Amex Shop Small is back – get £5 for every £10 purchase in July
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American Express is bringing back its ‘Shop Small’ promotion this July. And this means a potential £50 for every American Express card you hold!
Lloyds TSB and MBNA Amex cards are included as well, so this could be a very generous deal for some people.
If you missed ‘Shop Small’ last year, it is a very simple idea. American Express produces a huge list of small, mainly independent, shops up and down the country which accept Amex. There is a website listing all the shops and many also have a blue ‘Shop Small’ logo in their window.
When you spend £10 or more in a ‘Shop Small’ during July, you will receive a £5 credit from American Express on your statement!
This time, American Express has put a cap in place. This should stop some of crazier stuff that went on last year where people managed to do literally hundreds of transactions. They are also insisting that you spend £10 to get £5 back, rather than the £5 to get £5 back they offered in 2012.
You are now restricted to 10 transactions per card account (supplementary cards do not get their own 10 transactions, I think – but this is to be confirmed). Each transaction must be in a different shop – but, of course, you can visit the same shop using different Amex accounts. Online transactions do NOT count.
How to get started
The first thing to do is to register all of your American Express, Lloyds TSB Amex and MBNA Amex cards at the ‘Shop Small’ website. (Corporate cards and pre-paid cards cannot take part.)
The second thing to do is to look at the list of participating shops and working out how best to use them. Don’t forget that a lot of pubs are taking part as well!
Happy hunting!
Want to earn more points from credit cards? – March 2024 update
If you are looking to apply for a new credit card, here are our top recommendations based on the current sign-up bonuses.
In February 2022, Barclaycard launched two exciting new Barclaycard Avios Mastercard cards with a bonus of up to 25,000 Avios. You can apply here.
You qualify for the bonus on these cards even if you have a British Airways American Express card:
Barclaycard Avios Plus Mastercard
Get 25,000 Avios for signing up and an upgrade voucher at £10,000 Read our full review
Barclaycard Avios Mastercard
5,000 Avios for signing up and an upgrade voucher at £20,000 Read our full review
You can see our full directory of all UK cards which earn airline or hotel points here. Here are the best of the other deals currently available.
British Airways American Express Premium Plus
25,000 Avios and the famous annual 2-4-1 voucher Read our full review
American Express Preferred Rewards Gold
Your best beginner’s card – 20,000 points, FREE for a year & four airport lounge passes Read our full review
The Platinum Card from American Express
40,000 bonus points and a huge range of valuable benefits – for a fee Read our full review
Virgin Atlantic Reward+ Mastercard
15,000 bonus points and 1.5 points for every £1 you spend Read our full review
Earning miles and points from small business cards
If you are a sole trader or run a small company, you may also want to check out these offers:
SPECIAL OFFER: You receive a huge 120,000 Membership Rewards points if you apply for American Express Business Platinum by 9th April 2024. You receive 80,000 points for spending £12,000 within 90 days and a further 40,000 points if you retain the card for 14 months. Click here to apply.
SPECIAL OFFER: You receive 60,000 Membership Rewards points if you apply for American Express Business Gold by 9th April 2024. Remember that the card is FREE for the first year. You receive 40,000 points for spending £6,000 within 90 days and a further 20,000 points if you retain the card for 14 months. Click here to apply.
British Airways Accelerating Business American Express
30,000 Avios sign-up bonus – plus annual bonuses of up to 30,000 Avios Read our full review
American Express Business Platinum
Crazy 120,000 points bonus (to 9th April) and an annual £200 Amex Travel credit Read our full review
American Express Business Gold
Huge 60,000 points sign-up bonus (until 9th April) and free for a year Read our full review
Capital On Tap Business Rewards Visa
Get a 10,000 points bonus plus an extra 500 points for our readers Read our full review
For a non-American Express option, we also recommend the Barclaycard Select Cashback card for sole traders and small businesses. It is FREE and you receive 1% cashback on your spending.
Barclaycard Select Cashback credit card
2% cashback on all your business spend for 3 months (1% thereafter) and no annual fee Read our full review
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