The American Express Platinum Cashback card is a good way to earn a bit of extra cash on your purchases. As Credit Cards go this is not really any different to any other AMEX other than the cashback feature. More retailers are accepting AMEX so is a good card to have but i would always keep a backup VISA or Mastercard as well!

The introductory cashback offer of 5% for 3 months is what attracted me to this card. I've had this card for a little over a year and have managed to accrue a couple of hundred pounds of cashback in that time. Whilst the introductory offer is enticing beware...the cashback rate drops significantly after the introductory period. Firstly, you need to spend £3000 in a year to even qualify for cashback. If you spend up to £3500 you will earn 0.5% cashback, £3501 - £7000 you earn 1% cashback, for £7000+ you earn 1.25% cashback. I would suggest that the cashback benefit of this card is not great if you dont spend significant amounts of money on a credit card.

If you're the type of credit card customer who pays off the balance of your card each month like me then this card is a good money earner as you're not paying any interest. However, beware that at 19.9% typical APR any cashback you earn will not outweigh any interest you pay if you do not pay off the balance each month.

I've summarised some of the key advantages and disadvantages below - please check the AMEX website for more info and to double check that the following information is still accurate before you look to apply for this card.

Advantages:
- good introductory cashback offer of 5%
- good cashback rates of 1.25% if you are a relatively high spender
- excellent online account management facility, online statements, payments, application, etc
- Purchase Protection Benefit - subject to conditions AMEX will replace anything damaged or broken bought on the card within 90 days of purchase
- Refund Protection Benefit - subject to conditions AMEX will refund the ;cost of an item bought on the card if the UK retailer refuses a refund.
- UK call centres

Disadvantages:
- Minimum £3000 spend to earn cashback
- Poor rates of cashback if you spend less than £3500 per year
- Relatively high eligibility criteria - min income £30k
- Reasonably high typical APR 19.9%
- AMEX still not accepted in all retailers
- Cashback paid annually

Summary:
In summary this card has been useful for me over the past year. However, having now received my cashback i have switched to the BA AMEX where you earn BA Miles instead of cashback but keep all the other benefits of AMEX. I would recommend you look at the other reward schemes out there and look at how you use a credit card to make the choice thats right for you.