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Hi,
Apologies if this has been asked already, I did a search and couldn’t find any posts related to this specific situation.
As many of you will I’m sure be aware, Amex has now discontinued their International FX payments service for businesses. We were part of the membership awards programme linked to spending via our FX account meaning we’d get 1 point for every £1 spent on International Payments. With the closing of the service, we’re now missing out on hundreds of thousands of points each year when we pay overseas suppliers.
I normally transfer Amex points to Avios for travel on Star Alliance airlines, Qatar being the best! 🙂
I was wondering if anyone has found a comparable solution that still allows them to clock up points. As I say, we’re really in it for the Avios points, so the solution may be an Avios partner credit card that we use as the funding source for making international payments via another FX service like Wise. I’m not aware of any FX service that accepts Amex as a funding source, but I recall Wise may accept Mastercard as a funding source, although I’ve not checked their credit card processing fees to make sure it’s a viable option.
The only issue I foresee with funding payments with a credit card is that we’ll likely initially get offered a very low spending limit with the credit card issuer when, realistically, we probably need upwards of £25k available, even if the balance is cleared straight away.
Has anyone had any direct experience with this kind of scenario? I’d be very interested to know more if so.
Thanks!
DuncanJust two small points, Qatar isn’t in Star Alliance, it’s in one world. Secondly you’d have to make sure it’s a business card like capital on tap.
Yes sorry, I meant 0ne World. And yes, I registered with Capital On Tap Business shortly before posting this. It seemed like the best/only option I could find that is comparable. They initially came back with a really low limit but I’ve now connected our bank account so hopefully they’ll be able to review and revise the offer, although I suspect it’ll still be well short of what we need until we build up some history with them.
Check out https://www.bluechain.com/
Check out https://www.bluechain.com/
Interesting. Not sure they can assist with FX currency payments though.
Check out https://www.bluechain.com/
I thought this looked interesting until I read “we currently charge a small convenience fee, depending on the payment method used.” The ‘small’ fee for Amex is 2.75% and for VISA/Mastercard credit cards 2.5%. That surely rules out any value in most points earning transactions, other than those that trigger an outsized SUB or similar?
Check out https://www.bluechain.com/
I thought this looked interesting until I read “we currently charge a small convenience fee, depending on the payment method used.” The ‘small’ fee for Amex is 2.75% and for VISA/Mastercard credit cards 2.5%. That surely rules out any value in most points earning transactions, other than those that trigger an outsized SUB or similar?
Yeah, my thoughts as well. I recall coming across another service like this that facilitates supplier payments via Amex, typically for scenarios where the supplier doesn’t accept Amex cards themselves, but the fees just aren’t worth it.
FYI, for anyone considering Capital On Tap as a solution…
After going through the registration process with them, setting up the card and finally heading to Wise to make our first transfer we get this message:
“Your card was declined at Wise because this type of transaction is not currently supported by Capital On Tap.”
Seems like it was a waste of time.
FYI, for anyone considering Capital On Tap as a solution…
After going through the registration process with them, setting up the card and finally heading to Wise to make our first transfer we get this message:
“Your card was declined at Wise because this type of transaction is not currently supported by Capital On Tap.”
Seems like it was a waste of time.
Is this a surprise? You are trying to take out cash for a cash transfer on a company credit card. That’s not how their credit card is supposed to be used or rewards claimed. It appears that CoT blocks it rather than charging a cash advance fee.
FYI, for anyone considering Capital On Tap as a solution…
After going through the registration process with them, setting up the card and finally heading to Wise to make our first transfer we get this message:
“Your card was declined at Wise because this type of transaction is not currently supported by Capital On Tap.”
Seems like it was a waste of time.
Is this a surprise? You are trying to take out cash for a cash transfer on a company credit card. That’s not how their credit card is supposed to be used or rewards claimed. It appears that CoT blocks it rather than charging a cash advance fee.
I explained on the phone to Capital On Tap the reason for using the card and we signed up on this basis, so yes, it is a surprise (but appreciate what you’re saying).
Check out https://www.bluechain.com/
I thought this looked interesting until I read “we currently charge a small convenience fee, depending on the payment method used.” The ‘small’ fee for Amex is 2.75% and for VISA/Mastercard credit cards 2.5%. That surely rules out any value in most points earning transactions, other than those that trigger an outsized SUB or similar?
You are probably looking at a different country version. For uk, Amex costs 2.3% and visa / mc 2.5%.
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