Save on flights and hotels with a new £50 American Express Travel cashback credit

American Express Travel has launched a new cashback credit promotion.

When this offer has run in the past there have often been two versions:

£50 back on a £200 spend

£200 back on a £600 spend

This time ….. at least so far ….. the only one available is £50 back on £200 spent.

I recommend looking at the ‘Offers’ tab on your Amex online statement pages and signing up, if it is there.

In our house, it is showing on my Platinum charge card but not my Marriott Bonvoy Amex or British Airways Premium Plus.  It is not on my Business Platinum. My wife has it on her Preferred Rewards Gold but not on her supplementary Platinum.

The offer is valid for the first 30,000 people to register:

You have until 31st May to do the necessary spend.

Cumulative spend HAS counted in the past.  It is not mentioned either way in the offer rules.

What Amex Travel bookings qualify for cashback?

This offer is only valid for pre-paid products.  It is best used for a flight because – assuming the price is the same – a flight booked via Amex Travel is the same as a flight booked via ba.com.  You should get the same Avios and tier points.

The downside with booking hotel rooms this way is that Amex Travel is counted as a third party booking site.  You won’t receive hotel points or status benefits which – if this meant you lost out on free breakfast or a good upgrade – may leave you worse off than booking direct.  For hotels where you don’t have status, of course, it is more attractive.

Note that you can’t use it for Fine Hotels & Resorts bookings (the exclusive ‘added benefits’ scheme for holders of The Platinum Card) or The Hotel Collection bookings (the equivalent scheme for Amex Gold) as these are not pre-paid.

Should you be using a travel agent at the moment?

One thing you should consider before booking is whether you want to use a third-party agent at all at the moment.  Using an agent makes it harder to get a refund or make changes if your plans change, or if the airline or hotel change your plans for you.

Given that Amex Travel is very reputable, I would be less concerned than I would be with some other agents.  It is still likely to be harder work getting your hands on your money in the event of an issue than it would be if you had booked direct.

I may take the risk for £50 back on £200 spend.  If I was planning on spending £1,000, I’m not sure if £50 cashback is worth the risk of potentially not seeing my £1,000 again for a long time in the event of problems.

Conclusion

Even if you don’t see a window to use this offer at the moment, I recommend visiting americanexpress.co.uk and saving it to your card just in case.  It would be a shame if something came up but the target of 30,000 registrations had already been reached.

Remember that you have until 31st May to do the required £200 of spending although your travel can be for a future date.

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Want to earn more points from credit cards? – April 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:

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.

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: Until 12th May 2024, the Capital on Tap Business Rewards Visa card is offering a bonus of 30,000 points, convertible into 30,000 Avios. You must have a Limited Company to apply. Click here to learn more and click here to apply.

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.