on the MBNA simple card.

Not happy to be carrying an extra card everywhere, can anyone recommend a single card solution that would also offer around 1% permanently? Reluctant to become a card tart, trying to keep life simple and avoid credit checks!

Also: I tried to look up Martin's evaluation of this MBNA AMEX deal but it is not mentioned anywhere.

DunPin

buglawton wrote: »

It means I will also have to carry a standard MBNA card around with it as AMEX is not accepted in many popular outlets.

Where do you shop that it is not accepted?

Major supermarkets accept AMEX (at least the Sainsbury's and Waitrose close to me do), most clothing stores, Odeon cinemas and a fair few restaurants too, I can only think of two places that don't accept AMEX where I am in London, the first is a corner store which is cash only and the other is a kebab shop which is also cash only.

[Deleted User]

buglawton wrote: »

MBNA is about to shunt me onto it's American Express card. I did not request this.

It means I will also have to carry a standard MBNA card around with it as AMEX is not accepted in many popular outlets. They supplied 2 brand new cards for all this. Plus it means a round of phone calls and updates to Paypal, car insurance etc etc to ensure they have the new card details or accounts/auto renewals will fail.

Now, the carrot is a 1% permanent cashback on the AMEX, better than the old 0.5% on the MBNA simple card.

Not happy to be carrying an extra card everywhere, can anyone recommend a single card solution that would also offer around 1% permanently? Reluctant to become a card tart, trying to keep life simple and avoid credit checks!

Also: I tried to look up Martin's evaluation of this MBNA AMEX deal but it is not mentioned anywhere.

Which popular outlets are you referring to? I use Amex almost exclusively and it is actually pretty rare for it not to be accepted.

You almost always get better cash back/rewards with an Amex card when compared to MC or Visa. You can now also take advantage of Amex/Foursquare deals (although admittedly these seem to be becoming less frequent/lucrative). Amex also regularly run special offers for cardholders - at the moment you an extra 1 MR point or an extra 1% cashback (so 2.25% in total) at a range of retailers. There is also a current offer that gives a bonus 2,500 MR points on travel spend.

In answer to your question - there isn't really a single card that is best for everyone. If I was pushed to choose a general one it would be the Amex Platinum Cashback (5% for 3 months intro bonus then 1.25% on all spending).

Alternatively, the Santander 123 would be good if you spend a lot on petrol/transport or department stores (Amex beats it in supermarkets).

buglawton

Thanks.

BTW
When I asked MBNA why they now needed to supply me with 2 credit cards, they cheerfully told me it was 'cos Amex is no accepted everywhere.

DunPin

buglawton wrote: »

When I asked MBNA why they now needed to supply me with 2 credit cards, they cheerfully told me it was 'cos Amex is no accepted everywhere.

Yes it isn't accepted everywhere however it is accepted at most popular and major stores, obviously small boutiques might not but most major stores do.

reclusive46

buglawton wrote: »

Thanks.

BTW
When I asked MBNA why they now needed to supply me with 2 credit cards, they cheerfully told me it was 'cos Amex is no accepted everywhere.

I have 63 transactions this month on my Amex and 3 on my Visa credit card (Which I use when Amex isn't accepted). So to put it into perspective, you probably won't be using the Visa card much.

Also remember that online, if a merchant doesn't take Amex but does take Paypal (Which it usually does), you can just click Paypal then checkout as a guest with your Amex.

Roger1

Lazyloki wrote: »

Amex also regularly run special offers for cardholders - at the moment you an extra 1 MR point or an extra 1% cashback (so 2.25% in total) at a range of retailers. There is also a current offer that gives a bonus 2,500 MR points on travel spend.

Just to be clear, those promotions are on American Express cards issued by American Express.

The OP was talking about AmEx cards issued by MBNA so those promotions would not apply to him/her.