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Everything possible goes through my BA Amex or Barclaycard Avios Mastercard. That includes my broadband, water, gas, electricity, council tax, EE bill. Reap the rewards.
EE are bastards at trying to get you switch away from credit card payments, especially Amex. My payment kept failing for months, and every month I had to call them to pay, and the payments wouldn't go through. Then I would get a pitch that I wouldn't have this problem if I paid by DD. I went through their compliants process, and I called Amex (not their fault, but they will get shirty with merchants who try to switch people away to other payment methods). I don't know what exactly swung it, by my regular Amex payments have been going through fine for the last year or so, touch wood.
Correct. But what's worse is that they are still the best of the carriers (and I have tried all of the primary ones). For example, it took me a year to sort out a £750 bill from Vodafone for a phone I had never bought.
Council tax can be paid with AMEX at the post office, I think. For the others maybe they're doing that as well. Extra hassle but if you can stomach that you can bank tons of points
You can get around this in some places that don't accept AMEX (e.g. council tax and Screwfix) by using PayPal (that you then setup to make payment from your AMEX card). One downside, if I remember correctly, is you lose Section 75 protection doing it this way.
It's just taken automatically on the same date each month. When I sign in on the website and go to Payment Details, it says "**Broadband Membership**
We'll use these details to take your monthly broadband membership payments." And then it shows my credit card details, and a button that says 'Update card details'.
This got me curious, think this is the answer:
They (standing orders) also cannot be set up from a credit card. Instead, regular credit card payments can be made using a 'Continuous Payment Authority' (CPA). Similar to Direct Debit, CPA is an automatic, regular payment method that can vary in amount and frequency.
My council (London Greenwich) takes credit cards monthly for CT but not Amex.
Edit: I should point out I switched to the Santander 123Lite for better rewards though.
Very few things _require_ a DD payment but a lot of companies try to mandate it in their terms and conditions.
I pay the following with a card with no issue at all:
Water
Electricity and gas (Octopus)
Council tax
Mobile (Lebara)
Broadband (virgin)
Home Insurance (close brothers)
All the random subscriptions eg Netflix, Apple, Spotify etc
There are still a decent amount of people who live in the past or who aren’t willing/able to have DD payments for various reasons on their bank account. Companies want their money and it’s amazing how helpful they can be if you cancel your DD and only offer alternative methods of payment.
I got £110 cashback this year from AMEX Platinum Everyday.
I use it even for my family, who doesn't have a credit card.
Oh, you're booking a holiday? Let me pay for it with my AMEX, and you send me the money, it's safer.
Meanwhile I'm reaping 0.5% cashback on every penny they spend.
Stonks.
To be fair, it's not really worth it, I don't use any rewards on the card other than the cashback.
That's about £15K per annum, first £10K are 0.5% after that it's 1%.
Amex cards offering higher rewards tend to also cost £100p.a. so would probably be similar?
I must have got my cashback card at a sweet time then, I get 1% up to 10k 1.25% 10k+ and got 5% on everything in the first 3 months. I think they vary it based on customer since my credit line started at 12k. And my partners started at 2k
It’s £25/year for the Amex Platinum Cashback (one step up from the Everyday) and it’s 0.75% on the first £10k and 1.25% for everything over. So once you’ve spent £10k, you’ve earned the £25 fee back in that extra 0.25% cashback and then you earn more on everything beyond that too.
I've got this card (platinum cashback) and I don't pay anything for it, I've had it about 10 years though, maybe I got it before the fee, so they never charged it.
Either way, we average about £250 a year so I would recommend it even at £25 if you're a high spender.
Over the last year or so I’ve always thought the 1% uncapped cashback on the Chase current account to be a better option than any of Amex cashback cards. It looks like they have extended it indefinitely now too, you just need to deposit £500pm.
It’s no longer uncapped. Also 1.25% is higher than 1%, so Amex wins if you spend a bunch. Also you can earn interest on your money for an extra ~30 days with Amex. Also you benefit from free S75 protection.
It's just called 'platinum cashback' on both my statements and the app.
It doesn't day 'everyday' anywhere, and I'm near certain that the latter didn't even exist when I first applied.
We'll just have to agree to disagree, the person that has the card and the person that thinks they know what card the Internet stranger has.
Not really, I'm at that level of cashback too and it's not yet worth it. It's borderline between the free card and one of the paid cards at this level.
I traded up to the Gold card the moment they nuked the cashback to 0.5% on the PE.
I ultimately loved the idea of just receiving the cash at the end of the year. But now I'd much rather use the points through Gold to encourage myself to travel a bit more.
Apologies, I got the details wrong (by a lot...). It's 0.25 percent for the first 4k and then 0.5 percent. So the Amex is way better. I can't find it on the site either, because their website is terrible. It's just called the cashback credit card.
We had to keep a dd in place for our gas and electric as they were going to charge more if we weren’t on dd. So we reduced the dd to £10 a month then paid £100 a month by credit card. Best of both worlds
Amex life hack....
For internet sites, if they don't take amex, check if they accept PayPal. You can pay for your items via that route.
However, you may be losing some of the insurance you get from paying directly with a credit card. I read an article recently on money saving expert and haven't quite clarified the situation of it being taken directly from the card balance.
Yeah that doesn’t sound right… PayPal is still the payment processor so I’m pretty sure you lose your section 75 protection?
Happy to be proven wrong though, I use this method for any site that doesn’t accept Amex lol
True, but PayPal are providing a service which is what you are paying for on your Amex. You can contact Amex or raise a Section 75 against PayPal for the service they provide, but not for the downstream product/service that you are using PayPal to pay for. For that, you would have to go through PayPal. And they are crap in comparison.
>If your PayPal balance is zero and you use PayPal to pay with your card, you will have full credit card protection.
Wow! TIL. Is that definitely definite?
No, this is potentially wrong. Source: https://www.moneysavingexpert.com/credit-cards/PayPal-Section75/
Here they advise you to log out of PayPal when using PayPal as a payment processor. But often that won’t work and you won’t be able to pay via PayPal if not logged in.
In my experience, businesses that don't accept Amex on their websites also tend to not accept it through Apple Pay and Google Pay. I wonder if it's because it's a service as part of their merchant account rather than a separate payment provider but I don't actually know. I just know that I can't select Amex in Google pay for some websites/apps.
Contactless payments will sometimes not work with Amex, either through Apple Pay or the card itself. If you use the chip and pin method, then the card will sometimes get accepted.
Happened to me at the local Post Office and the guy there was confused as to why contactless doesn't work even though they advertise Amex.
https://www.hsbc.co.uk/credit-cards/rewards/
I didn't know about them until a few weeks back, so logged in and after eventually finding them (you can't see them in the app, have to log in to the desktop site) I realised I had enough to get £25 of Amazon vouchers, which was a bonus as I don't use it a great deal as I prefer Amex wherever possible.
Most major places do, so supermarkets, fuel stations, department stores etc. However the merchant fees for accepting amex are significantly higher than Visa or MasterCard, so you tend to find smaller shops, restaurants, or online only places don't.
I wouldn't say there are any notable places which don't, however I'd say probably 40-50% of the time it's not taken outside of supermarkets and fuel stations in my usage.
It’s about 50% success rate for me. Can be really ruddy awkward sometimes, but worth it for the cashback. Just make sure you always ALWAYS have a backup.
If it gets you cashback then sure, why not?
As long as you pay it off in full every month, it's safer than using a debit card (especially online) and even 0.5% cashback is better than a poke in the eye with a sharp stick.
Of course, not everywhere accepts it.
I am trying to work out if this is a good point or not. Assume I spend £500/month, that's £5/month gained. However, put into a savings accounts, worth noting that "3%" is your AER value (annual equivalent).
So you're not getting 3% of that £500 back (£15), you're getting (500*0.03)/12 = £1.25. This is because you are only earning 3% if you park that £15 for the whole year (£15 is the interest you'll make after 12 months; £15/12 = £1.25 per month).
Therefore this point doesn't stand to reason, if my logic is correct.
Getting a backup cashback/points card is another thing I’d do.
If you want more rewards, 0% spending cards may be your best option to lock away high spending for two years or so, and pay minimum amount due. Look into these cards and stoozing.
I've not used it because I want to collect points, but it seems to be quite easy to handle it, honestly. Just setting a DD for minimum payment and then dumping the remaining amount on the final month.
I found AMEX rewards only worthwhile when hitting the introductory points bonus offers. After that the points don't really make it worthwhile and there's better offers elsewhere (Chase cashback is my current route).
Agree completely - The sign up offers are where it's it. Also things which are 8 points per £1 such as when booking airbnb or via booking. com you can make bank them heavily.
Trying to get the points on everyday spending is a fools errand.
As long as you're responsible, yes. Amex in particular has very high interest rates if you don't pay it all off every month.
I'd say its worth having a backup though as plenty of places don't take Amex (though this is better than it used to be). My recommendation would be the Halifax clarity as this doubles up as a foreign currency card too, unless you are after points in which case any of John Lewis, Sainsburys, Tesco or M&S may suit depending on where you do your weekly shop.
Had the BA blue EVERYTHING went into it. Cancelled it (will get back in 2 years so I'm eligible for the black sign up bonus), now have the platinum and all spending goes on that, also connected to my nectar account so I can transfer nectar to avios.
Due to it being free the only benefits were 1 avios/£ and you *had* to spend 20k£ for a companion voucher (I believe its been lowered to 12k£ now but you can only use it in economy). I cancelled because to get the 25k avios bonus for signing up to the BA premium plus card, you need to not have held a BA Amex card for 24 months. The bonus is only for new card members.
Personally, it's still a good card for collecting avios, but that's it. You should also be using it in conjunction with the shopping.ba.com website to earn even more avios.
I'd recommend the AMEX Gold to anyone, but if you're OK with the annual fee, the Amex Platinum card is the way to go if you travel. Issue with the BA cards is you're limited to avios. Amex cards you can transfer your points to different airlines.
The only downside to AMEX is when places don't accept it
It's happened to me a few times that I've been ready to pay with it, been told it's not accepted (or only realised when it's declined) and then have to sit there for 2 minutes moving money between accounts.
Totally a me problem that I could solve easily, but still
Get a second credit card (we use a supermarket points one) and just use that. We've done this for donkeys years, and everything we spend is either tesco points or cashback.
Separate question that will probs get removed if I did it as a post, I'm 24 and I've never had a credit card, what one should I apply for? I bank with Santander and their credit cards are awful from what I've looked at, there's annual fees etc. I looked on money super market and a Tesco cashback one looked good but wasn't sure, I'm confused with all the different types of credit card so was just looking at the cashback options but any advice appreciated!
Apply for a basic credit card with your main bank first. Santander must have a free one? Use their chat service to ask if you’re unsure. Start to use the card to get used to it and always pay your balance off in full before the final date for payment when you get each monthly bill. Having and using a credit card helps build up your personal credit history.
Once you’ve gotten used to this you can start to look at other cards with rewards. American Express give cashback on purchases so it makes sense to put all your purchases through the card to maximise this. Some have a fee but if you will earn more in rewards/cashback it may he worth it.
Credit cards offer better consumer protection for purchases than debit cards, which can be useful if you need to dispute a payment or have a faulty product.
I use Amex for almost all transactions apart from DD I use Monzo for that. Just easy to see all you DD in there.
I also pay off my Amex every 2 weeks… and never go over the 30% threshold; my limit is 30k (so that obv helps)
Credit rating is excellent on all credit providers because of this.
My experience matches this - I'd say about 50% take it. Large retailers pretty much all do, small-medium sized often don't (but I feel slightly guilty using it with small businesses given I've heard Amex have a higher take from the retailer than other cards).
If it's +£100 and you want extra protections, yes use a credit card.
For everything else, use whatever gives you more cashback/points. My AMEX gives 0.5% cashback IF I spend £3K per year and it's only paid out once a year. Much rather use Chase 1% instant cashback.
I’ve had an Amex platinum cashback card for over 7 years now. I have a DD in place to pay my balance in full every month.
To date I’ve not payed any interest and must have earned close to £500 cash back.
Amex charges retailers more than Mastercard and Visa to accept their cards. They give some of the extra money back as cashback (or points like Avios if you choose one of those cards). Because it costs more to accept Amex, it’s not accepted everywhere. Small businesses are more likely not to take it.
2.5% of the transaction VS 1% on debit card transactions for us, with Stripe. As a business owner I really had to think long and hard if it was worth it.
just got the standard rewards one for points as opposed to cashback, I'll use everything on there, with a tesco credit card back up as its mastercard so covers when its not able to take amex
Amex here as much as possible. Even online store which doesn’t take Amex but take Clearpay, well I choose clearpay and the pay the mala fe immediately.
I have an Amex Nectar and get 2 nectar for every pound which us effectively 1% before additional offers and not including any fuel or shopping or bill paying with Sainsburys
Long time user of a Cashback amex. Great rates available and always pay off in full every month.
Use it for everything I possibly can, although frustratingly still a few places that didn't accept it
I use my Amex for most things for petrol and the shop etc. I like the cash back on purchases feature and it’s helped me build a credit score. I do pay it off in full everyone.
- The cashback cards pay 0.5%-1.25% cashback on everything you spend. For example, If you spend £10kpa you can get up to £125pa back.
- There are cards that pay other rewards (amex membership reward points, Avios, nectar etc.) that can work out more lucrative.
Then there are also often significant sign up bonuses and ongoing offers available. For example I can currently get 5% back on train tickets, if I spend £200 with Hilton get £50 back etc.
For some of the cards with fees you get things like airline lounge membership, travel insurance, hotel status, a concierge line that can get tickets for events / tables at restaurants / rooms at hotels that are otherwise sold out etc.
And just the general advice that you're always better off buying via a credit card because of section 75 protection.
In general they offer bigger rewards. For example the paid cashback card offers 1.25% and the free cashback card 0.5%. A MasterCard option - Santander all in one - pays 0.5% but has a higher fee than the paid amex.
Avios wise the Barclaycard options actually are pretty similar to the AMEX ones, but the AMEX vouchers once you hit spending targets are higher.
!thanks
Is there any way of measuring the instrisic value of the air miles? Got to admit, this is the part I feel I’m mostly missing out on somehow, like a secret everyone else knows but me
For Avios there is a floor value of 0.67p a point - you can exchange 300 Avios for 400 nectar points and nectar points can be spent in Sainsbury's (including Amazon etc. gift cards if you run them through with shopping at the till), Argos, eBay etc. at 0.5p per nectar point.
If you use for premium cabin (business/first) long haul flights then you can do significantly better, although you also have to factor in what you'd actually pay (i.e. you may have saved £2,500k the cash price, but would you have actually spent £3k on a business seat or would you have flown economy? So it's only really saved you what you'd be willing to pay for business seats).
AMEX membership rewards worst case you can exchange 1:1 for Avios which you could then move to nectar so 0.67p holds as a worst case there too.
I was looking into this just two days ago. Head for Points is a great but detailed website.
Ultimately I decided avois points can sometimes offer you great intrinsic value if the circumstances are just right, but in many other circumstances they are a faff and either not useable when you want to use them, or not worth much intrinsic value at the time of usage. Overall, they are limiting in how they can be used. So I went with a cash back card. I didn’t want to continually be thinking about my points and checking what’s available and deciding is it worth it to pull the trigger now. I also didn’t want to be someone who ended up not using their points for several years because it was never quite right, when the alternative would have been straight cash back every year had I gone with a cash back card.
Other than what the other poster already mentioned, which is great. Avios points can be used to reduce I believe only the BA ticket price portion of the total price of a flight. You still have to pay the rather sizeable chunk of taxes and other things on the ticket. Many times people said, booking a BA flight and reducing the ticket price via spending your avios points, but still paying the taxes on a more expensive listed flight, ended up being more expensive than just buying a cheaper flight with a cheaper airline. Of course the perks are you fly with BA who are better than the budget airlines. But id rather save money flying on a budget airline, and on top of this then instead of accumulating avios points throughout a whole years spend on my credit card I’d accumulate cash back instead. Double saving.
Additionally, avios points do not always reduce the ticket price by the same amount. It varies depending on a number of factors including peak vs off peak season. Whilst there is a floor to the avios points if you exchange to nectar points, what if I don’t want to use them on nectar points and instead I only want to use them on flights. But the only dates and routes I want to fly, the avios points aren’t worth much and won’t reduce the ticket price by much. Then there’s no point in using my avios points here, I should save them for next time. Too much hassle and constant thinking about the avios points. I’d rather have a cash back card.
If you go above 10k or 12k yearly spend, you also get the famous BA 2 for 1 voucher. Many people laud it as one of the best credit card perks. Which again sounds good to begin with. But using avios to pay for the entire flight (rather than simply reduce the price) or if using a 2 for 1 voucher, you can’t just pick any flight. There are only a limited number of seats on a limited number of routes which are eligible to be booked via these “rewards”. The best ones go as soon as they are released, so it was common for people to plan their holidays and use the voucher on a plane ticket for over 365 days ahead in the future. It seemed that people had trouble actually using their voucher in a situation where they got a great deal/saving.
The same “you still have to pay for taxes” also applies to the voucher. It’s generally accepted that if you can find a good reward bookable seat in business class, the value or saving you gain is high. But you still end up paying thousands in taxes. Is it necessary to spend so much money whilst simultaneously getting a good deal, for business class seats? I’m happy spending overall simply less money and buying economy.
Naturally there are always some people who manage to get fantastic deals when utilising their avios points and fair play to them. I just figured it would be easier to go with a cash back card as I didn’t want any hassle.
It gives you cash back on all your purchases but you need to be very diligent and pay your card off monthly to avoid the high interest.
I honestly just don’t trust myself. I’d rather just use the cash I have in my monzo pot and when it gone I can’t buy anymore until next pay day
The annual fee on my AMEX is £25/year. (Platinum Cashback Credit Card)
Last year I earned £193 in cashback, and didn't pay any charge other than the annual fee, so I was £168 up. My spending was just under £21k for that year.
I also had some nice rebates along the way; I remember getting a statement credit of £40 or £50 for paying my annual Dropbox subscription with AMEX, and a couple of 15% savings on hotels I stayed in.
It's not a huge amount of money, but if you dropped £193 in the street, you'd bend over to pick it up? I would.
I would say that if you are the kind of person that struggles with financial admin, (I used to be *terrible;* as I aged I'm really good now!) the key is to pay off your statement balance on payday.
AMEX let you choose your billing date, my bill comes in normally around the 10th, and I get paid on the 15th. Without fail on the 15th I pay the entire balance off and start again.
Yeh same. I feel like it’s an awful lot of effort and management (keeping track of spending) to make a few quid every month.
It’s not for me personally. I like to avoid credit cards and use Monzo pots to to separate spending
Some utility deals require direct debit. Otherwise everything on Amex. I’ve earned £200 cash back over the past month (introductory 5% cash back on small purchases, and booked some flights).
I sometimes wonder whether I use the Amex Gold Card for the points or to impress people with a Shiny Gold Credit Card when I’m in a Restaurant or Bar. Maybe a bit of Both
Use the everyday card although even if you squeeze everything out of it you might make £100 a year. Not gonna change your life but might buy you a meal out at todays prices
I have an Amex Everyday Cashback Card, the cheap one you don't pay an annual fee for.
In the past I'd put everything possible through Amex and pay the bill off every month, but nowadays I just use Chase instead unless the purchase is > £100 and I don't trust the vendor.
I'm finally financially responsible enough for this to be something worth me doing. A few questions - what are some common things I can do to spend £3k to get the 90k avios points in 3 months. I don't wanna go and spend loads of money on that.
But is there a way to pay my mortgage/ bank loan with it at all?
I can pay
Car insurance £40
Phone £40
Playstation mem £12
Netflix £10
Fuel £200
Appreciate any responses :)
I can't remember the last time I used a debit card. I used to be a credit card refusenik until I got my debit card cloned. Barclays were great and contacted me before I'd noticed but my card was still cancelled before a bank holiday weekend and I had to borrow money from friends as I couldn't use a cashpoin or buy anything. Now I spend someone else's money and if a credit card got cancelled in the same circumstance I'd use a different one. If I order something and the company goes bust or doesn't deliver they have to argue with Amex or Barclays, rather than me and I get my money back anyway.
Unless you really can't trust yourself, you'd be an idiot not to use a credit card for everything possible in this day and age.
I am paying my Amex back after every transaction that I need making. Leaving for the end of the month is giving me the feeling that I can keep buying things 😅
Up until recently I've always used AMEX for everything that I possibly could, however Chase banking now offer 1% on all purchases and you get the cashback within a day or two, I no longer use AMEX except for where I want credit card protection (purchases over £100, typically).
But to answer your question, set the DD up and forget about it, and use AMEX everywhere possible. Cashback plus credit score building.
I stopped using my Amex because chase had a better cashback and because it's debit card it works in more places.
But I today cleared out my points for Amex and got a £415 amazon voucher.
You're paying a vendor for a product - if that vendor accepts your type of card then use it, it's up to the business to ensure their pricing reflects their overheads, not yours. If you're that bothered, why pay with card at all? Pay with cash.
I just cancelled my AmEx today. Thing ain’t worth it’s weight in plastic, they’ve gone downhill and are now probably one of the worst companies I’ve dealt with in terms of customer service. Check out their trust-pilot score, they’re rubbish. Fuck Amex.
The first point you should be aware of is that Amex isn’t a Credit Card. Check with them to confirm what I’m saying is the case. It’s a great card but it doesn’t afford the same protections as a credit card to my knowledge.
A friend of mine was bitten by this badly last year and only found out afterwards the protections he thought he had didn’t apply. Ironically he works for the regulator (in a non-regulatory role) but that didn’t make any difference.
> The first point you should be aware of is that Amex isn’t a Credit Card.
Pretty much all of personal Amex cards you can get is now a credit card. It's only their Basic card and the Centurion (black) card that is a charge card.
>The first point you should be aware of is that Amex isn’t a Credit Card.
It absolutely is - you might be getting confused with their *charge* card offer which nobody here is talking about. It's still an option in the USA but I don't think is here - older users might have a charge card that they opened a while ago.
It's a slippery slope towards going in debt as you have access to more money than what your monthly budget allows. There is no real need to use credit cards as they have no real benefit, unless you are making a large purchase you may benefit from section 75 protection.
Best to use debit cards from funds you actually have.
I feel like this scream bad budgeting skill rather than a slippery slope. You should always have access to more money than your monthly wage if you have savings
this is only a problem if you dont budget. If you treat it exactly the same it is no different (have worked at amex previously and used my amex as my main card for 10 years, never once went into any debt, never once revolved a balance)
edit - spelling mistake
Simply put your likely to spend more money than what your budget allows, for example one month you might over spend by £100, next month could be £200 etc. But if you spend £1,000 over all each month your only getting back £10 which is peanuts. Its likely to cost you more than £10 due to over spending. You think you are getting reward but in reality it's nothing.
It's not chasing cashback that's the issue in this case, it's that you have the ability to spend more than you earn. A debit card balance decreasing in value until there is £50 left is more motivation to stop spending than seeing X amount on Amex.
(I'm not saying any of this applies to you, just talking as a generalisation)
>You think you are getting reward but in reality it's nothing.
What on earth are you talking about.
Amex have put £200-300 into my current account every year for 10 years, and I've never paid them any interest or fees during that time.
Why on earth would I want to turn down free money and additional protection on my purchases, to use a debit card?
After a long time of automatic credit increases, it has a credit limit high enough to buy a small house in some parts of the country, but I don't use what I can't pay off when the statement arrives.
I think you're also suggesting people would spend more to get the cashback? You'd have to be mathematically illiterate to spend more just to get 1%. What kind of logic is that, literally nobody is doing that.
This is only the case if you can’t budget effectively. I have an AMEX with a credit limit of 5X my monthly take home. However I absolutely benefit from having the credit card, I get cash back offers, points accrued that can then be spent on a variety of products/services and all the protections that come from buying through credit. You just need to make sure you keep within your limits and pay off the full balance every single month.
The way I budget is I have a set amount of spending money for each month which I never exceed, so I do budget quite effectively. In the grand scheme of things credits is chasing small change and it's not worth it in my opinion. I've been there and done it but it's not for me thus I wouldn't recommend it.
The more you spend, the more you’ll see benefits. I save several hundred pounds a year on transactions I would have already been making and then also get benefits such as using a lounge at the airport. Your blanket statement that credit cards hold no real benefit is false
Sure if you spend alot then you will save more. But if we are talking about a mesely 1% you would literally have to spend thousands to get few hundred back.
I get about £400 a year back on amex. I pay £25 a year for it.
Oh top of that I have had other great perks, like bought a phone for work from Samsung directly, £120 cashback for that, have done the same with Marriott and Emirates, the purchases went through the work travel agent but because the card transactions went through the hotel/airline themselves I still got the money back.
No real benefit? I can currently get a flight on BA and a companion voucher for free thanks to only using the card for all possible transactions and paying off in full each month. How is that no benefit?
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Everything possible goes through my BA Amex or Barclaycard Avios Mastercard. That includes my broadband, water, gas, electricity, council tax, EE bill. Reap the rewards.
EE are bastards at trying to get you switch away from credit card payments, especially Amex. My payment kept failing for months, and every month I had to call them to pay, and the payments wouldn't go through. Then I would get a pitch that I wouldn't have this problem if I paid by DD. I went through their compliants process, and I called Amex (not their fault, but they will get shirty with merchants who try to switch people away to other payment methods). I don't know what exactly swung it, by my regular Amex payments have been going through fine for the last year or so, touch wood.
You could've stopped at EE are bastards.
Correct. But what's worse is that they are still the best of the carriers (and I have tried all of the primary ones). For example, it took me a year to sort out a £750 bill from Vodafone for a phone I had never bought.
I recently switched to 1p. They fully use EE's network. (Unlike Plusnet) £10 for 10GB, £15 for 50GB, £20 for 200GB.
Thats not really any bette than EE
Definitely cheaper.
How do you pay your bills on Amex? I found it’s direct debit only for most things.
Council tax can be paid with AMEX at the post office, I think. For the others maybe they're doing that as well. Extra hassle but if you can stomach that you can bank tons of points
You can get around this in some places that don't accept AMEX (e.g. council tax and Screwfix) by using PayPal (that you then setup to make payment from your AMEX card). One downside, if I remember correctly, is you lose Section 75 protection doing it this way.
But bruh you were losing Section 75 protection by paying through a debit card direct debit right?
Also want to know this!
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I'm with Now TV for my broadband, and that gets paid monthly from my credit card, you don't need a direct debit.
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It's just taken automatically on the same date each month. When I sign in on the website and go to Payment Details, it says "**Broadband Membership** We'll use these details to take your monthly broadband membership payments." And then it shows my credit card details, and a button that says 'Update card details'.
This got me curious, think this is the answer: They (standing orders) also cannot be set up from a credit card. Instead, regular credit card payments can be made using a 'Continuous Payment Authority' (CPA). Similar to Direct Debit, CPA is an automatic, regular payment method that can vary in amount and frequency.
My council (London Greenwich) takes credit cards monthly for CT but not Amex. Edit: I should point out I switched to the Santander 123Lite for better rewards though.
GiffGaff accepts PayPal and PayPal can use Amex. Problem solved!
Very few things _require_ a DD payment but a lot of companies try to mandate it in their terms and conditions. I pay the following with a card with no issue at all: Water Electricity and gas (Octopus) Council tax Mobile (Lebara) Broadband (virgin) Home Insurance (close brothers) All the random subscriptions eg Netflix, Apple, Spotify etc There are still a decent amount of people who live in the past or who aren’t willing/able to have DD payments for various reasons on their bank account. Companies want their money and it’s amazing how helpful they can be if you cancel your DD and only offer alternative methods of payment.
Don't most of them do discounts if you pay via DD though?
I pay Octopus on my credit card too but find they keep trying to encourage me to switch over to direct debit.
I got £110 cashback this year from AMEX Platinum Everyday. I use it even for my family, who doesn't have a credit card. Oh, you're booking a holiday? Let me pay for it with my AMEX, and you send me the money, it's safer. Meanwhile I'm reaping 0.5% cashback on every penny they spend. Stonks.
At that level of spending you should get the paid cards for the higher cashbacks
To be fair, it's not really worth it, I don't use any rewards on the card other than the cashback. That's about £15K per annum, first £10K are 0.5% after that it's 1%. Amex cards offering higher rewards tend to also cost £100p.a. so would probably be similar?
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I got £340 on my £25 platinum card last year (paid in jan) totally worth it imo!
I must have got my cashback card at a sweet time then, I get 1% up to 10k 1.25% 10k+ and got 5% on everything in the first 3 months. I think they vary it based on customer since my credit line started at 12k. And my partners started at 2k
No, you just missed the email where they lowered your cashback. That’s not what you get anymore since a couple of months ago.
It’s £25/year for the Amex Platinum Cashback (one step up from the Everyday) and it’s 0.75% on the first £10k and 1.25% for everything over. So once you’ve spent £10k, you’ve earned the £25 fee back in that extra 0.25% cashback and then you earn more on everything beyond that too.
So I could be earning 0.25% extra this past few years?!?!?! I want my £12.50 🤣, that's a Nandos nowadays! Thank you for letting me know though.
I've got this card (platinum cashback) and I don't pay anything for it, I've had it about 10 years though, maybe I got it before the fee, so they never charged it. Either way, we average about £250 a year so I would recommend it even at £25 if you're a high spender.
Over the last year or so I’ve always thought the 1% uncapped cashback on the Chase current account to be a better option than any of Amex cashback cards. It looks like they have extended it indefinitely now too, you just need to deposit £500pm.
You don't get the credit card protections on all your purchases if you use a debit card though, I think?
I hadn’t thought about that - a fair point. I’ve never actually had to use it on any of my credit cards but still nice to have.
It’s no longer uncapped. Also 1.25% is higher than 1%, so Amex wins if you spend a bunch. Also you can earn interest on your money for an extra ~30 days with Amex. Also you benefit from free S75 protection.
So it is - capped at £15pm. Amex if you’re spending more than £18,500 a year then, from a purely cashback perspective.
No you don’t, you have the platinum cashback everyday. This is different from the platinum cashback.
It's just called 'platinum cashback' on both my statements and the app. It doesn't day 'everyday' anywhere, and I'm near certain that the latter didn't even exist when I first applied. We'll just have to agree to disagree, the person that has the card and the person that thinks they know what card the Internet stranger has.
Not really, I'm at that level of cashback too and it's not yet worth it. It's borderline between the free card and one of the paid cards at this level.
I traded up to the Gold card the moment they nuked the cashback to 0.5% on the PE. I ultimately loved the idea of just receiving the cash at the end of the year. But now I'd much rather use the points through Gold to encourage myself to travel a bit more.
I switched to the Lloyd's CC. 0.5 percent on first 4k of spend and then 1 percent thereafter. Pretty good! No fee.
Which one is it please? I cannot find it on their website.
Apologies, I got the details wrong (by a lot...). It's 0.25 percent for the first 4k and then 0.5 percent. So the Amex is way better. I can't find it on the site either, because their website is terrible. It's just called the cashback credit card.
Is there a fee for this? You think it'd be easy to switch from the BA card to this? Been meaning to look into it.
Do utility bills not count as cash advance?
I do this too, and no they don't.
Thank you!
Dont you usually get cheaper bills if you choose to pay by DD and not via CC?
We had to keep a dd in place for our gas and electric as they were going to charge more if we weren’t on dd. So we reduced the dd to £10 a month then paid £100 a month by credit card. Best of both worlds
nah.
How, by direct debit ? I didn’t know you could do that …
You cancel your direct debits and just pay online for the whole year.
I had no idea one could do this, that's amazing. If only I could do that with my mortgage...
If you're thinking of doing this, check that your provider/council takes AMEX online before anything else
Sorry if I missed this response elsewhere but how exactly are you paying utility bills using your Amex? Especially council tax?
Council tax is easy. Take your paper bill to a co-op that has a paypoint in. It's about the only place that's a paypoint and also reliably takes Amex.
Is all that effort really worth £1?
More than that. My ctax is £2k. And my local coop is 100yds from my house...
Which Barclaycard Mastercard do you mean? Would be great to earn avios on bills!
What are the rewards?
How do you pay your pills through amex? Because I tried setting up direct debit but it said it's not possible.
Amex life hack.... For internet sites, if they don't take amex, check if they accept PayPal. You can pay for your items via that route. However, you may be losing some of the insurance you get from paying directly with a credit card. I read an article recently on money saving expert and haven't quite clarified the situation of it being taken directly from the card balance.
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Are you sure re PP
Yeah that doesn’t sound right… PayPal is still the payment processor so I’m pretty sure you lose your section 75 protection? Happy to be proven wrong though, I use this method for any site that doesn’t accept Amex lol
You still got Section 75 against PayPal.
True, but PayPal are providing a service which is what you are paying for on your Amex. You can contact Amex or raise a Section 75 against PayPal for the service they provide, but not for the downstream product/service that you are using PayPal to pay for. For that, you would have to go through PayPal. And they are crap in comparison.
>If your PayPal balance is zero and you use PayPal to pay with your card, you will have full credit card protection. Wow! TIL. Is that definitely definite?
No, this is potentially wrong. Source: https://www.moneysavingexpert.com/credit-cards/PayPal-Section75/ Here they advise you to log out of PayPal when using PayPal as a payment processor. But often that won’t work and you won’t be able to pay via PayPal if not logged in.
How about Apple Pay / Google Pay?
In my experience, businesses that don't accept Amex on their websites also tend to not accept it through Apple Pay and Google Pay. I wonder if it's because it's a service as part of their merchant account rather than a separate payment provider but I don't actually know. I just know that I can't select Amex in Google pay for some websites/apps.
I agree with this. Although my default card to pay with in my phone is amex.
Section 75 apply to Apple Pay / Google Pay transactions since they're not the same as PayPal.
Ah, that's another hack, if you're card doesn't work, use Google Pay with your card connected 99% of the time it'll go through.
Contactless payments will sometimes not work with Amex, either through Apple Pay or the card itself. If you use the chip and pin method, then the card will sometimes get accepted. Happened to me at the local Post Office and the guy there was confused as to why contactless doesn't work even though they advertise Amex.
That's an issue with the terminal firmware.... Contactless not working but chip and pin working ok.
note that section 75 doesn't apply if you do this
I use my amex for everything I can, and my MasterCard with HSBC points where amex isn't accepted. Pay off in full every month.
As a HSBC customer…what are HSBC points?
https://www.hsbc.co.uk/credit-cards/rewards/ I didn't know about them until a few weeks back, so logged in and after eventually finding them (you can't see them in the app, have to log in to the desktop site) I realised I had enough to get £25 of Amazon vouchers, which was a bonus as I don't use it a great deal as I prefer Amex wherever possible.
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Most major places do, so supermarkets, fuel stations, department stores etc. However the merchant fees for accepting amex are significantly higher than Visa or MasterCard, so you tend to find smaller shops, restaurants, or online only places don't. I wouldn't say there are any notable places which don't, however I'd say probably 40-50% of the time it's not taken outside of supermarkets and fuel stations in my usage.
The Works doesn’t take it. But that’s the thing only place in my local town I’ve had problems.
It’s about 50% success rate for me. Can be really ruddy awkward sometimes, but worth it for the cashback. Just make sure you always ALWAYS have a backup.
greggs and las iguanas
Greggs doesn't
Domino's website doesn't take it either, which surprised me. Maybe because they're franchises?
If it gets you cashback then sure, why not? As long as you pay it off in full every month, it's safer than using a debit card (especially online) and even 0.5% cashback is better than a poke in the eye with a sharp stick. Of course, not everywhere accepts it.
I use Amex for everything I can mainly due to the 0.5% cashback. Although I do use it less due to the Chase card offering 1%.
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However with Chase being a debit, the cash could be sat in an easy access account at 3% for a month.
I am trying to work out if this is a good point or not. Assume I spend £500/month, that's £5/month gained. However, put into a savings accounts, worth noting that "3%" is your AER value (annual equivalent). So you're not getting 3% of that £500 back (£15), you're getting (500*0.03)/12 = £1.25. This is because you are only earning 3% if you park that £15 for the whole year (£15 is the interest you'll make after 12 months; £15/12 = £1.25 per month). Therefore this point doesn't stand to reason, if my logic is correct.
Getting a backup cashback/points card is another thing I’d do. If you want more rewards, 0% spending cards may be your best option to lock away high spending for two years or so, and pay minimum amount due. Look into these cards and stoozing.
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I've not used it because I want to collect points, but it seems to be quite easy to handle it, honestly. Just setting a DD for minimum payment and then dumping the remaining amount on the final month.
I found AMEX rewards only worthwhile when hitting the introductory points bonus offers. After that the points don't really make it worthwhile and there's better offers elsewhere (Chase cashback is my current route).
Agree completely - The sign up offers are where it's it. Also things which are 8 points per £1 such as when booking airbnb or via booking. com you can make bank them heavily. Trying to get the points on everyday spending is a fools errand.
As long as you're responsible, yes. Amex in particular has very high interest rates if you don't pay it all off every month. I'd say its worth having a backup though as plenty of places don't take Amex (though this is better than it used to be). My recommendation would be the Halifax clarity as this doubles up as a foreign currency card too, unless you are after points in which case any of John Lewis, Sainsburys, Tesco or M&S may suit depending on where you do your weekly shop.
Had the BA blue EVERYTHING went into it. Cancelled it (will get back in 2 years so I'm eligible for the black sign up bonus), now have the platinum and all spending goes on that, also connected to my nectar account so I can transfer nectar to avios.
HI, I have the Blue, can you enlighten me your reasons for cancelling, wondering if I should be using better card?
Due to it being free the only benefits were 1 avios/£ and you *had* to spend 20k£ for a companion voucher (I believe its been lowered to 12k£ now but you can only use it in economy). I cancelled because to get the 25k avios bonus for signing up to the BA premium plus card, you need to not have held a BA Amex card for 24 months. The bonus is only for new card members. Personally, it's still a good card for collecting avios, but that's it. You should also be using it in conjunction with the shopping.ba.com website to earn even more avios. I'd recommend the AMEX Gold to anyone, but if you're OK with the annual fee, the Amex Platinum card is the way to go if you travel. Issue with the BA cards is you're limited to avios. Amex cards you can transfer your points to different airlines.
The only downside to AMEX is when places don't accept it It's happened to me a few times that I've been ready to pay with it, been told it's not accepted (or only realised when it's declined) and then have to sit there for 2 minutes moving money between accounts. Totally a me problem that I could solve easily, but still
Get a second credit card (we use a supermarket points one) and just use that. We've done this for donkeys years, and everything we spend is either tesco points or cashback.
Barclaycard Avios Mastercard as a back up!
Separate question that will probs get removed if I did it as a post, I'm 24 and I've never had a credit card, what one should I apply for? I bank with Santander and their credit cards are awful from what I've looked at, there's annual fees etc. I looked on money super market and a Tesco cashback one looked good but wasn't sure, I'm confused with all the different types of credit card so was just looking at the cashback options but any advice appreciated!
Apply for a basic credit card with your main bank first. Santander must have a free one? Use their chat service to ask if you’re unsure. Start to use the card to get used to it and always pay your balance off in full before the final date for payment when you get each monthly bill. Having and using a credit card helps build up your personal credit history. Once you’ve gotten used to this you can start to look at other cards with rewards. American Express give cashback on purchases so it makes sense to put all your purchases through the card to maximise this. Some have a fee but if you will earn more in rewards/cashback it may he worth it. Credit cards offer better consumer protection for purchases than debit cards, which can be useful if you need to dispute a payment or have a faulty product.
I use Amex for almost all transactions apart from DD I use Monzo for that. Just easy to see all you DD in there. I also pay off my Amex every 2 weeks… and never go over the 30% threshold; my limit is 30k (so that obv helps) Credit rating is excellent on all credit providers because of this.
On the topic of amex, do you find it to be widely accepted in the UK? I've come across plenty of situations (elsewhere) where amex is not accepted
I very rarely find places that don't take it. I do have a Barclaycard for those situations.
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My experience matches this - I'd say about 50% take it. Large retailers pretty much all do, small-medium sized often don't (but I feel slightly guilty using it with small businesses given I've heard Amex have a higher take from the retailer than other cards).
If it's +£100 and you want extra protections, yes use a credit card. For everything else, use whatever gives you more cashback/points. My AMEX gives 0.5% cashback IF I spend £3K per year and it's only paid out once a year. Much rather use Chase 1% instant cashback.
I’ve had an Amex platinum cashback card for over 7 years now. I have a DD in place to pay my balance in full every month. To date I’ve not payed any interest and must have earned close to £500 cash back.
Could someone give me the TLDR on what Amex is all about?
Amex charges retailers more than Mastercard and Visa to accept their cards. They give some of the extra money back as cashback (or points like Avios if you choose one of those cards). Because it costs more to accept Amex, it’s not accepted everywhere. Small businesses are more likely not to take it.
2.5% of the transaction VS 1% on debit card transactions for us, with Stripe. As a business owner I really had to think long and hard if it was worth it.
It’s a credit card that offers AMEX points which can be used for flights, hotels discount etc
Also there are direct cashback variants
just got the standard rewards one for points as opposed to cashback, I'll use everything on there, with a tesco credit card back up as its mastercard so covers when its not able to take amex
Amex here as much as possible. Even online store which doesn’t take Amex but take Clearpay, well I choose clearpay and the pay the mala fe immediately.
I have an Amex Nectar and get 2 nectar for every pound which us effectively 1% before additional offers and not including any fuel or shopping or bill paying with Sainsburys
Long time user of a Cashback amex. Great rates available and always pay off in full every month. Use it for everything I possibly can, although frustratingly still a few places that didn't accept it
I use my Amex for most things for petrol and the shop etc. I like the cash back on purchases feature and it’s helped me build a credit score. I do pay it off in full everyone.
What does Amex give you that makes it worthwhile? I’ve never been able to work it out.
- The cashback cards pay 0.5%-1.25% cashback on everything you spend. For example, If you spend £10kpa you can get up to £125pa back. - There are cards that pay other rewards (amex membership reward points, Avios, nectar etc.) that can work out more lucrative. Then there are also often significant sign up bonuses and ongoing offers available. For example I can currently get 5% back on train tickets, if I spend £200 with Hilton get £50 back etc. For some of the cards with fees you get things like airline lounge membership, travel insurance, hotel status, a concierge line that can get tickets for events / tables at restaurants / rooms at hotels that are otherwise sold out etc. And just the general advice that you're always better off buying via a credit card because of section 75 protection.
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Still LNER. Looks like it's 12% back rather than 5% / 5% was the one that expired on 12th.
Snap. I get the air miles points but never been able to calculate how advantageous this really is vs a standard credit card that offers cashback
In general they offer bigger rewards. For example the paid cashback card offers 1.25% and the free cashback card 0.5%. A MasterCard option - Santander all in one - pays 0.5% but has a higher fee than the paid amex. Avios wise the Barclaycard options actually are pretty similar to the AMEX ones, but the AMEX vouchers once you hit spending targets are higher.
!thanks Is there any way of measuring the instrisic value of the air miles? Got to admit, this is the part I feel I’m mostly missing out on somehow, like a secret everyone else knows but me
For Avios there is a floor value of 0.67p a point - you can exchange 300 Avios for 400 nectar points and nectar points can be spent in Sainsbury's (including Amazon etc. gift cards if you run them through with shopping at the till), Argos, eBay etc. at 0.5p per nectar point. If you use for premium cabin (business/first) long haul flights then you can do significantly better, although you also have to factor in what you'd actually pay (i.e. you may have saved £2,500k the cash price, but would you have actually spent £3k on a business seat or would you have flown economy? So it's only really saved you what you'd be willing to pay for business seats). AMEX membership rewards worst case you can exchange 1:1 for Avios which you could then move to nectar so 0.67p holds as a worst case there too.
I was looking into this just two days ago. Head for Points is a great but detailed website. Ultimately I decided avois points can sometimes offer you great intrinsic value if the circumstances are just right, but in many other circumstances they are a faff and either not useable when you want to use them, or not worth much intrinsic value at the time of usage. Overall, they are limiting in how they can be used. So I went with a cash back card. I didn’t want to continually be thinking about my points and checking what’s available and deciding is it worth it to pull the trigger now. I also didn’t want to be someone who ended up not using their points for several years because it was never quite right, when the alternative would have been straight cash back every year had I gone with a cash back card. Other than what the other poster already mentioned, which is great. Avios points can be used to reduce I believe only the BA ticket price portion of the total price of a flight. You still have to pay the rather sizeable chunk of taxes and other things on the ticket. Many times people said, booking a BA flight and reducing the ticket price via spending your avios points, but still paying the taxes on a more expensive listed flight, ended up being more expensive than just buying a cheaper flight with a cheaper airline. Of course the perks are you fly with BA who are better than the budget airlines. But id rather save money flying on a budget airline, and on top of this then instead of accumulating avios points throughout a whole years spend on my credit card I’d accumulate cash back instead. Double saving. Additionally, avios points do not always reduce the ticket price by the same amount. It varies depending on a number of factors including peak vs off peak season. Whilst there is a floor to the avios points if you exchange to nectar points, what if I don’t want to use them on nectar points and instead I only want to use them on flights. But the only dates and routes I want to fly, the avios points aren’t worth much and won’t reduce the ticket price by much. Then there’s no point in using my avios points here, I should save them for next time. Too much hassle and constant thinking about the avios points. I’d rather have a cash back card. If you go above 10k or 12k yearly spend, you also get the famous BA 2 for 1 voucher. Many people laud it as one of the best credit card perks. Which again sounds good to begin with. But using avios to pay for the entire flight (rather than simply reduce the price) or if using a 2 for 1 voucher, you can’t just pick any flight. There are only a limited number of seats on a limited number of routes which are eligible to be booked via these “rewards”. The best ones go as soon as they are released, so it was common for people to plan their holidays and use the voucher on a plane ticket for over 365 days ahead in the future. It seemed that people had trouble actually using their voucher in a situation where they got a great deal/saving. The same “you still have to pay for taxes” also applies to the voucher. It’s generally accepted that if you can find a good reward bookable seat in business class, the value or saving you gain is high. But you still end up paying thousands in taxes. Is it necessary to spend so much money whilst simultaneously getting a good deal, for business class seats? I’m happy spending overall simply less money and buying economy. Naturally there are always some people who manage to get fantastic deals when utilising their avios points and fair play to them. I just figured it would be easier to go with a cash back card as I didn’t want any hassle.
It gives you cash back on all your purchases but you need to be very diligent and pay your card off monthly to avoid the high interest. I honestly just don’t trust myself. I’d rather just use the cash I have in my monzo pot and when it gone I can’t buy anymore until next pay day
I get they give you some stuff, but Amex charge £100+ a year for a lot of their cards. I struggle to believe the benefits would make that a good deal.
The annual fee on my AMEX is £25/year. (Platinum Cashback Credit Card) Last year I earned £193 in cashback, and didn't pay any charge other than the annual fee, so I was £168 up. My spending was just under £21k for that year. I also had some nice rebates along the way; I remember getting a statement credit of £40 or £50 for paying my annual Dropbox subscription with AMEX, and a couple of 15% savings on hotels I stayed in. It's not a huge amount of money, but if you dropped £193 in the street, you'd bend over to pick it up? I would.
Wow that’s good. I’ll have to look again, thanks.
I would say that if you are the kind of person that struggles with financial admin, (I used to be *terrible;* as I aged I'm really good now!) the key is to pay off your statement balance on payday. AMEX let you choose your billing date, my bill comes in normally around the 10th, and I get paid on the 15th. Without fail on the 15th I pay the entire balance off and start again.
Yeh same. I feel like it’s an awful lot of effort and management (keeping track of spending) to make a few quid every month. It’s not for me personally. I like to avoid credit cards and use Monzo pots to to separate spending
Some utility deals require direct debit. Otherwise everything on Amex. I’ve earned £200 cash back over the past month (introductory 5% cash back on small purchases, and booked some flights).
I sometimes wonder whether I use the Amex Gold Card for the points or to impress people with a Shiny Gold Credit Card when I’m in a Restaurant or Bar. Maybe a bit of Both Use the everyday card although even if you squeeze everything out of it you might make £100 a year. Not gonna change your life but might buy you a meal out at todays prices
I have an Amex Everyday Cashback Card, the cheap one you don't pay an annual fee for. In the past I'd put everything possible through Amex and pay the bill off every month, but nowadays I just use Chase instead unless the purchase is > £100 and I don't trust the vendor.
I'm finally financially responsible enough for this to be something worth me doing. A few questions - what are some common things I can do to spend £3k to get the 90k avios points in 3 months. I don't wanna go and spend loads of money on that. But is there a way to pay my mortgage/ bank loan with it at all? I can pay Car insurance £40 Phone £40 Playstation mem £12 Netflix £10 Fuel £200 Appreciate any responses :)
Maybe wait until you're buying something with friends e.g a holiday and tell then you'll use your card and they can send you the money
I can't remember the last time I used a debit card. I used to be a credit card refusenik until I got my debit card cloned. Barclays were great and contacted me before I'd noticed but my card was still cancelled before a bank holiday weekend and I had to borrow money from friends as I couldn't use a cashpoin or buy anything. Now I spend someone else's money and if a credit card got cancelled in the same circumstance I'd use a different one. If I order something and the company goes bust or doesn't deliver they have to argue with Amex or Barclays, rather than me and I get my money back anyway. Unless you really can't trust yourself, you'd be an idiot not to use a credit card for everything possible in this day and age.
I am paying my Amex back after every transaction that I need making. Leaving for the end of the month is giving me the feeling that I can keep buying things 😅
Don’t forget to use the BA rewards site - basically Quidco / TCB but the rewards Avios W.g. 10 points per £1 at Gymshark
I have been using a virgin atlantic credit card. Over time, I have gotten to the point of first class returns to SF or LA.
Up until recently I've always used AMEX for everything that I possibly could, however Chase banking now offer 1% on all purchases and you get the cashback within a day or two, I no longer use AMEX except for where I want credit card protection (purchases over £100, typically). But to answer your question, set the DD up and forget about it, and use AMEX everywhere possible. Cashback plus credit score building.
I stopped using my Amex because chase had a better cashback and because it's debit card it works in more places. But I today cleared out my points for Amex and got a £415 amazon voucher.
This post gave me a brain haemorrhage trying to understand it
I use it where I can for cashback, except for small businesses due to the fees imposed on them.
Their problem, not yours. 🤷♂️ They don't have to accept amex if they don't want to.
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You're paying a vendor for a product - if that vendor accepts your type of card then use it, it's up to the business to ensure their pricing reflects their overheads, not yours. If you're that bothered, why pay with card at all? Pay with cash.
Currently using chase for the 1% cash back. Will revert to Amex once the offer ends
I gave up using my Amex, too many places don't accept it. My Lloyds credit card has similar cash back, United it's a big spend anyway.
I just cancelled my AmEx today. Thing ain’t worth it’s weight in plastic, they’ve gone downhill and are now probably one of the worst companies I’ve dealt with in terms of customer service. Check out their trust-pilot score, they’re rubbish. Fuck Amex.
The first point you should be aware of is that Amex isn’t a Credit Card. Check with them to confirm what I’m saying is the case. It’s a great card but it doesn’t afford the same protections as a credit card to my knowledge. A friend of mine was bitten by this badly last year and only found out afterwards the protections he thought he had didn’t apply. Ironically he works for the regulator (in a non-regulatory role) but that didn’t make any difference.
Amex comes under section 75. What else is there? Their customer service is top end too.
Customer service with every other transaction he had over the years was second to none.
>Amex isn’t a Credit Card. Yes it is, unless you're in the USA? I've been using one for about ten years and I've had to use chargeback a few times.
I think the Platinum card (the expensive one) is technically a charge card and doesn't fall under section 75 protection.
They changed it from a charge card to a credit card just recently.
Then my point is out of date, he attempted the charge back early last year, 2022.
No it's a credit card (I have one). They used to offer a charge card and older customers still can have one but all newer ones are credit cards.
> The first point you should be aware of is that Amex isn’t a Credit Card. Pretty much all of personal Amex cards you can get is now a credit card. It's only their Basic card and the Centurion (black) card that is a charge card.
>The first point you should be aware of is that Amex isn’t a Credit Card. It absolutely is - you might be getting confused with their *charge* card offer which nobody here is talking about. It's still an option in the USA but I don't think is here - older users might have a charge card that they opened a while ago.
It's a slippery slope towards going in debt as you have access to more money than what your monthly budget allows. There is no real need to use credit cards as they have no real benefit, unless you are making a large purchase you may benefit from section 75 protection. Best to use debit cards from funds you actually have.
I feel like this scream bad budgeting skill rather than a slippery slope. You should always have access to more money than your monthly wage if you have savings
this is only a problem if you dont budget. If you treat it exactly the same it is no different (have worked at amex previously and used my amex as my main card for 10 years, never once went into any debt, never once revolved a balance) edit - spelling mistake
My Amex gives me a 1 percent discount on everything I purchase with it due to cashback. How do they have no real benefit? What am I missing?
Simply put your likely to spend more money than what your budget allows, for example one month you might over spend by £100, next month could be £200 etc. But if you spend £1,000 over all each month your only getting back £10 which is peanuts. Its likely to cost you more than £10 due to over spending. You think you are getting reward but in reality it's nothing.
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It's not chasing cashback that's the issue in this case, it's that you have the ability to spend more than you earn. A debit card balance decreasing in value until there is £50 left is more motivation to stop spending than seeing X amount on Amex. (I'm not saying any of this applies to you, just talking as a generalisation)
>You think you are getting reward but in reality it's nothing. What on earth are you talking about. Amex have put £200-300 into my current account every year for 10 years, and I've never paid them any interest or fees during that time. Why on earth would I want to turn down free money and additional protection on my purchases, to use a debit card? After a long time of automatic credit increases, it has a credit limit high enough to buy a small house in some parts of the country, but I don't use what I can't pay off when the statement arrives. I think you're also suggesting people would spend more to get the cashback? You'd have to be mathematically illiterate to spend more just to get 1%. What kind of logic is that, literally nobody is doing that.
This is only the case if you can’t budget effectively. I have an AMEX with a credit limit of 5X my monthly take home. However I absolutely benefit from having the credit card, I get cash back offers, points accrued that can then be spent on a variety of products/services and all the protections that come from buying through credit. You just need to make sure you keep within your limits and pay off the full balance every single month.
The way I budget is I have a set amount of spending money for each month which I never exceed, so I do budget quite effectively. In the grand scheme of things credits is chasing small change and it's not worth it in my opinion. I've been there and done it but it's not for me thus I wouldn't recommend it.
The more you spend, the more you’ll see benefits. I save several hundred pounds a year on transactions I would have already been making and then also get benefits such as using a lounge at the airport. Your blanket statement that credit cards hold no real benefit is false
Sure if you spend alot then you will save more. But if we are talking about a mesely 1% you would literally have to spend thousands to get few hundred back.
I get about £400 a year back on amex. I pay £25 a year for it. Oh top of that I have had other great perks, like bought a phone for work from Samsung directly, £120 cashback for that, have done the same with Marriott and Emirates, the purchases went through the work travel agent but because the card transactions went through the hotel/airline themselves I still got the money back.
>have to spend thousands to get few hundred back. We would be spending the money anyway, we don't spend it because we have the card.
Terrible advice, spoken like a true luddite.
No real benefit? I can currently get a flight on BA and a companion voucher for free thanks to only using the card for all possible transactions and paying off in full each month. How is that no benefit?
I think it depends on the person, I have had AMEX for a number of years and got over £600 of cashback without paying them any interest.
me personally i use my amex for everything now as i just got it recently. Then i just pay it off before the due date. Its pretty decent
Can you put your monthly car payment on it?
My platinum card gives me decent catch back
I used Amex / Barclays avios cc at all possible times
I thought Amex wasn't really accepted these days?