Should I get a new card?

yksi

I had Amex a few years ago and it's now pretty widely accepted, almost nobody rejects it these days. You did ask whether you even need another card, you do actually have a "good" one already, but having a larger amount of credit available to you will be beneficial to your creditworthiness (note, not your "score") which is a plus if you are hoping for a personal loan, car finance or mortgage later on. That's the main reason people tend to take out a second or third card.

Fingerbobs

B&Q and Screwfix are notable large retailers that do not accept Amex. 
Wickes were also one until recently, but it looks like they now accept it. 

jbrassy

Mazintim said:

jbrassy said:

I agree with all the points made above. 

I think there is no harm applying for another card. If you pay off your current credit card in full every month, I would suggest getting an Amex card to benefit from the rewards they offer. You should keep your Tesco card as a back up since Amex is not accepted everywhere. You'd be strongly advised to use the Amex eligibility checker beforehand:
https://www.americanexpress.com/uk/credit-cards/eligibility-checker/?intlink=uk-en-hp-promo1-all-eligibility-04032021

Thanks for this. Do you have much info on the benefits? I've just tried to browse their website to find out more but could only find a small bit of info about point system, before asking me to log in. 

There are broadly speaking, three types of Amex card you can get:
1 - cashback cards - these pay you cashback on your spending, e.g. 1% back on what you spend. Cards you could get are:

•  https://www.americanexpress.com/uk/credit-cards/platinum-cashback-credit-card
• https://www.americanexpress.com/uk/credit-cards/platinum-cashback-everyday-credit-card 

2 - Rewards cards - these give you Amex points which you can use to convert into airline loyalty points, e.g. Avios, or hotel rewards points with operators like Marriott or Hilton. These are good if you like to travel a lot in Business Class and stay in nice hotels. Cards you could get are:

•  https://www.americanexpress.com/uk/credit-cards/gold-credit-card
• https://www.americanexpress.com/uk/credit-cards/rewards-credit-card
  

3 - British Airways cards - these will give you Avios points when you spend which you can use to get discounts or upgrades on BA flights. Cards you could get are:

• https://www.americanexpress.com/uk/credit-cards/ba-credit-card
• https://www.americanexpress.com/uk/credit-cards/ba-premium-plus-credit-card/
  

Personally, I have an Amex Platinum cashback card since I understand the value if what I'm getting back. I think it can be difficult to understand and ascertain what the value of an Amex point or Avios point is, so I like to get straightforward cashback. 

Hope that's helpful.

blue.peter

jbrassy said:

1 - cashback cards - these pay you cashback on your spending, e.g. 1% back on what you spend. Cards you could get are:

•  https://www.americanexpress.com/uk/credit-cards/platinum-cashback-credit-card
• https://www.americanexpress.com/uk/credit-cards/platinum-cashback-everyday-credit-card 

The differences between these two lie in

• the rate of cashback; and
• the annual charge.

The Platinum card has an annual charge, but a higher rate of cashback. The Platinum Everyday card has no annual charge, but a lower cashback rate. This means that the Everyday card is more beneficial for lower annual expenditure. The tipping point is an annual spend of £10,000. Above this, it's worth paying the annual charge: the higher rate of cashback offsets it.

J_B

Fingerbobs said:

B&Q and Screwfix are notable large retailers that do not accept Amex. 
Wickes were also one until recently, but it looks like they now accept it. 

B&M, Dunelm, my dentist, my tyre shop too