Amex - enough places which accept it?

planteria

good update reclusive:T

Feral_Moon

I have both Amex and Visa cards on the same Barclaycard account. My Amex is linked to my PayPal account so any online transactions whereby PayPal is an option, I will use it.

splatt30

The gold card for travel rewards in no interest to me, with 2 young children our abilities to use a couple of flights are minimal.

I have a TSB account and use the contactless for £100 spending every month to get the £5. The Santander comes with a fee and I don't think their cashback structure is really worth it. Our monthly credit card spend can be anything from £800 to £3000.

I am actually after a 0% card as we need to do some work on the house and I want to spread the cost. I think this is the only 0% which also does cashback / reward (already have Tesco and the rewards on that are now rubbish).

phatbear

reclusive46 wrote: »

Wilkinson started to take Amex about 10 months ago. Although they don't really advertise the fact and in some stores you have to swipe the card as their machines don't work with the chip on Amex cards. Subway is franchise dependent, some do and some don't.

How odd.

The wilkinsons in southend dont accept amex, ive tried contactless and putting it in the slot without them realising what brand of card it is and to no avail, oddly i have just noticed the amex symbol on their website.

and subway i have been to a few to many up and down the country and i always try and use my amex, as i collect my airmiles, and again, to date i havent found one that accepts it.

than_prutt

Pincher wrote: »

Assuming cashback is the goal, there is usually something better than Amex. I use the TSB 5% when paying contactless, under £30. Santander 123 gives 2% cashback in John Lewis, and 3% on petrol.

Yes, I was looking at the Santander 123 card too but you get the cashback on spends only unto £300/£150/£100 per month for supermarkets/major department stores/petrol stations. Not sure whether you earn cashback on other purchases. Plus there's £36 annual fee after all the promotions.

So I don't know if this is better than Amex cash back card...

planteria

it wouldn't be for me, or i'd be using one instead
it's all about what suits your particular circumstances

pvt

Pincher wrote: »

Bizarrely, Costco accepts Amex, and debit cards, but not other credit cards. Probably, they have a special deal going, as they push a Costco Amex card.

.....then I get 1.25% for using the Cashback Amex.

It is correct that Costco accept AmEx, however I get a different rate of cashback (only 0.5% rather than 1.5%). Hidden in the AmEx cashback Ts&Cs is a clause that allows them to give a lower rate of cashback for spending at warehouses (or some such wording). Maybe your Ts&Cs are different.

In answer to the OP, I spend about 75% of my monthly outgoings on AmEx without difficulty in supermarkets, petrol stations, holidays/travel (including London Transport). As others have said, it does help to have an alternative Visa or MC card for small retailers and restaurants, or for if you travel in Europe where AmEx is less accepted.

A side benefit of AmEx is their excellent customer service, no long waiting times or unintelligible foreign call centres.

chattychappy

reclusive46 wrote: »

I find it quite funny because the UK is the only country that Costco renewed its agreement with Amex.

And Taiwan*. You can only use Amex there, or a costco-branded Visa/Mastercard (I forget which/both).

(* of course, some will argue Taiwan is not a country... but that's a whole different forum!)

reclusive46

With the Wilko, you need to insert the card. An error will come up on their screen about the chip not being supported (They need to press ok but only ONCE) and then you can swipe the card and sign the receipt.

Until they get new machines I don't think the chip will work as the manager told me that they didn't seem to support any kind of remote update.

Subway must just depend on the area. Quite a few around me take Amex (And 99% of the service station ones do).

System

I wouldn't use it as my main credit card.

More stores do accept it but it's usually a faff if they don't or aren't sure. I tend to carry a debit and credit card - when carrying Amex, i found i used my debit card alot plus many places that accept Amex aren't setup to accept it via contactless.

Online is normally fine via PayPal.

splatt30 wrote: »

I'd like a 0% on purchases card and the Amex popped up with a 95% chance of acceptance. The fact that you also get cashback really appeals but I have never had an Amex card before. Just wondering how people find it. Do you struggle because places won't accept it? Plan would be to do as much of my everyday spending on it.