American Express Shop Small is back – how to earn £15 cashback
American Express credit card holders can earn £15 in cashback when they spend with small businesses in December.
The Amex Shop Small scheme offers cardholders £5 cashback when spending £15 or more with a participating small business, and runs from 1-3 December to coincide with Small Business Saturday.
However, the maximum amount of cashback you can earn in total is smaller this year compared with previous years and the scheme will only run for three days rather than 10 in 2022.
Here, Which? explains how the Amex Shop Small scheme works and how to boost your cashback this December.
How does it work?
To take part, you have to save the offer to your qualifying American Express credit card. You can do this by logging into your online American Express account or using the American Express app.
You then need to make a qualifying purchase in-store at a participating UK small business between 1-3 December.
If you spend at least £15, you should then receive a £5 credit on your statement.
You can earn up to £15 cashback in total if you make three qualifying transactions with three different small businesses. In previous years, cardholders could earn a maximum of £25 cashback in total.
American Express said that although the time period is shorter this year, it's still a 'compelling saving at small businesses over a busy shopping period' and the saving is funded entirely by American Express at no cost to the small business.
The offer is only valid for purchases made in-store but not online. 'Buy now, pay later' purchases are also not included. Your credit may be reversed if you later refund your purchases.
- Find out more:American Express credit card review.
Which businesses are taking part?
There is a map of all participating small businesses on the American Express website, so you can see which retailers near you are taking part.
You may also see Shop Small signs in some shop windows and in-store indicating that they accept American Express cards.
The businesses most likely to take part tend to be cafés, restaurants, corner shops, bars, pubs and small boutiques.
What do American Express credit cards offer?
American Express has a range of reward and cashback credit cards, and our analysts have judged four cards to be a Best Buy.
Two of these are cashback credit cards, which reward you with a percentage of your spending.
The Amex Platinum Everyday Cashback Credit Card has no annual fee and pays 5% for the first three months, capped at £100. You can earn 0.5%-1% thereafter, depending on how much you spend in a year.
The Amex Platinum Cashback Credit Card has an annual fee of £25 and also pays 5% for the first three months, capped at £125. You earn 0.75%-1.25% after the introductory offer ends, depending on how much you spend in a year.
Our other two Best Buy credit cards are suited to collecting air miles, which can be exchanged for holiday-related savings on flights, upgrades and hotel stays.
The British Airways American Express Credit Card is a top pick for collecting Avios points and has no annual fee. You earn one Avios per £1 spent, and if you spend £12,000 in a year you get a free companion voucher.
The American Express Reward Credit Card is a top pick for collecting Virgin Points. It has no annual fee and you earn one Amex point per £1 spent, which can then be converted with a number of airlines at a conversion rate of 1:1.
It’s worth noting that American Express cards aren't accepted everywhere and most of the cards have typically high APRs, which is why we recommend you pay them off in full each month.
Also, Amex recently upped its American Express hikes fees on reward credit cards – are any worth going for? across a number of its premium cards and tweaked its introductory offers, so read the terms and conditions carefully before committing to a deal.
- Find out more: best credit card deals November 2023.
Is American Express a good provider?
American Express is a Which? Recommended Provider and scored 80% in our survey of the best credit card providers 2023.
Customers rated it highly for its application process, clarity of statement and its mobile app scoring the full five stars. It scored four stars for its customer service and transparency or charges.
- Find out more:best credit card providers 2023.
How to boost your cashback
If you have an American Express credit card, here are some ways to boost your cashback and rewards.
Make the most of introductory offers
American Express cards come with generous introductory offers, so make sure you take advantage of these when taking out a new card.
For example, new customers of either of its Platinum cards get a higher cashback rate of 5% for the first three months. This means if you’re planning any big purchases, it's wise to time buying them during this period.
These introductory deals are only available to new cardholders, which means you can’t have held any Amex card within the previous 24 months.
- Find out more: best cashback and reward credit cards November 2023.
Refer a friend
You can earn up to £150 per calendar year for inviting friends to sign up to Amex.
If you invite a friend to apply for the Platinum Cashback Everyday Credit Card, you’ll earn £20 and your friend will receive £10.
Regularly check retailer cashback offers
Amex has a number of retailer offers where you can get a boosted rate of cashback, or money back if you spend a certain amount. However, you’ll need to save these individual offers to your card.
For example, when we checked we spotted deals with eBay, Lego and Microsoft.
Get supplementary cards
Amex provides free supplementary cards, which means you can boost the cashback you earn. It also means it can share the benefits offered with some Amex cards, including travel insurance and lounge access.
However, it’s important to note that Section 75 protection doesn't apply to secondary cardholder purchases, unless they benefit the primary cardholder. So if you are making a big purchase, it’s worth the primary cardholder doing this.
