Non Amex cards with friendly apps

SimonGA

The advice here doesn’t emphasise how useless Amex cards are, especially when travelling. I went with the John Lewis one, but their apps and their customer service are just about the worst I’ve used. The people working on customer service are fine, but getting through is - like their app and web site  - not designed for humans.  The app and web site rely on multiple login details that aren’t compatible with password managers.

Can anyone recommend a reward credit card that has easy to use systems (as easy as Barclays systems), and is not Amex?

MallyGirl

Not that many reward cards around. I have 2 - Amex and Partnership!
Santander and HSBC apps are decent but I don't know if they have any reward products - I just have them for 0% BTs.

jbrassy

I don't quite understand why Amex cards are "useless". They are accepted more widely than people realise. I have an Amex and use it all the time in supermarkets and on TFL. In my experience, it can be used in large shops, but is less widely accepted in small shops and pubs (especially if you live outside of London). One trick is to register the card with PayPal which allows you to use it in more shops online. I would also say that the customer service you get with Amex is superb. I've never had any hassle when it comes to getting refunds etc. It is true that it is less widely accepted abroad.

I recently acquired the Barclaycard Rewards card which pays 0.25% cashback and doesn't charge for using abroad. I haven't used it much since I got it in Feb and my planned holiday to France in March got cancelled. However, the app is pretty basic and simple to use. 

Unfortunately non-Amex cashback cards are pretty rare these days since the EU capped interchange fees on credit cards to 0.3%. Amex cards are exempt from this interchange fee cap.

dr_adidas01

SimonGA said:

The advice here doesn’t emphasise how useless Amex cards are, especially when travelling. I went with the John Lewis one, but their apps and their customer service are just about the worst I’ve used. The people working on customer service are fine, but getting through is - like their app and web site  - not designed for humans.  The app and web site rely on multiple login details that aren’t compatible with password managers.

Can anyone recommend a reward credit card that has easy to use systems (as easy as Barclays systems), and is not Amex?

Perhaps you mean how useless it is to you? I've not had a problem using Amex even when travelling. 

As for rewards card you don't specify what rewards you are looking for?  Barlaycard currently have a rewards card which gives you 0.25% cashback on your everyday spend.

Virgin offer the Virgin atlantic card which is only useful if you fly with virgin or virgin atlantic, also M&S if you shop there have a rewards card.

You're not going to find many credit cards that have as generous offers as Amex I'm afraid.

LordSomebody

I find my M&S card and app works well for me. The app for Barclaycard is probably a bit more user friendly, but I don’t have the Rewards card there so can’t comment about the card itself.

Breadcake

Credit where credit's due: During the current situation I have been waiting to get through to customer services at both Amex and a well known bank, I was through to a person at Amex in 12 minutes whereas it took over 2 hours at the well known bank. With the issue resolved in that first call.

In addition to the cards mentioned above there's the Amazon credit card - works out at 0.75% on Amazon spend (1.5% if you're on Amazon Prime) and 0.25% everywhere else, reward/cashback is Amazon gift card automatically loaded to your Amazon account only. All depends on how much you use Amazon.
The App is a reskin of the now unavailable Aqua reward card (both cards issued by NewDay).

https://www.moneysavingexpert.com/credit-cards/best-credit-card-rewards/

penners324

Tandem was very good until they introduced the membership fee for the cashback card. However, the Journey card is still good for travelling.

D3xt3r5L4b

How is the JLP card any better for travel?

And what’s the issue with Amex?

MallyGirl

JLP is not great for travel - the rate is poor

maybells

Barclaycard has a great app. I have a cashback card from them and I get 0.5%. After using up the 3 month 5% offer from Amex, this Barclaycard is the next best thing in terms of cashback. 

Unfortunately, it’s not free to use abroad. But for that, I have my Halifax Clarity.

dr_adidas01

maybells said:

Barclaycard has a great app. I have a cashback card from them and I get 0.5%. After using up the 3 month 5% offer from Amex, this Barclaycard is the next best thing in terms of cashback. 

Unfortunately, it’s not free to use abroad. But for that, I have my Halifax Clarity.

You must be on the old cashback card as the new one only offers 0.25%, the new one offers free use abroad.

Barclaycard Rewards.

• You will get 0.25% cashback on your everyday spending*. This will be credited annually to your statement or on your request.
• No fees abroad – you’ll be able to withdraw cash from an ATM or buy your souvenirs without any charges and benefit from Visa’s competitive exchange rate
• There is a 0.00% fee on all cash withdrawals.