Which AMEX card

V3cash

Currently i have a Tesco credit card and use points on eating out and buying train railcards, I know there is a better option out there.
what AMEX card is best for cash back/ rewards?

northernstar007

ive got the amex nectar card, pay my energy bill on it (octopus), also council tax via paypal and anything through paypal pays points, also if you have the nectar app you get loads of extra points normally at least x3 sometimes x10 with esso fuel, also points to be gained through ebay
all my shopping goes on it, inc anything from mcd etc 
it has a £30 fee per year after the 1st year but it more than pays for itself

sausage_time

You may find the table by @WillPS (and some of the discussion) on this thread useful.

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/6584009/whats-the-best-amex-and-non-amex-credit-card-combination/p1

prettyandfluffy

northernstar007 said:

ive got the amex nectar card, pay my energy bill on it (octopus), also council tax via paypal and anything through paypal pays points, also if you have the nectar app you get loads of extra points normally at least x3 sometimes x10 with esso fuel, also points to be gained through ebay
all my shopping goes on it, inc anything from mcd etc 
it has a £30 fee per year after the 1st year but it more than pays for itself

I have the same card.  If you shop at Sainsbury's then you can use the nectar card to get points as you usually would and pay using your Amex Nectar card to get points from that, too.

DullGreyGuy

V3cash said:

Currently i have a Tesco credit card and use points on eating out and buying train railcards, I know there is a better option out there.
what AMEX card is best for cash back/ rewards?

Depends what rewards you appreciate and if where you shop accepts AmEx (as a Londoner almost everywhere does but other regulars on here state most their preferred places dont) 

Any of the MR cards give you access to airmiles or hotel points etc but you need to spend a big amount to get to a meaningful number plus have to want to fly Business or First rather than getting a budget airline flight for the same cash price. 

WillPS

Amex - Nectar, Cashback (not everyday) or Vitality (see the link upthread for guidance)

Mastercard - Santander Edge or Barclaycard Avios (autotransferred to Nectar)

DullGreyGuy

WillPS said:

Amex - Nectar, Cashback (not everyday) or Vitality (see the link upthread for guidance)

Mastercard - Santander Edge or Barclaycard Avios (autotransferred to Nectar)

Would be very bad decisions if your preferred rewards are Avios and Reward Flights

V3cash

I prefer cash back and I like the idea of gold Amex card as it gives 4 airport passes a year.(still weighing up charges)
i travel about 3-4 times a year so might be worth it, or i could cancel after the year)
not sure when they give the passes out?)
i don’t really want air miles that tie you into an airline provider.
i definitely don’t fly first class 🤣
i generally put everything on my card.
it looks like the shops I go to accept American Express.
Any smaller independents i could still use Tesco.
i also have a chase card but use that just for abroad.
rarely shop at Sainsbury’s but sometimes get fuel there.
should have been using chase for cash back i missed the memo on that 😢

OldBeanz

V3cash said:

I prefer cash back and I like the idea of gold Amex card as it gives 4 airport passes a year.(still weighing up charges)
i travel about 3-4 times a year so might be worth it, or i could cancel after the year)
not sure when they give the passes out?)...

The passes are accessed through Priority Pass.
Last year (card issued to me) they gave 4 passes which could include a friend. This year, (card issued through wife) 4 in total.
If you go over the 4 then PP bill your card.
While you enjoy the peace and tranquility of not mixing with the hoi polloi we tended towards the food (first thing they do is feed you when you board) so best used on long haul getting to the airport early for clearance or short when it would be the drink being attacked.

DullGreyGuy

V3cash said:

I prefer cash back and I like the idea of gold Amex card as it gives 4 airport passes a year.(still weighing up charges)
i travel about 3-4 times a year so might be worth it, or i could cancel after the year)
not sure when they give the passes out?)
i don’t really want air miles that tie you into an airline provider.
i definitely don’t fly first class 🤣

MR points can be transferred to a few airlines and you can then generally use them in their wider group. The other benefit of MR is that they dont expire as long as you keep an MR card, including the free one, so as a non-big spender you can build them up slowly. 

If you dont like the idea of First/Business then MR probably arent for you, it's how you get a decent return on the points. If you use them to discount an economy ticket it will be at 0.5p/point and if you use them to book an economy ticket outside of BA Reward Flights it will be vastly less than that (if starting from the UK) but will be a flexible ticket.  With the higher tier flights you can comfortably achieve 2p/point and occasionally much more 

They give you a Priority/Dragon Pass (it's the same company behind) card which covers the first 4 times you use it, and then charges if you use it more than 4 times. 

WillPS

DullGreyGuy said:

If you dont like the idea of First/Business then MR probably arent for you, it's how you get a decent return on the points. If you use them to discount an economy ticket it will be at 0.5p/point and if you use them to book an economy ticket outside of BA Reward Flights it will be vastly less than that (if starting from the UK) but will be a flexible ticket.  With the higher tier flights you can comfortably achieve 2p/point and occasionally much more 

It's not a "good return" unless it's something you would otherwise pay the full price for.

If you are regularly paying cash prices for first class flights, then this should be the benchmark you value your points against.

If not, you're opting out of saving money and instead spending money to get something you otherwise could not afford.

Neither is objectively the right or wrong approach, but one is Money Saving and the other is the opposite.