Amex Reward Credit Cards

ZacharyJohn

Hi there,

I've been using a Barclaycard for miscellaneous purchases for a couple of years (always paying off the balance in full every month so as not to accrue any interest) and now I'm looking to get a little more from my credit card.

I've been looking at reward credit cards (cashback mainly) and the one that keeps popping up is the American Express Platinum Cashback Everyday Card. It has no annual fees and a relatively good cashback offer on all purchases compared with most other credit cards.

My question is, is there anything I should be aware of? I've heard AmEx cards don't all necessarily work the same as other credit cards and I know there are less places that accept them as a form of payment - I don't want to get it and not be able to use it anywhere!

Any help would be greatly appreciated!

dj1471

Some of Amex's cards are charge cards rather than credit cards so don't work the same, but that one's a credit card.

They are not as widely accepted so you need to carry a backup. Acceptance really depends on where you shop; I use mine for 95% of purchases, for some people it's much less.

Anthorn

ZacharyJohn wrote: »

Hi there,

I've been using a Barclaycard for miscellaneous purchases for a couple of years (always paying off the balance in full every month so as not to accrue any interest) and now I'm looking to get a little more from my credit card.

I've been looking at reward credit cards (cashback mainly) and the one that keeps popping up is the American Express Platinum Cashback Everyday Card. It has no annual fees and a relatively good cashback offer on all purchases compared with most other credit cards.

My question is, is there anything I should be aware of? I've heard AmEx cards don't all necessarily work the same as other credit cards and I know there are less places that accept them as a form of payment - I don't want to get it and not be able to use it anywhere!

Any help would be greatly appreciated!

Personally, I have never had any problem using Amex with most major retailers I use. However smaller retailers and charities such as British Heart Foundation (I bought a brand new sofa and chair from there for 150 quid) don't accept Amex.

Consider how much you will have to spend over a given period in order to get the rewards.

In my view, exercise caution in using direct debit to pay Amex credit cards. In my experience they will flout their own Ts & Cs and take full payment of the statement balance whenever they want even if you have an agreement with them to the contrary. They also take direct debit payments a week in advance of the statement minimum payment due date and will apply a late payment charge and consequently increase the APR if the direct debit fails even if you then make payment before the statement minimum payment due date.

Overall, I have decided that Amex credit cards is not worth the hassle and my Amex cards are in process of cancellation at this time. Their APR is exorbitant anyway.

guesswho2000

Anthorn wrote: »

Personally, I have never had any problem using Amex with most major retailers I use. However smaller retailers and charities such as British Heart Foundation (I bought a brand new sofa and chair from there for 150 quid) don't accept Amex.

Consider how much you will have to spend over a given period in order to get the rewards.

In my view, exercise caution in using direct debit to pay Amex credit cards. In my experience they will flout their own Ts & Cs and take full payment of the statement balance whenever they want even if you have an agreement with them to the contrary. They also take direct debit payments a week in advance of the statement minimum payment due date and will apply a late payment charge and consequently increase the APR if the direct debit fails even if you then make payment before the statement minimum payment due date.

Overall, I have decided that Amex credit cards is not worth the hassle and my Amex cards are in process of cancellation at this time. Their APR is exorbitant anyway.

I agree with the direct debit thing, they take it earlier than due if you didn't have one, but this is clear in the T&Cs. I've never bothered checking, but they probably also state that it'll be taken regardless of whether other payments are made, many companies do the same (though not all). I've always paid my Amex cards by debit card, it clears instantly and the credit is available to use again straight away (irrelevant if it's a charge card, generally).

The APRs of the credit cards are high, but they aren't aimed at long term borrowing, certainly aren't ideal for such and, if not being used for revolving credit, the APR therefore doesn't matter .

As for being worth the hassle, that's subjective of course, but if it's rewards or cash back you're looking for, Amex are by far the best option, especially with the interchange cap limiting what the Visa/MC options are now.

smala01

On my AMEX cashback card there is a £3k minimum spend per year or any accrued cashback is forfeited. Cashback is paid annually on card anniversary as a statement credit.

Jlawson118

Amex are more expensive for merchants than Visa & Mastercard which is why a lot of small, independent businesses don't use them. But most major companies accept them. I used to have the Lloyds Avios cards which came with an AMEX and Mastercard for places that didn't accept AMEX which came in handy but I no longer have that account.

You should hold a backup though. I use my AMEX for most of my everyday spend, but if I go to Aldi or anywhere what doesn't accept it then I use my Barclaycard Reward card

System

Do the maths and work on basis that some major purchases may not be 'Amexable' to meet the 3k minimum spend. They also offer cashback offers off various things during the year which may/may not work for you.

A Mastercard/Visa will be accepted almost anywhere (that accepts cards) and can give up 0.5% cashback too.

Mr_Goodkat

Anthorn wrote: »

Personally, I have never had any problem using Amex with most major retailers I use. However smaller retailers and charities such as British Heart Foundation (I bought a brand new sofa and chair from there for 150 quid) don't accept Amex.

Consider how much you will have to spend over a given period in order to get the rewards.

In my view, exercise caution in using direct debit to pay Amex credit cards. In my experience they will flout their own Ts & Cs and take full payment of the statement balance whenever they want even if you have an agreement with them to the contrary. They also take direct debit payments a week in advance of the statement minimum payment due date and will apply a late payment charge and consequently increase the APR if the direct debit fails even if you then make payment before the statement minimum payment due date.

Overall, I have decided that Amex credit cards is not worth the hassle and my Amex cards are in process of cancellation at this time. Their APR is exorbitant anyway.

Presumably you issued a claim under the direct debit guarantee and received a full refund for them taking a payment against their own t&c's?

Or more likely you failed to understand the terms and conditions you had agreed to!

Mr_Goodkat

Jlawson118 wrote: »

Amex are more expensive for merchants than Visa & Mastercard which is why a lot of small, independent businesses don't use them. But most major companies accept them. I used to have the Lloyds Avios cards which came with an AMEX and Mastercard for places that didn't accept AMEX which came in handy but I no longer have that account.

You should hold a backup though. I use my AMEX for most of my everyday spend, but if I go to Aldi or anywhere what doesn't accept it then I use my Barclaycard Reward card

Assume you know to distinguish between a genuine American Express card issued by American Express as a credit or charge card as opposed to a third party i.e. Lloyds using the American Express processing network to issue a third party card?

Jlawson118

Mr_Goodkat wrote: »

Assume you know to distinguish between a genuine American Express card issued by American Express as a credit or charge card as opposed to a third party i.e. Lloyds using the American Express processing network to issue a third party card?

I know the Lloyds one was third party, which is why after so long I signed up for a proper card. AMEX have quite a high criteria for members to join which I didn't meet earlier last year when I first got the Lloyds one.

I was just saying that it was quite useful of the bank to issue a Mastercard for the places where AMEX isn't accepted. I only had the card because there were no transaction fees abroad and I was planning a two month European trip at the time so having that facility came in handy

Anthorn

Mr_Goodkat wrote: »

Presumably you issued a claim under the direct debit guarantee and received a full refund for them taking a payment against their own t&c's?

Or more likely you failed to understand the terms and conditions you had agreed to!

So what exactly is it that you say I failed to understand in the Amex T & Cs?

Repayments with the Amex credit card as with most other credit cards are very easy to understand and I don't need to reproduce them here. The point is that I arranged for a flat monthly payment and Amex took the full balance without my prior agreement.

No I didn't claim under the Direct Debit guarantee. For a start one just doesn't do that with Amex and secondly the full statement balance to me was virtually a drop in the ocean.