American Express Platinum Credit Card (American Express)

Member Name: lynton1983

Product:	American Express
Date:	17/05/09 (134 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: 5% cash back for 3 months

Disadvantages: Slight restriction with regards to retailers who accept the card.

The American Express Platinum credit card is a must have for anyone that spends money and can mange their finances to some degree. The biggest appeal of the card and my sole reason for applying for one was its cash back reward system. The Amex offers 5% cash back for the first three months up to a maximum of £2000 (£100 cash back). For the remainder of the year you can earn up to 1.5% cash back dependant upon how much money you spend on the card. Admittedly you are not going to get life changing sums of money back but if the choice is to get some back or none at all, I know which I prefer. Cash back is sent in the form of a cheque on the anniversary of your card.

One of the first things to therefore consider is when the optimum time would be to apply for one. For me, as I was moving into a new house and with Christmas and my girlfriend's birthday approaching, I applied for and received one in November 2007 and I certainly made the most of it! I'm sure now would be a good time for people to apply with the summer and holidays that are likely to cost people money.

Another important aspect to consider in order to get the most from Amex is the use of additional card holders. This was advice I took and I feel it is definitely worth passing on. Like most cards you can have an additional card holder so I added my girlfriend. Just before the end of the three months when the 5% finishes, my girlfriend applied for the card and added me as an additional card holder. Therefore between the two of us we were earning 5% cash back for six months instead of the three.

The main way I utilise my card is to use it, where possible, for all my spending where I would ordinarily use cash or a debit card. This requires you to make sure you don't overspend and keep the cash you need to pay off your bill the following month.

One of the recognised downsides with the card is the slightly limited number of retailers that accept it (due to the higher costs then incur if they do). I can honestly say I have not found this to be a problem, with the vast majority of the larger retailers accepting it. I'm not sure if it is a common procedure but in the last few weeks I received a letter from Amex stating B&Q were no longer accepting the card (I may have received this due to the large number of times I have used the card in this shop). I cannot think of a retailer that I would consider to be larger then B&Q that does not accept the card.

With regards to my personal experiences with the company I have contacted them twice. The first time was to chase up my application which had apparently taken longer to process due to the high volume of applications they had received (presumably people take advantage of the 5% nearer to Christmas). The second time was to pay a bill as their website was temporarily down due to maintenance. On both occasions I found their customer service very good. My queries were both simple but I appreciated the polite manner of the staff. With regards to the website, which I normally use to pay my bill and monitor my spending, this I find to be excellent, being easy to navigate and use.

There are obviously terms and conditions with regards to acceptance and cash back but these would be best read from the American Express website.

Summary: An excellent choice for a cash back card.