AmEx credit card

NoodleDoodleMan

You will be amazed how much you can spend with it if you use it for daily purchases each day.. especially if you're doing a big purchase anyway

Absolutely - it's not hard to spend £250 per month if you use it in supermarkets and petrol stations etc.

If you have a single big ticket item then it's even easier.

dprice8893

I've just gained an Amex Nectar card with a £2000/3 month deal to receive £100 of Nectar points. The yearly fee is waived for the first year.

Trouble with Amex card, you quickly realise it's not accepted at many places and definitely not when you make those higher cost purchases.

I'll almost certainly cancel after 12 months.

NoodleDoodleMan

Trouble with Amex card, you quickly realise it's not accepted at many places and definitely not when you make those higher cost purchases.

More and more retailers now accept Amex - Aldi did so quite recently, leaving only Lidl (I think) as the only major supermarket chain that decline it. Marks and Spencer also take it.

TUI, Thomas Cook and Jet2 accept as do most cruise lines.

It's generally only smaller shops and price saving chains like B&M and Home Bargains that still refuse Amex.

datostar

NoodleDoodleMan wrote: »

More and more retailers now accept Amex - Aldi did so quite recently, leaving only Lidl (I think) as the only major supermarket chain that decline it. Marks and Spencer also take it.

TUI, Thomas Cook and Jet2 accept as do most cruise lines.

It's generally only smaller shops and price saving chains like B&M and Home Bargains that still refuse Amex.

And the very high-end retailer, Poundland accepts Amex, as does Iceland.

dodomoney

Omega7 wrote: »

Hi all
I've read that for the cash back to be paid I need to spend £3000 a year on it. I'm probably going to be able to do that but want to know of I'm short let's say £500.

Thanks.

Something like that happened to me. I was about £200 short I think. And I didn't spend the final £200 quickly enough so I got no cashback. Was fuming. Thinking back I should have ordered a load of clothes or something, then sent it all back free-post a month later.

I just use an amex nectar card instead now. Not as good as getting money as cashback but theres no minimum spend, and I probably come out with about £50-£60 in nectar points at the end of the year.

also, you could put a family member on to your account and they get their own card. So if you got them to spend on it too then you're more likely to hit the £3000

bozo007

In my opinion, the Amex Cashback Platinum (£25 annual fee) is a better option than the Everyday or Nectar card. 1% cash back right from the first purchase (bonus rate for the first 3 months if you are a new to the card) is great. Break even once you cross £2500 in spend annually. I put everything on it including any work related expenses which I get reimbursed. My card anniversary is in April and I have already hit around £105 cashback so far in the year.

Raggle1

I would agree with the others you would be surprised by how much everyday spending can go through the Amex card. £3000 may seem a large amount but as long as you use it everywhere possible as a first choice it soon adds up. Don't forget to consider MOTs, car services, car tax, car insurance if paid upfront annually. I cover all of these using the Amex.
Hubby and I are working on the Amex required spend to trigger the British airways 2for1 companion voucher. Before applying we worked out a basic budget of guaranteed spends each month including any large purchases (hols etc) to be sure we would hit the threshold. We are 2 months in and ahead of the budget as miscellaneous spending we didn't count buoys it up as well. If when working this budget out your not sure who takes Amex, we use https://www.whoacceptsamex.co.uk to check. Then anything over your basic plan is a bonus.
Other thing to consider if the above really isn't going to get you over the £3000 threshold, is if you have a partner/family member you trust implicitly to pay you back, check if any family have large spends due in the year that you could pay for via your card and they pay you back. This is something we have discussed with family and are keeping on the back burner as a precaution should we find we are running behind.
Hope that gives you food for thought

Nick_C

Also worth noting:-

Some on line retailers who don't accept Amex do accept PayPal, so you can use Amex through PayPal.

B&Q don't accept Amex. But you can buy B&Q Gift Cards in shops that do take Amex.

You may be able to pay your Council Tax and Water bill with your Amex card at a Co-op, if your council / water company lets you pay at a Paypoint (max £200 at a time I think)

And if you are falling short of a target for a sign up bonus, it might be worth using BillHop. Pay any bill and have the cost charged to your Amex card for a 3% fee. This route might also pay for itself if it means you can reach the £10k threshold on BAPP faster, and then close or downgrade the account and get a pro rata refund.

Raggle1

Nick_C wrote: »

You may be able to pay your Council Tax and Water bill with your Amex card at a Co-op, if your council / water company lets you pay at a Paypoint (max £200 at a time I think)

Good call Nick_C. Currently help parents by paying council tax via automated telephone service which doesn't accept Amex. Totally look into the Paypoint route for that one as could help move that spend over to the Amex.