To Amex...or not to Amex!

SCUD

Hi all...

My wife is trying to convince me to get a British Airways Amex credit card so we earn Avios points then use them to get discounted flights or some other stuff using the Avios points.

We currently use Debenhmas' Master Card in our daily shopping and bills. Every 3 months we get £10-£20 in vouchers to spend in Debenhams. We do use these vouchers, but mainly because they will expire, so we either get stuff the vouchers cover or something that exceeds the vouchers value and we pay a fiver or a tenner above it. like the other day I got a pair of jeans for a £5+the vouchers.

As for Avios points I am not sure how easy for us to earn them using the not much loved online and in stores card... Amex.

The only way to go around the Amex rejection by retailers is to pay via PayPal. But not everyone accepts PayPal and it is not available in stores.

Can someone share their experience with Amex? in regard of getting around the problem of not being accepted everywhere, and also how useful the Avios points they earned were?

Any advice is appeciated

Svalbaard

Hi, I got round it not being accepted anywhere by essentially not using it for 10 years. I still get their "rewards" emails but I've not really seen anything that would make me run up the levels of debt on it to make them worthwhile.

Probably should cancel it TBH.

sarah1972

I love my BA Amex, I use it for all shopping and pay it off each month.

I also shop through the BA store so my BA Avios stack up really quickly and I often book reward flights.

Even a £5 spend in my local co op goes on.

NaughtiusMaximus

I have an Amex cashback card, between retailers that accept Amex and those who accept Paypal I was genuinely surprised at how many places I could use it. One annoying exception is insurance companies, a lot don't accept either Amex or PP.

Ben8282

You write as if you can only have one card. Get the Amex as it won't do any harm. Keep the Debenhams card. If Amex is not accepted, use the Debenhams mastercard. Confused about paypal; presumably you are talking about online shopping as have never seen anybody pay in a shop using paypal.
Just out of curiosity, how much do you actually spend a month on the card? Do you spend the sort of amount that would get you worthwhile amounts of Avios on an ongoing basis year after year? Have you perhaps considered Tesco card for clubcard points or a Sanisburys card for Nectar points or something more down to earth than a BA Amex?

HHarry

The only place I frequently use where I can't use my Amex is B&Q. So I go to Morrisons buy a B&Q gift card wih my Amex and get Morissons points AND Avios. (My Wife says I'm mad and this istaking it too far!)

Have a good look at what you can get for your Avios and how the game works - it feels like the sweet spot has been and gone - particulalry as the taxes (that you still have to pay) keep increasing. Last year we went to Mexico with Avios, this year the sale fares were so good it was better to pay cash.

Nick_C

SCUD wrote: »

My wife is trying to convince me to get a British Airways Amex credit card so we earn Avios points then use them to get discounted flights or some other stuff using the Avios points.

Where do you want to fly to? Do you want to fly in Economy or Business (or First)?

bd10

Good question. I have had my Amex Rewards credit card now for around a year. Around Greater London there are no real problems of acceptance. Most shops accept it, smaller shops less likely. So, when I took out the card I assumed that 1 Amex rewards point = 1p when redeeming for flights. But what I have found so far with Amex airline partners, I can get 0.5% redemption yield if I'm lucky.
As for savings, my travel credit cards saved me lots more: no 2.75-3% exchange rate mark-up for hotel bookings, non-GBP transactions etc, saved me more this year than Amex rewards points.
As I have multiple cards I rotate them so give each card some biz so that there is always a low utilisation but some activity showing.
NB: I do not have an Avios Amex card as I don't want to be locked into a separate rewards scheme, and I am getting increasingly disappointed by BA.

Now, are Amex rewards worth it? I am a bit disappointed at the 0.5% redemption yield on flights I managed to find, so, honestly, I am a bit bored of it. My Clarity card saved me way more. I don't want to sound discouraging, I am simply far less excited about it now than when I took the Amex card out first.

blue.peter

Yes, there are places that don't accept it, and for which you'll need an alternative (in my case, a John Lewis Partnership Card). However, I can, and do, use AmEx for about 80%+ of my spending. And much of the other 20% is John Lewis and Waitrose, which do accept AmEx.

I can't comment on Avios points, because I get cashback on my AmEx.

2ilent8cho

Thanks to that Amex card i flew First Class with a friend to New York this summer. If i booked cash BA's web site wanted £12000 for 2 people on the same flight! i paid £1300 (Tax) + 160,000 Avios and one 2 for 1 Voucher from the BA Amex card.

I put almost all my spending via that Amex card, coupled with bonuses and the BA eStore and Tesco i managed to get my points up very quickly.

My year resets on Oct 12th for another 2 for 1 Voucher and i have enough Avios to go again First Class, so this card will next year give me thousands in value.

You also get Amex offers like spend X amount get X amount back as statement credit. Like currently spend over £30 and get 5% back at Morrisons, or spend £20 + at Papa Johns get £5 back.

I pay my Council Tax and Water who do not take Amex via Billhop to use Amex indirectly. Most retailers do take Amex, though some places it does not work contactless like Asda so have to still use Chip & Pin. I cancelled my EE Direct Debt and pay that manually each month with my Amex, i really don't let a point slip.

Get either the Tesco Clubcard or Natwest Rewards Mastercard credit card for places you cannot in anyway use Amex to make sure you milk every last point and convert to Avios via their reward schemes.

Basically put the effort into getting the points and the Amex BA Premium card is the best value credit card out there in my opinion.

IvanDP

bd10 wrote: »

Good question. I have had my Amex Rewards credit card now for around a year. Around Greater London there are no real problems of acceptance. Most shops accept it, smaller shops less likely. So, when I took out the card I assumed that 1 Amex rewards point = 1p when redeeming for flights. But what I have found so far with Amex airline partners, I can get 0.5% redemption yield if I'm lucky.
As for savings, my travel credit cards saved me lots more: no 2.75-3% exchange rate mark-up for hotel bookings, non-GBP transactions etc, saved me more this year than Amex rewards points.
As I have multiple cards I rotate them so give each card some biz so that there is always a low utilisation but some activity showing.
NB: I do not have an Avios Amex card as I don't want to be locked into a separate rewards scheme, and I am getting increasingly disappointed by BA.

Now, are Amex rewards worth it? I am a bit disappointed at the 0.5% redemption yield on flights I managed to find, so, honestly, I am a bit bored of it. My Clarity card saved me way more. I don't want to sound discouraging, I am simply far less excited about it now than when I took the Amex card out first.

I'd second that
I have looked into most of the various reward cards, and to be honest, could not see any real value in them.
Like yourself, my travel cards offer fee free overseas spending and that 2.75 -3% saving soon mounts up.
Plus, although it's not a lot, the little bit of cashback is another bonus.

In my personal opinion, i would say go for a cashback card or, as others have said a rewards card that maybe offers better value.