American Express v Santander

w00519772

I opened a Santander credit card account yesterday to earn cashback each month (http://www.santander.co.uk/uk/credit-cards/123-credit-card).

I have now come across the American Express credit card, which seems to offer 5% cashback for three months: https://www.americanexpress.com/uk/content/platinum-cashback-credit-card/

I am wandering if it is worth getting the American Express card for three months to earn the 5% then move to Santander?

I hold a current account with Santander, so there is no interest charged on balances for eighteen months and the £24 annual is scrapped for the first year.

Which card is "better"? A subjective question I guess.

grumbler

Ignoring the fact that Amex isn't as widely accepted as Mastercard, how come (1%-3%) vs 5% is 'subjective' ?

Gentoo365

Well it depends on what your spending is like.

If you are planning some large purchases in the next 3 months (from retailers that accept AMEX without additional charge) then maybe that is better.

If you are looking for a long term cashback card then maybe the Santander is better.

However I think that there are limits on the Santander card for some items, and the cashback is varied depending on what you buy. So if you can really be bothered you will have to estimate your use.

As an example. I like to get cashback when I get my annual season ticket. However with Santander I will not benefit that much as only £300 a month of the 'travel' spending gets cashback. Whereas with AMEX the whole season ticket (approaching £5k) gets cashback.

So yeah, it is subjective. In the sense that it depends whether you can be bothered to work out how much cashback you will get from Santander or whether you prefer the straight % from AMEX.

Of course remember that with AMEX you will need another card anyway, as some retailers do not accept it. So again there is the decision of whether you can be bothered asking "Do you take amex?" whenever you hand your card over.

Jeems

Bear in mind with Amex, you need to have spent at £3000 minimum annually to receive any of the cashback you have earned.

Liquidity

Jeems wrote: »

Bear in mind with Amex, you need to have spent at £3000 minimum annually to receive any of the cashback you have earned.

Yup, and you have to wait until the anniversary of the card to receive the cash back. So if you opened the card now, then you will receive the cash back credit this time next year.

Was worth it for me as I knew I needed to spend a lot in 3 months. As soon as I hit £3000, I stopped spending and am now waiting for the anniversary.

B19JON

I'm so pleased that I went ahead and got an AmEx card.
As well as a fantastic customer service department, the savings I have had have been by far the best of any card.
The cashback is at a very good rate but they frequently do card member offers which has probably saved me around £200+

pvt

The heading of the thread "American Express v Santander" caught my eye simply because it names two financial providers at absolute opposite ends of the spectrum in terms of customer service.

I agree with everything written above:

• some places don't take AmEx, so you need a second MasterCard or Visa;
• AmEx customer service is excellent;
• the cashback is very generous, even before their promotions and extras.

I've had an AmEx Platinum cashback card for about 10 years and use it for everything I possibly can.

lutonlagerlout

as mentioned elsewhere amex are offering much better deals to smaller retailers
my local corner shop now takes amex,I thought this strange and asked him why?
they offered him equal rates to visa and mastercard so it was a no brainer
hopefully soon Lidl will take it then 90% of my spends will be on amex

cheers tony

Liquidity

B19JON wrote: »

I'm so pleased that I went ahead and got an AmEx card.
As well as a fantastic customer service department, the savings I have had have been by far the best of any card.
The cashback is at a very good rate but they frequently do card member offers which has probably saved me around £200+

What are these member offers you speak of? :A

bsms1147

Liquidity wrote: »

What are these member offers you speak of? :A

See here http://www.cardmemberoffers.co.uk/ and http://www.amexshopsmall.co.uk/hub.html for some

SueBee

Nowhere accepts American Express!