Amex credit card

premiumz

Hi,

I recently paid off and closed a credit card I wasn't using for quite some time. I was paying interest each month and thought by paying it off and closing it, it might bump up my credit score. It did the opposite and actually bumped it down which was annoying.

So anyway, I am looking at getting a new credit card and wanted to put all of our household bills and everyday shopping through it. So, mortgage payments, gas, electric, food shopping etc etc

I thought that the above would best suit a cashback credit card and from what I can tell the Amex Platinum Cashback Credit Card seems the best choice as it gives the highest cashback on average.

My questions are:

Can you put all those expenses through a credit card like Amex?

Am I correct in thinking that, that particular Amex card gives the highest cashback across all credit cards? I know that some credit cards have partnerships with certain stores which give better cashback but when adding all expenses through, It doesn't work out better than Amex's average cashback across all expenses.

Do you need a super high credit score to get one?

Many thanks

[Deleted User]

A super high credit score is of no use for anything. It's super meaningless. Lenders will assess you on your credit history and circumstances. If you only had one card and now have none, you may struggle to get the best offers.

You won't be able to pay your mortgage with a credit card (unless heavily in arrears) and utilities are unlikely to accept cards, but you'll need to check. You would end up paying more generally by not using direct debit.

premiumz

Deleted_User said:

A super high credit score is of no use for anything. It's super meaningless. Lenders will assess you on your credit history and circumstances. If you only had one card and now have none, you may struggle to get the best offers.

You won't be able to pay your mortgage with a credit card (unless heavily in arrears) and utilities are unlikely to accept cards, but you'll need to check. You would end up paying more generally by not using direct debit.

I just wanted to put all of our expenses through it and pay it all back within the month to not incur interest charges. This way we gain some cashback. It seemed like a no brainer.

Why would you end up paying more than if you were to use direct debit? Thanks

[Deleted User]

It's fine to put all your expenses on it, but you can only do that where the card is accepted. 

Utilities often offer a discount for DD.  

premiumz

Deleted_User said:

It's fine to put all your expenses on it, but you can only do that where the card is accepted. 

Utilities often offer a discount for DD.  

I see. So why do you think we would not be able to pay our mortgage through it? Do mortgage companies not allow it?

[Deleted User]

They don't want to pay the fees. It's the same reason very few lenders accept cards for repayments.

premiumz

Deleted_User said:

They don't want to pay the fees. It's the same reason very few lenders accept cards for repayments.

So I'm assuming that would be the same with utility bills? So is a credit card only good for things like food shopping and fuel etc? Just everyday purchases not monthly direct debits?

[Deleted User]

In general, yes, but you can put things like Netflix on there.

Sandtree

AmEx also depends on where you live... in London almost everywhere accepts it, even market traders via the likes of Zettle but plenty of members from other parts of the country claim that acceptance is much lower in their neck of the woods even if credit cards themselves are accepted (not sure if its up to date info or if they dont realise how much more widely its now accepted). 

If you want cash back then AmEx is certainly one of the higher cards but some may prefer "points" of some description or if their spend is concentrated in certain stores then co-branded cards can be beneficial 

JES_F1

I've got the Amex Platinum Cashback Everyday credit card and use it as my main card, putting all my day-to-day spending on it.  I find it's accepted pretty much everywhere (and I'm not in London) - the only place I recall recently that didn't accept it was Domino's Pizza.

You can also get extra cashback through Amex Offers and Shop Small.

Edited to add: I've also got a Visa and a Mastercard for backup.

Maple08

I've found nearly all the stores I go to accept Amex, and have been putting all spendings onto it. I recently opened the Barclaycard Avios card, which will effectively give me 0.8% cashback but in Nectar points/vouchers. Amex cashback cards starting at 0.5% or 0.75% (paid one) is the highest cashback card if you don't factor in the store based ones, so yes, you're right. 

Also, nah, you don't really need a good credit score to get it. My scores been below 600 for nearly a year since I've been checking it and I was able to open the Platinum Cashback Everyday and the Gold card with no issues. A colleague at work has been in the UK for 8-10 months and was able to open the Platinum Cashback Everyday card, which surprised me. 

Use the eligibility checker and go from there.