Another Credit card wanted. suggestions please

twopenny

I'm on exmoor and north Devon. Village shops and tea rooms. Previously they wouldn't take aamex because they are charged a higher rate on small profit margins.
I will check in case things have changed, searching Google just bought up their publicity about shopping small.

MalMonroe

jbrassy said:

If you want a rewards credit card, Amex are the stand out choice. You can either get a cashback card or one that collects points such as Avios or Nectar. Their customer service is superb and I couldn't recommend them more highly. In terms of places that accept Amex, I think it's a bit of a myth to say nowhere accepts it anymore. Most national chain stores do and it's mostly small corner shops and pubs that don't accept them. I'm able to do the vast majority of my spending on Amex.

Amex don't accept people with 'a bad credit history' (I am one of those but I'm now on a good credit history path) but they don't say how far back the credit history would go. 

I did apply to Amex about twenty five years ago, when my credit history was excellent - they never even responded to my application, so I've never really felt highly of them anyway!

Surprisingly, a quick soft search today reveals that I am 9/10 approved for one of their Platinum Cashback Everyday Credit Cards. And to be honest, I'm quite seriously thinking about applying now!

MalMonroe

@twopenny 

Hi, for what it's worth, I have a Sainsbury's Mastercard. I earn Nectar points when I use it and pay it off in full every month, as per Martin's instructions.

I've had it for about three years and have always been really happy with it. My account is accessible online and they also have an app. When I have needed to phone (only twice) I've been able to get through quickly and have spoken to lovely Scottish people who have been able to help me without any fuss. 

They have a balance transfer offer on at the moment, too. Info here for your perusal - 

https://www.sainsburysbank.co.uk/credit-cards

gozaimasu

NoodleDoodleMan said:

 "Essentially, I live rural so Amex a no go."

Can I ask why your location is an issue in respect of Amex ?

Because retailers in the middle of nowhere don't accept Amex due to the charges for accepting them.

Brie

You said "The Mastercard I have is an M&S one and they've become increasingly difficult to contact customer services and for online transactions they have only offered an app. which I don't use with my phone."    I don't understand what you mean by this.

Ok - maybe customer services are difficult to contact - everyone's having problems with that normally blaming covid currently. 

But what do you mean by "they only offered an app" for online transactions?  I check my bill and transactions and communicate with them online through their messaging service.  I like that theirs is the only card I have that does NOT need a phone to authorise things as they've got this weird mini pinsentry device.  It means that despite us having a rotten phone signal for whatever reason the mini sentry device always has the authorisation codes for getting online and doing anything fancy.  

NoodleDoodleMan

gozaimasu said:

NoodleDoodleMan said:

 "Essentially, I live rural so Amex a no go."

Can I ask why your location is an issue in respect of Amex ?

Because retailers in the middle of nowhere don't accept Amex due to the charges for accepting them.

Quite a few merchants that are not in more remote parts of the country won't accept Amex for the reasons mentioned - location is not the primary issue.

twopenny

Brie, that's interesting but I've not had any communication from them about any type confirmation for online transactions.
Mal, I'll look into that over the next couple of weeks.
I asked Tsb and they will contact the card via the branch if there are problems. It's 10mins away, small and friendly. Good interest free balance transfers and other things I don't need.
However I try to keep my financial things spread out.

[Deleted User]

NoodleDoodleMan said:

gozaimasu said:

NoodleDoodleMan said:

 "Essentially, I live rural so Amex a no go."

Can I ask why your location is an issue in respect of Amex ?

Because retailers in the middle of nowhere don't accept Amex due to the charges for accepting them.

Quite a few merchants that are not in more remote parts of the country won't accept Amex for the reasons mentioned - location is not the primary issue.

Amex requires separate setup on a standard merchant/card terminals (unlike Visa / Mastercard) so unless you're a large chain with a standing Amex agreement or using one of newer portable card setups like iZettle then some simply don't bother.