How to Get the Best From American Express

 

American Express

American Express are a card provider. The two biggest card providers in the United Kingdom are VISA and Mastercard. Almost all UK debit cards are VISA and a majority of UK credit cards are Mastercard. VISA and Mastercard are accepted almost everywhere as a result. American Express is the third largest card provider, and contrary to their advertising, does not enjoy the same acceptance as the other two. However, there are advantages in having one and I will use this article to provide a guide to the benefits of using an American Express card.

The current American Express reward cards:

• American Express Platinum

• American Express Preferred Rewards Gold

• American Express Starwoods Preferred Guest

• American Express British Airways

• Lloyds TSB Duo

These cards offer reward points for each pound spent. They are an encouragement by American Express to use your card. I found this point is often the hardest for people to understand and accept. The credit card industry makes money from people use their card and DO NOT pay the outstanding balance in FULL. They know that a certain number of cardholders will pay their balances in full each month. They know they will not make money from these people. They accept this and factor it into their business model. They will offer benefits for using their card and do not expect to make money from ALL of their customers. You can get the benefits for FREE.

However, DO NOT read on if you have an outstanding balance on a credit card that you will not pay at the end of the month. This article is not for you. ALWAYS pay your credit card debit first because even thinking about using a reward travel credit card.

What are the benefits of an American Express card? You earn reward points for every pound you spend. The amount of points earned and the type depend on the card you have selected. You can earn Avios for British Airways and OneWorld flight redemptions. You can earn American Express membership points redeemable in a number of different ways and transferable to a number of different loyalty programs. You can earn Starwood points redeemable for free nights at Starwood hotels. There are also additional rewards for hitting certain spending targets, such as the 2-4-1 companion voucher with the British Airways cards. These are all covered in more detail in my credit card reviews.

What I want to focus on is the supplementary benefits of having an American Express card. These often do not differentiate between which American Express card you have (though occasionally they do so it is always important to check if your card is considered an eligible card for the offer).

 

 

Foursquare is a location-based social networking site. It works with a smartphone or tablet that uses your geographic location to share information about the places you visit. American Express have joined with Foursquare to offer deals for American Express cardholders when they have “checked-in” to certain stores. You can check in from anywhere and once the deal has been loaded to your card you do not need to do anything else but pay on that card. The person serving you will have no idea that you opted into the deal. Also, you will offer be able to combine it with in-store promotions or even just buy gift cards for future use. An excellent recent example is spend £25 at Harvey Nichols, get £25 back.If you have more than one American Express card, including supplementary cards given to spouse/partner, you can create multiple Foursquare accounts. More information can be found on my American Express/Foursquare post.

 

 

American Express Shop Small

 

American Express runs campaigns to encourage use of their cards. A recent example was their ShopSmall campaign. This was designed to encourage use of American Express cards in small businesses that cardholders may think would not accept their card. The deal was spend £5 and get £5 back. This sounds as good as it was. If you buy an item costing exactly £5 then it was free. If you are reading this with a hint of disbelief then I understand. I refer you back to the third paragraph of this article. Credit card companies DO offer rewards for free to cardholders who pay their balance in FULL at the end of each month.

Other recent American Express campaigns:

•  20% discount at Selfridges
• Spend £50, Get £25 Back at the West End
• £5 Voucher for World Duty Free
• American Express Christmas Campaign
• 20% off Air France Premium Economy
• 20% off Aer Lingus Business Class

You can keep up-to-date of the latest offers by signing up to American Express communications or checking the American Express Network.

 

American Express Preferred Seating

 

The final benefit I will outline here is American Express Preferred Seating. This service allows you to reserve a place at a highly in-demand event by simply holding an American Express card. I used this service to book a special screening of James Bond’s Skyfall on opening weekend at the BFI’s IMAX. I have also attended a champagne BBQ on top of the National Theatre overlooking the Thames with glorious views of St Paul’s Cathedral.

If you want more information on the benefits of American Express you can visit their site directly.

 

How to Get the Best From American Express