using AMEX where not accepted

allistairs

Hi there - i have a couple of big bills to pay (£3500+) and would like to be able to use my AMEX as we are collecting Avios

are there currently any options for using AMEX where it is not accepted (& pay pal not accepted either)

Is there such a thing as a prepaid visa/mastercard which will allow you to load and top up with the American Express?

alternatively any options like the now gone Supercard or Curve

many thanks for your help with this

Candyapple

Curve cut off their relationship with Amex in 2016 and I don't think there are any other options so you are out of luck.

[Deleted User]

If AMEX is not accepted then it's... not accepted.

Prepaid cards usually require a top=up by means of a bank transfer - so I don't think you could do it with AMEX.

Besides I don't think you can collect points on transfers, only purchases

msallen

I have no personal experience of "billhop", but it was mentioned on headforpoints a few months ago. This might do what you need ....

https://www.headforpoints.com/2017/09/18/billhop-review/

allyant

Looked promising until: `Billhop is not for everyone due to the 2.95% fee on every bill you pay' !

chanz4

I use paypal with my amex

Nick_C

Now that cashback rates have been slashed, the Lloyds Mastercard is not a bad option for collecting Avios where Amex is not accepted.

£1000 spend earns 250 Avios.

Although there is a £24 annual fee, it is also a great card for overseas spending, as you get Avios on non sterling transactions and no forex loading fee.

stevenhp1987

Nick_C wrote: »

Now that cashback rates have been slashed, the Lloyds Mastercard is not a bad option for collecting Avios where Amex is not accepted.

£1000 spend earns 250 Avios.

Although there is a £24 annual fee, it is also a great card for overseas spending, as you get Avios on non sterling transactions and no forex loading fee.

£1,000 into 250 Avios is pretty poor! I get a better rate using my Tesco Debit Card (although I prefer to use a cashback card!).

£1,000 outside of Tesco, gets 125 Clubcard points == 300 Avios with no fee.

£1,000 inside Tesco gets 1,000 Clubcard points (in addition to Tesco points) == 2400 Avios with no fee.

It's no good abroad though. I generally only use it in Tesco though as I prefer the 0.5% cashback my other cards give me (£1,000 into 250 Avios is ~ 0.25% cashback). e.g. Barclaycard Cashback gives 0.5% cashback, Aqua Reward gives 0.5% cashback with no foreign fee.

Nick_C

stevenhp1987 wrote: »

£1,000 into 250 Avios is pretty poor! I get a better rate using my Tesco Debit Card (although I prefer to use a cashback card!).

£1,000 outside of Tesco, gets 125 Clubcard points == 300 Avios with no fee.

...

It's no good abroad though. I generally only use it in Tesco though as I prefer the 0.5% cashback my other cards give me (£1,000 into 250 Avios is ~ 0.25% cashback). e.g. Barclaycard Cashback gives 0.5% cashback, Aqua Reward gives 0.5% cashback with no foreign fee.

Good points, although for big purchases you are likely to want to use a CC for S75 protection rather than a debit card.

The only cash back card I have left is Nationwide, which has been cut to 0.25%. The Avios MC compares favorably to this.

I'm not going to chase around for a better cashback rate, as I doubt that anything above 0.25% is sustainable in the long term, and most of my spending is through Amex.

The_Urbanite

allistairs wrote: »

Is there such a thing as a prepaid visa/mastercard which will allow you to load and top up with the American Express?

Yes - try Skrill.

Candyapple

The_Urbanite wrote: »

Yes - try Skrill.

At a cost of 2.5% to do so.......

https://www.skrill.com/en/siteinformation/fees/