The new card rewards you for your day to day spending and gives you a bonus 6,000 points which you can cash in for a £30 high street gift voucher at your favourite store.
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American Express - Rewards Credit Card
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What's the deal?
The new Express Rewards credit card from American Express is the latest addition to the slowly increasing list of credit cards that give you something back as you spend.
Its points reward scheme will give you:
- 3 points for virtually every £1 you spend in a major UK supermarket
- 2 points for virtually every £1 you spend in a major UK department store
- 1 point for virtually every £1 you spend everywhere else
You can then redeem your points for gift vouchers that you can spend at the till or online at major stores including:
- M&S
- iTunes
- Amazon
- HMV
- Waterstones
- Molton Brown
- Boots
- House of Fraser
- Homebase
- Comet
- Net-a-porter.com
- Harrods
- Tiffany & Co.
As an introductory bonus you'll receive 6,000 points which you can swap in for a £30 gift voucher providing you spend £500 on your card within 3 months.
On an ongoing basis you'll be able to claim £1 worth of vouchers for every 200 points you earn and the minimum redemption is 5,000 points (the equivalent of a £25 gift voucher).
The card also comes with an interest free introductory offer on purchases for 6 months but charges 17.9% APR on spending thereafter.
What makes it great?
Any credit card that gives you something back as you spend is worth a look (providing you are able to pay your balance off in full each month) and the new Rewards credit card does have a competitive offering.
When you spend on the card you'll earn the equivalent of 1.5% cashback on your supermarket shopping, the equivalent of 1% cashback when you shop in a department store and the equivalent of 0.5% cashback when you spend elsewhere. Considering that most pound-for-pound cashback credit cards offer a maximum cashback rate of 1%, American Express's new offering does stand out as worth considering.
The free £30 shopping voucher you can claim when you spend £500 on the card within the first 3 months is another obvious sweetener. As is the 6 months' interest free introductory offer if you would like to spread the cost of a larger purchase.
Who would it suit?
To be eligible for the card you'll need to be over the age of 18, have a good credit rating and an annual income of over £30,000.
However, it's worth mentioning that as with all cashback or rewards credit cards you should only consider applying if you are able to clear your credit card balance in full each month, otherwise the amount you'll pay in interest will outweigh the benefit of any points or vouchers you receive.
What's the catch?
For starters the post-introductory offer rate applied to spending is 17.9% APR so it's by no means a competitive option if you're likely to carry over a balance from month to month. As such, it's really important that you pay off the card in full each time you get your statement as otherwise interest will soon add up and overshadow any rewards you accumulate.
The minimum repayment is also significantly higher than most cards at 10% of your balance or £50 (whichever is less). This is no bad thing as you'll benefit from paying off the card as soon as possible after the 0% offer expires but nonetheless it's something to consider.
It's also worth noting that anything you spend on fuel in a supermarket petrol station will be excluded from the 3 points per £1 reward.
The biggest catch however is one that you should take notice of if you plan to apply. If you earn less than 5,000 points within your first, or any subsequent 12 months of using the card, you'll lose them. As such you'll need to keep an eye on what you're spending, how many points you're earning and make sure you redeem them in time!
What's the alternative?
The American Express Platinum Cashback card still boasts the best rate of cashback available on a credit card, giving you a 5% return for the first 3 months and then between 0.5% and 1.5% depending on how much you spend thereafter. If you'd prefer to be rewarded for your spending with actual cash then this may be an alternative worth considering.
There are, however, a whole host of other rewards credit cards available - the key is looking at which gives you the most useful rewards depending on where and how much you spend and what you'd like to earn in return.
