To Amex...or not to Amex!

Nick_C

Ben8282 wrote: »

I am not saying that you havn't. The point that I have been trying to make here is that Mr or Mrs average should not be misled into believing that this sort of reward is achievable simply by charging their weekly groceries shop, petrol and the occasional meal out to the card and that a SIGNIFICANT spend would be required.

And the point I have made is that you can earn huge volumes of Avios coming to this game for the first time through sign up bonuses, referral bonuses, and supplementary cards.

It isn't simple. It takes a bit of work and a lot of understanding. But the rewards are amazing.

£12k spend in 15 months can get you enough Avios for a business class flight to NYC and back for 2 people.

moneywow1

I have the platinum cashback card and mostly use it for supermarkets (shopping + petrol) as well as some online shopping. Can also use it to pay for road tax, but unfortunately not council tax or most energy suppliers

Nick_C

moneywow1 wrote: »

I have the platinum cashback card and mostly use it for supermarkets (shopping + petrol) as well as some online shopping. Can also use it to pay for road tax, but unfortunately not council tax or most energy suppliers

Does your Council allow you to pay using PayPoint or AllPay? If so, you can use Amex to pay at a Co-Op for up to £200.

The DVLA website has stopped taking Amex, but you can pay "road tax" at some sub Post Offices with Amex.

[Deleted User]

moneywow1 wrote: »

I have the platinum cashback card and mostly use it for supermarkets (shopping + petrol) as well as some online shopping. Can also use it to pay for road tax, but unfortunately not council tax or most energy suppliers

Does it come with time travelling functionality as well then?

SCUD

Putting the sign up bonus aside. is there a major difference or a better Amex card to get?

I am between getting a cash back Amex VS BA Amex.

Are the Amex Reward points have more value than Avios points if we assume the cardholder will not spend more than £25,000 a year maximum?

Ben8282

Free card.
5000 avios welcome bonus.
25000 avios for the spend you have mentioned.
2 for 1 voucher if you spend £20,000 but remember you have to pay taxes and other charges on the free 2 for 1 ticket.
Now you need to look at what you can do with 30,000 avios and decide for yourself.

Free cashback card will get you 5% cashback in first three months up to £100 cashback (£2000 spend.
We will assume for this example that you will spend £2000 in the first three months.
The remaining s23,000 will be at 1% which is £230.
Total cashback is therefore £330.

Nick_C

Ben8282 wrote: »

Free cashback card will get you 5% cashback in first three months up to £100 cashback (£2000 spend.
We will assume for this example that you will spend £2000 in the first three months.
The remaining s23,000 will be at 1% which is £230.
Total cashback is therefore £330.

I disagree.

Ignoring sign up bonuses, you get 0.5% on the first £5k and 1% on everything above that. So in year two, £25k spend will get you £225.

I year 1, you will get 5% on £2k, 0.5% on 3k, and 1% on £20k. Total for year one = £315.

Ben8282

Earn cashback on purchases
After the first three months of Cardmembership you’ll earn up to 1% cashback, depending on how much you spend on the Card:
Spend £0 to £5,000 and receive 0.5% cashback on purchases
Spend over £5,000 and receive 1% cashback on purchases

This could be interpreted either way. Still, the difference is only £15

[Deleted User]

The free Avios card isn’t recommended by all the point-horder sites like Head For Points and Points Guy etc.

The premium one is the better of the 2.

Failing that go for the Amex Gold card which earns you membership points to use as you see fit.

Nick_C

SCUD wrote: »

Putting the sign up bonus aside. is there a major difference or a better Amex card to get?

I am between getting a cash back Amex VS BA Amex.

Are the Amex Reward points have more value than Avios points if we assume the cardholder will not spend more than £25,000 a year maximum?

Amex Reward points are something else entirely! I assume you mean cashback?

It depends how you would use the Avios. Do you travel on your own or with a companion? Do you intend travelling short haul economy or long haul business?

Ignoring sign up bonuses, in year 2, you would get £225 cashback or 25000 Avios on the free cards. So if you are going to use Avios well and get good value from them, the Avios card is better.

25000 Avios and a 241 voucher would get you two return flights to Athens (2 people travelling together) and one return flight to Milan. The redemption fee on the three flights would be £105 (£35 each flight). BA redemption flights come with checked baggage and hand baggage included; worth bearing in mind if you are comparing Avios redemptions with a Low Cost Carrier. And if you need to cancel a redemption flight, you get the Avios back (but lose the redemption fee up to a value of £35 pp).

But why do you want to ignore the sign up bonus? It is highly relevant! In year 1, get the free BA card and you will get 30000 Avios for £25k spend. Get the paid card, and you will get 62500 Avios for £25k spend. Those additional 32500 Avios are costing you £195, or 0.6p per Avios. No contest. The paid card is a better deal in the first year. And after a year you can downgrade to the free card.

If you are going to use the two for one voucher, then the free card comes with a voucher that is only valid for a year. The paid card gives you a voucher that is valid for two years.

If you have a partner, you could each get the paid card and get two 241 vouchers every year. And you would get 9000 Avios for referring your partner, they would get 26000 Avios sign up bonus, and you could each get a further 3000 Avios for getting supplementary cards.

Some people are too dismissive of Avios, not appreciating the opportunities to quickly acquire large amounts without spending a fortune!