Amex Member Week £75 off £300 Amex Travel spend deal is live – but excludes flights

Last week we flagged American Express ‘Member Week’, a new initiative this year which copies a successful US promotion

Amidst all of the competitions and other promotions, the one thing that seemed to offer genuine value was £75 cashback on a £300 Amex Travel spend.

The deal is now live so we have full clarity on how it works. The bad news is that flight bookings are excluded.

It is also very restricted, both in terms of the number of registrations allowed and the cards on which it appears.

The good news is that, if you are selected, you have until 20th December to make your purchase.

You MUST register for the offer before making a booking. You may, or may not, find it under the ‘Offers’ tab of your American Express card:

Here are the key things to note:

• It’s restricted to 20,000 registrations, which is a tiny fraction of the UK American Express cardholder base. Move quickly if you want to register.

• It does not seem to appear on co-brand travel cards (British Airways, Marriott), presumably due to conflicts with the co-brand partner – your best bet is Gold or Platinum, and I don’t even have it on my Platinum (it is on my wife’s Gold)

• It only appears to be on primary cards, not supplementary cards

• The £300 must be spent in a single transaction

• You have until 20th December to make your booking, and there are no restrictions on when the hotel stay or car hire actually takes place

• Only pre-paid hotel and car hire bookings count, not flights

• As usual, hotel bookings via Amex Travel will be ineligible for status benefits or loyalty points, so the deal is best used for independent hotels or those where you have no interest in points

The bottom line is that it’s both better and worse than we expected. The inability to book flights is disappointing, as is the low number of registrations allowed, but the fact that you have until 20th December to book means that those who can register should be able to find a way of using it.

Want to earn more points from credit cards? – December 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

Get 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.

SPECIAL OFFER: Until 14th January 2025, the sign-up bonus on ‘free for a year’ American Express Preferred Rewards Gold is increased to 30,000 Membership Rewards points. This converts into 30,000 Avios. Click here to apply.

SPECIAL OFFER: Until 14th January 2025, the sign-up bonus on The Platinum Card from American Express is increased to 80,000 Membership Rewards points. This converts into 80,000 Avios! The spend requirement is changed to £10,000 in six months for this offer. Click here to apply.

American Express Preferred Rewards Gold

Your best beginner’s card – 30,000 points, FREE for a year & four airport lounge passes Read our full review

British Airways American Express Premium Plus

30,000 Avios and the famous annual 2-4-1 voucher Read our full review

The Platinum Card from American Express

Huge 80,000 bonus points and great travel benefits – for a large fee Read our full review

Virgin Atlantic Reward+ Mastercard

18,000 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: Until 9th December 2024, there are EXCLUSIVE sign-up offers for our readers on the two Capital on Tap small business Visa cards. You can earn 20,000 points on the Business Rewards card and 30,000 points on the new Pro card. Click here to apply.

American Express Business Platinum

50,000 points when you sign-up and an annual £200 Amex Travel credit Read our full review

American Express Business Gold

20,000 points sign-up bonus and FREE for a year Read our full review

Capital on Tap Pro Visa

30,000 points (TO 9TH DECEMBER) plus good benefits Read our full review

Capital on Tap Business Rewards Visa

20,000 points (ONLY TO 9TH DECEMBER) Read our full review

British Airways American Express Accelerating Business

30,000 Avios sign-up bonus – plus annual bonuses of up to 30,000 Avios 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 when you spend at least £2,000 per month.

Barclaycard Select Cashback Business Credit Card

Get 1% cashback when you spend at least £2,000 per month* Read our full review