How to get more money back from cashback cards including Amex
Cashback and reward cards are one of my favourite ways to make some easy money. As long as you stick to planned spending and clear the total balance each month (on credit cards), the points and cashback you earn are effectively free money.
Here I’ve shared ways to get more money and more points when you apply and use your card. I’ve focussed on American Express, but some of the hacks will work across other cards too.
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1. Wait for boosted welcome offers
The top earning cashback cards all come with welcome promotions, which can sound pretty appealing. But they’re even better when they’re increased.
You’ll see this happen with most American Express cards and the Amazon Barclaycard. It’s rare, but not impossible, to find increased welcome deals for the Avios Barclaycards and Virgin Atlantic cards too.
Sadly, deals come and go, so if you have a big expenditure planned now that can’t wait, it’s worth choosing a card which won’t rule you out of other offers later on. When it comes to American Express that means going for the Nectar or Cashback cards.
The best deals are listed in our credit card offers page.
2. Hack everyday spending
These welcome offers are great, but you will have to spend a fair whack to qualify, especially on some of the boosted Amex Platinum card deals. These can sometimes require a £10,000 spend in six months or £6,000 in three months. Likewise the PayPal+ Gold tier is only triggered once you spend £25,000 (more or less) in a calendar year.
I’m pretty strict here when I say only spend on everyday things with these cards. If you spend more than you can afford just to get some extra points and perks, you’ll probably wipe out your savings.
However, there are some ways to hack this. The first is to use your cashback card to buy gift vouchers. But, these should only be for retailers you will 100% use in a short time frame and know you won’t be making any returns. For me, that is a pretty small list: supermarkets, and at a push, streaming services (e.g. Netflix). Buying these now will help you reach your bonus thresholds within your time frame. You’re effectively pay now for things you’ll use later. Of course, you still need to be able to clear the credit card balance before interest is added, so this only really gives you an extension of at most six weeks, probably less.
3. Pay bills with Amex
You can also look to use your reward card for bills that you’d normally pay by direct debit. Not all will take credit cards, and even fewer will take Amex. So this is particularly good if you’re trying to reach a bonus threshold.
However, bear in mind that with some bills you’ll lose a direct debit discount if you swap how you pay, though you might be able to keep a nominal direct debit active to keep the saving. You’ll also lose other bill cashback from the likes of Santander Edge.
Still, if you want to try it, here are a few options
- Council Tax, TV Licence and other bills with Amex via PayPoint at Co-op stores
- Octopus Energy and EDF accept Amex (you could load up in advance as well as pay a monthly bill)
4. Get a referral when you apply
If you’re looking for an Amex card, then make sure you find a friend with a referral link. It doesn’t matter if they have a different card to the one you want as you’re able to get a boost on all the options.
I’ve listed below the standard welcome and referral offers. As you can see we’re not talking huge amounts, but an extra £10 to £25 is better than nothing.
Of course, it still makes sense to wait for when welcome offers are boosted, as shared in our Amex deals page. I’ve seen as many as 20,000 extra Amex points via refer-a-friend on the Platinum card – that’s worth £100.
| Card | Standard welcome offer | Standard referral offer |
| American Express Platinum | 50,000 Amex points | 55,000 Amex points |
| American Express Cashback | 5% cashback (up to £125) | £25 + 5% cashback |
| American Express Cashback Everyday | 5% cashback (up to £125) | £10 + 5% cashback |
| American Express Preferred Rewards Gold | 20,000 Amex points | 22,000 Amex points |
| American Express Rewards | 10,000 Amex points | 12,000 Amex points |
| American Express Nectar | 20,000 Nectar points | 21,000 Nectar points |
| British Airways American Express Premium Plus | 30,000 Avios points | 31,000 Avios points |
5. Get a supplementary card
Earning cashback on your card is great. But you can earn more if you have a partner. You can get a supplementary card in their name so they can earn cashback too.
Though they’ll have their name on it, it won’t be their card. This means you’ll be liable for all their spending! So make sure you trust them – though you’ll see all their transactions in your account so it’s easy to make sure it’s not being abused.
Amex can offer extra points for you to add your first supplementary card, so don’t ask for this in your initial application unless you urgently need it. Instead wait, and see if there’s an offer in your account. This is often increased for Gold and Platinum card holders in March and April.
Supplementary cards are also handy when it comes to joining bonuses. Since these offers usually have a spending threshold to hit in a set time, having two people spending towards it will help you reach it in time.
You’ll also be able to activate additional card offers, increasing your access to these offers which are usually limited to one redemption per card. In the past we’ve used these to get £300 of two lots of United flights, and the sadly now finished Shop Small. This doesn’t count for all offers though, such as the Amex Dining credit on the Platinum card.
With some cards there are also perks that are shared with supplementary card holders too. Primarily this is the Amex Platinum card where the other cardholder gets their own airport lounge access. Or, if you give the card to someone outside your immediate family (as long as you trust them) then the travel insurance for the supplementary card holder covers that extra person’s spouse and children.
6. Get a pro-rata refund
A few years ago, Amex announced it was going to end pro-rata refunds. This is where, for the cards that charge an annual fee, you could get a partial refund if you cancelled part way through the year. However, the rule change has never been implemented, so you’re still good to take advantage. Other brands might also let you do this, but check the terms and conditions.
Personally I’ve used this hack on cards when I’ve triggered the welcome bonus and used other credits and benefits before a year has gone by. With the Amex Platinum card costing £650 a year, you could get a fair whack of that back with careful timing.
7. Use PayPal
Not all retailers take American Express, which is frustrating when you’re trying to earn cashback. But there is one workaround for online purchases, and it’s to use PayPal.
Since you can connect your Amex to PayPal you’re able to still earn money on your purchase. This is only via the PayPal checkout, not the PayPal+ debit card,
However, it’s worth noting that using PayPal can affect your consumer rights if something was to go wrong. This is important for anything that costs more than £100.
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8. Check for extra offers
Something I love about American Express are the bonus offers you can activate to your card. You’ll need to add the to your card and some of the best ones go fast. So make sure you check on a regular basis to see what deals are on there.
If you have a supplementary card and want to take advantage on there too it will also need to be added by whoever has the card in their app/account.
9. Have more than one type of Amex
Sometimes the extra offers mentioned above are specific to a type of card. So a free Membership Rewards card might have a deal that’s not on a Platinum card. And the Cashback Everyday card the other way.
However it’s worth noting that at times offers are user specific so you might not see them in your account no matter how many cards you have.
10. The multiple welcome bonus trick
In most cases you can only get an Amex welcome deal if you haven’t been an Amex cardholder in two years (so that doesn’t include supplementary card holders).
But there are two exceptions. If you start with the Amex Cashback or Amex Nectar, then you’ll also be eligible for welcome offer for the Amex Platinum card. And you can get the bonus on the BA Amex Premium Plus as long as you haven’t had the free BA Amex in the last two years. Here’s how to get multiple Amex welcome bonuses.
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Plus, new Quidco customers get a high paying £18 welcome offer
11. Cancel every two years
To really rinse and repeat the welcome bonus deals, you’ll actually want to cancel all your American Express cards at some point. This starts the clock ticking on the 24 months you need to wait before you’re eligible again for new deals.
Be careful here that you don’t have any Reward points sitting unused – you’ll lose them if you don’t move them first.
In this gap you can focus your spending on other cashback and reward cards from different brands, such as my current top cashback debit card from PayPal+ or the one from Trading 212.
12. Rotate with your parner
However, if you have a partner, you don’t need to be without an Amex for two years. If they were to apply for a new card themselves, and take advantage of the welcome offer, you could be added as a supplementary card holder, and you could share the benefits.
Once your two year deadline has passed, your partner can cancel their card and start their own exile before they’re once again eligible for welcome deals.
13. Call up to cancel
If you decide you don’t want your Amex card anymore, then it’s worth seeing if you can get a retention offer before you go. If they don’t offer you one outright, you could just ask – you never know. With American Express, it’s more likely to apply to the cards with a fee, such as the Platinum or BA Amex Premium Plus.
14. Keep your points active
If you’re looking to cancel the Gold or Platinum Amex cards to avoid the fee for another year, but still have active points you don’t want to use yet, then opening up the free Amex Reward card will keep them active.
15. Upgrade from Gold or Reward
If you already have the Gold card, you might still be able to get a Platinum card welcome. Look out for special upgrade offers that’ll give you a decent number of points if you meet the spending threshold in a set time.
These won’t be as generous as the boosted Platinum welcome deal, but they’re certainly better than getting nothing at all. Just make sure it makes sense against the annual fee you’ll pay.
Check out this article with details of boosted referral bonuses and other extra offers with your American Express card.
