How to boost your Amex spend by using PayPal for online purchases – like BA First Class crockery
Links on Head for Points may pay us an affiliate commission. A list of partners is here.
If you tried to buy some British Airways First Class crockery in the sale this week (which is still running – BA has now restocked), you will have noticed that Whatabuy, the sale site, does not take American Express.
Here is the checkout page:
You will that there is no American Express logo. However, this doesn’t mean that you cannot use an Amex card.
Go back a stage on Whatabuy and you see this:
Whatabuy accepts PayPal.
And PayPal DOES let you use American Express.
You do not even need a PayPal account to pay with PayPal – you can click on the ‘Pay with PayPal’ link and enter your card details directly. That said, it makes sense to open an account and link your American Express card as you do not need to remember your card details when paying.
Next time you pay a retailer who does not accept Amex but does take PayPal, click through to PayPal instead.
There are no extra fees for using PayPal with retailers.
Note that some retailers manage to block PayPal from showing the American Express option if they do not accept Amex themselves so this is not always a solution. In the majority of cases, as with Whatabuy, it will work just fine.
The only thing worth noting is that you lose some of your consumer protection if the retailer goes bust if you pay with PayPal. This is because you do not have a direct contract with the retailer. PayPal does have its own reimbursement scheme called PayPal Buyer Protection which may cover you but it is not legally enshrined.
Get £10 for opening a free PayPal account
PayPal is currently offering you £10 if you open a PayPal account.
You need referring, so drop us an email at hello at headforpoints.com. We will send you 1p by PayPal to the email address you supply.
To claim your 1p, you need to follow the link in the email you will receive to open a PayPal account.
When you make your first PayPal payment of £5 or more before the year-end, you will receive £10 in your PayPal account. Whichever member of the HfP team ends up referring you will also get £10, although it is capped at £50 so we’re not getting rich here! The offer ends on 31st December.
Want to earn more points from credit cards? – August 2022 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
25,000 Avios for signing up and an upgrade voucher for spending £10,000 Read our full review

Barclaycard Avios Mastercard
5,000 Avios for signing up and an upgrade voucher for spending £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.
EDIT: Until 25th October 2022, there is an exceptionally generous sign-up bonus on The Platinum Card. You will receive 60,000 Membership Rewards points – double the usual amount – and £200 to spend at Amex Travel. You need to spend £6,000 within six months to earn the bonus.

British Airways American Express Premium Plus
25,000 Avios and the UK’s most valuable card perk – the 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 & two airport lounge passes Read our full review

The Platinum Card from American Express
60,000 points, £200 travel credit and an unbeatable set of travel benefits – for a fee Read our full review

Virgin Atlantic Reward+ Mastercard
15,000 points bonus 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:

American Express Business Platinum
40,000 points sign-up bonus and a long list of travel benefits Read our full review

American Express Business Gold
20,000 points sign-up bonus and free for a year Read our full review

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

Capital On Tap Business Rewards Visa
10,500 points bonus – the most generous Avios Visa for a limited company 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
1% cashback (3% on business travel for four months) and no annual fee Read our full review
Comments (61)