Is getting an Amex card going to be a pain?

Ken2000

I'm looking to close my credit card and current account with HSBC as I've not been impressed with their customer service over the years and am now looking to get a credit card (with no monthly fee) that I won't be using too often, just for the odd purchase (for increased protection) and would pay it off straight away. Any cash-back or rewards would be a bonus. Amex cards seem to tick the boxes, but I'm wondering whether enough places don't accept Amex for it to be a pain or pointless getting. The other option that seemed reasonable is Amazon's credit card. I think I'll go with Starling Bank for my current account. Any recommendations or advice would be hugely appreciated. 

D3xt3r5L4b

It depends what you’re looking for in a credit card - rewards/points and cashback are 2 very different things that require different strategies to maximise earnings. 

More places accept Amex than you would believe. 

Ken2000

D3xt3r5L4b said:

It depends what you’re looking for in a credit card - rewards/points and cashback are 2 very different things that require different strategies to maximise earnings. 

More places accept Amex than you would believe. 

Thanks for the reply, in all honesty, whether it's rewards or cashback might be fairly irrelevant for the little amount I use a credit card, although that said, if there was a distinct advantage to making everyday purchases on it, that would change the way I pay for things.

D3xt3r5L4b

If you go for a cashback card with Amex, the free one requires you to spend £3000 per card year to even be eligible for the cashback payout.
The one that costs £25 per annum has the higher earning rate but you need to spend £2500 per card year to break even on the £25 fee before you even start earning a positive amount of cashback reward.

Then there’s membership rewards or Avios cards to put towards flight spends etc. 

ozaz

I don't think you should have Amex as your only credit card. I have two credit cards. One is an Amex which I use where it's accepted, and another is a non-Amex credit card which has fee-free non-GBP spending. I use this when Amex isn't accepted and when puchasing things in other currencies.

blue.peter

ozaz said:

I don't think you should have Amex as your only credit card. I have two credit cards. One is an Amex which I use where it's accepted, and another is a non-Amex credit card which has fee-free non-GBP spending. I use this when Amex isn't accepted and when puchasing things in other currencies.

Agreed.

I also have an AmEx cashback card for most of my spending, but I need something else to use at the few places that don't accept AmEx. About 95%+ of my monthly spend is normally on AmEx, but I do need to be careful to have something for the other 5%.

As has already been pointed out, for the Platinum Cashback Everyday Credit Card (the free one) "You must have made purchases on your Card Account of at least £3,000 within the card membership year applicable to your Card Account to be eligible to receive your Cashback" [copied from my last AmEx statement]. If you're not going to spend this much, forget AmEx.

D3xt3r5L4b said:

The one that costs £25 per annum has the higher earning rate but you need to spend £2500 per card year to break even on the £25 fee before you even start earning a positive amount of cashback reward.

And you have to spend £10,000 before the higher rate of cashback means that you've out-earnt the free card.

afis1904

There's the Amex rewards card that's also free but it only gives you membership points (the standard BA one is also free but that's avios).

dcfc67

I use a Virgin creditcard  which is a Mastercard so more widely accepted.
You get 0.75 flying miles for every £1 spent plus an introductory bonus depending on spend levels.

Could be useful if you are planning on flying with Virgin or booking a holiday with them as you get 5% discount on their holidays if you have and use their credit card to book it

D3xt3r5L4b

dcfc67 said:

I use a Virgin creditcard  which is a Mastercard so more widely accepted.
You get 0.75 flying miles for every £1 spent plus an introductory bonus depending on spend levels.

Could be useful if you are planning on flying with Virgin or booking a holiday with them as you get 5% discount on their holidays if you have and use their credit card to book it

So long as they don’t go in the red.

I opened one just before the COVID-19 pandemic and promptly closed it within the 14 day cooling off period. 

Speedbird676

Echoing other people's comments, American Express is accepted much more widely than people realise but you should always have an alternative Visa/Mastercard for the few places that do not.

If there's any value to be gained from having an Amex you should really be thinking of the cashback/rewards as more than just a bonus as knowing what you want to achieve, whether it be cashback, airline points, hotels points, should drive your strategy. You then need to put as much spend as you can through it to achieve a decent level of reward.

Lumiona

I've only had one since December but I love my Amex. I have the cashback one with a £25 fee, already have £150 cashback on there. There's only a few places it's not accepted which is a bit of a pain but most online payments can be done through PayPal. What's nice is the very generous limit that we'll never reach but the option to use that is good.