New guide: American Express tips & tricks

MSE_Laura_F

Our new guide is now live:

💳 American Express tips & tricks 💳

Including bonus cashback offers, £5 back at local businesses & up to £150 a year when you refer friends

WillPS

As well as the (decent) PayPal tip, is it not worth also pointing out that Amex card holders would be well advised to carry a Visa or Mastercard alternative, such as the Lloyds/Halifax Cashback Mastercard or the Barclaycard Reward Visa.

lr1277

I am somewhat confused by this promotion of Amex on MSE. I was under the impression that Amex charged higher fees to retailers than Visa/Mastercard. If this is the case, if more people spend on Amex, surely the retailers take this into account and put up prices for everybody. How is that Moneysaving?

I understand the individual Amex holder may do well out of having an Amex card but how about eveyone else?

Perhaps MSE could write an article about the fees charged by Visa/Mastercard/Amex? I understand that costs are based on the agreement the retailer has with Visa/Mastercard/Amex, so the likes of a big supermarket will get lower fees than the corner shop based on the number and value of transactions put through their tills.

But an article would be useful to me to help decide if I should switch to Amex.

lr1277

If you get an Amex Credit card, be aware not all banks/financial institutions will allow a balance transfer from Amex to your new card.

Some details in this thread:

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/6328918/does-anyone-know-which-banks-accept-amex-ba-premium-plus-for-a-balance-transfer

WillPS

lr1277 said:

I am somewhat confused by this promotion of Amex on MSE. I was under the impression that Amex charged higher fees to retailers than Visa/Mastercard. If this is the case, if more people spend on Amex, surely the retailers take this into account and put up prices for everybody. How is that Moneysaving?

I understand the individual Amex holder may do well out of having an Amex card but how about eveyone else?

Perhaps MSE could write an article about the fees charged by Visa/Mastercard/Amex? I understand that costs are based on the agreement the retailer has with Visa/Mastercard/Amex, so the likes of a big supermarket will get lower fees than the corner shop based on the number and value of transactions put through their tills.

But an article would be useful to me to help decide if I should switch to Amex.

The counter point to that is that retailers already set their prices and do so with the payment methods they accept in mind. Getting the maximum value from your day to day spend absolutely is moneysaving.

Bare in mind also that most retailers won't have agreements directly with visa/mastercard/amex, they will have a relationship with an acquiring bank (or a service that interfaces with one). The charges are not static and are not always even broadly proportionate to one another. Ultimately none of this detail is relevant to consumers, what is relevant is how they choose to pay.

Marchitiello

Missed the chance to cover the benefit of the Platinum Chargecard and BA premium Plus. Yes both are premium card and carry a fee but for  some of the moneysaving expert amongst us , these can be great value:

Platinum Chargecard has esclusive statement credit offers that often covers more then half of the annual fee. Plus for Leisure and Business travellers (often on short haul business only books on economy) the travel benefits that comes with it (Lounge Access (effectively for 4 family members potentially), Hotel Status, travel insurance, car Rental status and discounts) more then pay the rest of the annual fee.

similarly, the 1.5 Avios per £ spent, companion voucher and Purchase and Refund Protection insurance +  Travel Inconvenience and Travel Accident insurance, can be extremely good value  for the BA Premium Plus! 

WillPS

Marchitiello said:

Platinum Chargecard has esclusive statement credit offers that often covers more then half of the annual fee. 

£50 Harvey Nicks credit every 6 months (can't be stacked)
£10 Addison Lee credit per month (which involves using Addison Lee so will almost never be a true saving)
£100 to use at a range of restaurants which were almost all in London.

Platinum is an interesting product but I really don't see how one might come to the conclusion that is could be offered to the masses as a money saving product.

BA PP is a less interesting product and only makes sense if you are a hardcore Avios collector looking to get maximal value from premium redemptions. That isn't a money saving activity. The Nectar card earns 1.25 Avios per £, costs £25 (0 in year 1) - if you value an Avios at 1p, you would have to spend £170,000 per year to cover the £425 difference in annual fee.

Marchitiello

@WillPS I did not say it was to the masses, but if you write an article to cover Amex, you will then make it more complete to highlight even those products that could be beneficial to a number of more affluent moneysaving experts.. having more disposable income does not mean that there is no need to maximise the return.. over the last two years, we got more then half of the Platinum annual fee back either in cash or additional bonuses. With the BA Premium Plus, bonuses and offers included, we manage to make one or two business trip per year in periods/location that would cost us at least £3-7k paying all cash, so far for £195 per year (September will be the first time at £250 for me).

WillPS

Marchitiello said:

@WillPS I did not say it was to the masses, but if you write an article to cover Amex, you will then make it more complete to highlight even those products that could be beneficial to a number of more affluent moneysaving experts.. having more disposable income does not mean that there is no need to maximise the return.. over the last two years, we got more then half of the Platinum annual fee back either in cash or additional bonuses. With the BA Premium Plus, bonuses and offers included, we manage to make one or two business trip per year in periods/location that would cost us at least £3-7k paying all cash, so far for £195 per year (September will be the first time at £250 for me).

Then you fundamentally misunderstand what MSE is.

It is a rich resource of money saving and money making ideas for the mass market, it is not a complete guide to all open market finance products.

Marchitiello

WillPS said:

Marchitiello said:

@WillPS I did not say it was to the masses, but if you write an article to cover Amex, you will then make it more complete to highlight even those products that could be beneficial to a number of more affluent moneysaving experts.. having more disposable income does not mean that there is no need to maximise the return.. over the last two years, we got more then half of the Platinum annual fee back either in cash or additional bonuses. With the BA Premium Plus, bonuses and offers included, we manage to make one or two business trip per year in periods/location that would cost us at least £3-7k paying all cash, so far for £195 per year (September will be the first time at £250 for me).

Then you fundamentally misunderstand what MSE is.

It is a rich resource of money saving and money making ideas for the mass market, it is not a complete guide to all open market finance products.

I would disagree, in the sense that it is not only for the mass market… we often discuss premium banking products and there is plenty of evidence that there is a discrete number of users on this forums with whom the MSE writers interact, that have Premier bank accounts, premium credit cards and even some Wealth/Private banking customers. 

Therefore I was not expecting a main feature, but a short section within the guide mentioning key pro and cons and for what type of customers it could be more suited .. 

it is in their money making interest (as an MSE site) to attract a wider audience that in turn will attract more advertising money.

WillPS

Nip to the energy forum and see the volume of people complaining that Martin Lewis "misled" them. And that's just the tip of the iceberg.

I can totally see why they are not choosing to direct their readers to credit cards with a £450 or £575 annual fee associated.

MSE also don't cover Premier banking products, the only selective account I've seen them cover was HSBC Advance which used to have a £3x,000 income requirement.