There are still plenty of ways to spend £1 and get great value. Like this one. American Express have increased the sign up bonuses on most of their cards. The Platinum cashback card has a great offer where you get a £50 sign up bonus with Amex. You only need to spend £1 to get the £50 bonus.

Even better you can then use your own link and refer friends and family to give them a £50 bonus and you get £60 for referring them.

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What is the American Express Platinum cashback card?

American Express (Amex) have many charge and credit cards for personal and business use. All with their own range of benefits. For example, The Amex Gold is the best card for earning Air Miles. While the Amex cashback card is a credit card that earns you cashback on every £1 you spend. There is always a sign up bonus offered, usually around £25. Now for a limited time this bonus is £50

There is an annual fee of £25 for this card so take that in into account.

For the first 3 months you earn a whopping 5% cashback then followed by a respectable 1% cashback.

How do I get the £50 Amex sign up bonus?

Sign up to the Amex Cashback card using my sign up bonus link. You will receive the card within a week. Download the App and when you spend £1 on the card then you will see your welcome bonus on your account.

On the App along the bottom you have a few options – one of them is Membership – click on that, then invite friends. This gives you your own link to refer friends and both get the bonuses, £60 for you and £50 for them, when they spend £1. Maximum referral bonuses are £150 per year.

I’m not sure how long this offer will last so will update when it changes.

How much cashback do I get with the Amex cashback card?

For the first 3 months cashback is 5% so only £500 spent in the first 3 months will cover the £25 annual fee. After that the rate is a decent 1%, this is better than normal though so keep an eye on it.

If I already have other Amex cards can I still get the bonus?

The T&Cs say you do not get the bonus if you have held any American Express cards in the last 24 months. Don’t let this stop you though – you can still refer friends and earn the bonus, and the cashback, and get the offers.

When do I get my cashback?

Cashback is repaid into your Amex account annually, one year after you take out the card. This includes the sign up bonuses. So though you don’t get your money instantly, it’s a great way to save a pot.

What happens if my balance is zero after a year?

If your balance is zero when Amex credit your account with all your cashback and bonuses, then just get on the online chat (on the App or online) or give them a call. Amex will transfer the balance to your current account within 5 working days. Or if you prefer you can transfer to another of your Amex cards which is handy if you have a balance on another.

How can Amex give such great bonuses?

Every retailer that accepts American Express pays a fee to Amex based on the amount spent. That is how they make their money. With customers now spending far less than pre Covid, Amex, like all card issuers have seen a massive drop in income. They need new customers. They want you to spend with their card, so they get the commissions, not another card issuer.

For us that’s great, we spend what we spend. Why not use the card that gives us something back, like cash, or Air Miles.

Where is American Express accepted?

Amex is not as widely accepted as Visa or Mastercard. Mainly because the fees they charge retailers are higher, so some retailers choose not to accept it. Make sure you have another way of paying that gets you other benefits as a backup. Most major stores do accept Amex, you can see from the ‘Where is Amex accepted’ list here B&Q don’t accept it by the way, or Greggs.

You can also link your Amex to Paypal so you still earn the cashback.

What other benefits are there with the Amex cashback card?

Apart from the ongoing cashback which is definitely better than nothing and the opportunity to earn free money by referring friends. Check out the offers on the app, these are updated frequently and it looks like you get more offers if you spend more.

I’ve had a few useful ones, extra cashback or big savings. You need to save the offer to your card to use it though, don’t assume that because it’s showing, you’ll automatically get the cashback – save it first.

A couple of times a year Amex do a ‘Shop Small’ offer which is fab. It’s £5 cashback for a £10 spend at participating retailers – usually the smaller independent shops. It’s a great way to earn easy cashback. (last time we saved the offers to all our Amex cards and split a £40 local butchers spend over 4 Amex cards. £20 cashback – easy)

Amex-shop-small-offer

How many friends can I refer?

You can earn up to £150 a year from referrals so currently 3 to get your bonus. However your friends still get the bonus after this. Our bonuses are maxed out so although we don’t receive any bonuses now – you still do – so you can share / give the £50 with as many friends as you like.

What else do I need to know?

This Amex Platinum cashback card is a credit card so

  • You will be credit checked and this will show on your credit file
  • The annual fee is £25 so take that into account
  • Set up a direct debit to pay off in full each month – paying interest makes earning cashback pointless.
  • You can spend the £1 to trigger the bonus and not spend on the card again – you’ll have to cover the £25 fee then just leave it and collect your £50 + referral bonuses in a year then close the account if you like
  • Sign up using this link and choose Amex Platinum cashback card

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3 comments

  1. Hi there, as a current Platinum Cashback holder, I’m just curious, how are you able to obtain £50 referrals instead of the standard £25 ones? Does this only work if you originally sign up through a special £50 referral or are there other ways to ‘opt in’ to the £50 referrals?

    Thanks,

    J

    Reply

    1. Hi Josh, no idea. Maybe it is personal not the same for everyone. I’ve just rechecked mine and it says ‘You’ll earn £60 cashback for your next approved friend, they will receive £50’ which is not true anyway as I have already reached the allowance. What does yours say?

      Reply

      1. Mine is the standard £30 for myself, and £25 for my friend. Would be cool to get the £60 referral option though, even if the upper limit is still £150 per year.

        Reply

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