Card suggestions please

[smartboyalec]

Hello all,

Between myself and the missus we will be spending about 25-30k on home improvements over the next 2-3 months – I presume most of the expenses would be non Amex as it’s at shops like selco, wickes and b&q who doesn’t accept Amex afaik.

Any suggestions on what cards to take to maximise the points/travel vouchers/ cash back etc ?

Also if anyone definitely if the shops I mention don’t take Amex, coz if they do then on my gold card I have an upgrade to platinum offer for 80k points which would be tempting?

Thanks for any pointers.

[aq.1988]

B&Q definitely take Amex in store, as i bought something last week. Wickes also take it in store AFAIK, and I think you can use Amex via PayPal online. Not sure about Selco.

[Mr. AC]

Barclaycard Avios Plus for each of you that is eligible (2 years since you’ve held another Barclaycard incl. Hilton). Might even make sense if you’re not eligible if you value the voucher a lot.
Virgin Atlantic credit card if you have any use for Virgin points (tricky these days).
Plutus if you know your way around crypto and are adventurous (higher risk / reward).
Curve together with any of these since e.g. B&Q is one of the 1% cashback retailers you can select.
There are sometimes ways to use Amex to buy gift cards that are accepted at places that don’t accept Amex directly, mainly physical stores (e.g. check your local Tesco).

[TooPoorToBeHere]

Lloyds World Elite. 0.5% cashback on the first £15k, 1% on the rest.

Add paid Curve for Fronted and drawing cash if you can be arsed.

[Travel Strong]

Wickes and B&Q definitely take Amex.

Also falls in the ‘if you can be arsed’ category, but:

You can purchase B&Q and Wickes gift cards at a discount via many work employer schemes such as perks at work (7% off)… And when there are credit card offers for morrisons cashback at 10%, you can go all out on this too.

I purchased 6 grand of timber at a 10% discount in this way during covid.

For a further 10% off – get a trade card for these places too. Not too difficult to obtain, but you will have to provide something that ticks the boxes.