Spending on Supplementary Card

[byronlewis]

Hi everyone,

I have the AMEX Platinum Card and my parents (living 160 miles away) have a supplementary card. They are visiting me and my business this week and want to buy something from me – can they use their supplementary card to buy from me? I did wonder if it would look a bit odd to AMEX? As the points will show up on my account and I had to provide my business details on the application form. It is a genuine spend (otherwise they’d transfer me the cash over), so I just wondered if this is liable to cause a problem. Any thoughts/experiences?

Cheers

[richo]

Are you asking:
“Can my supplementary card holder, which is on my business credit card account, buy something from my business?”

Sounds like a disaster waiting to happen.

Why would your parent be eligible to be a supplementary card holder on a business AMEX…it should be someone making business spending (business partner, employee, another director etc).

The fact that it is a supplementary card is neither here nor there, they are spending off a credit account in the name of the business (albeit with a personal guarantee in your name).

[richo]

If it’s a personal AMEX they are a supplementary card holder on, and they spend money in your business, what you are saying to AMEX is simply

“I went and bought something from my business with my personal credit card”. The fact that they are supplementary card holders not relevant. Might as well use your own personal card.

Will AMEX notice or care? Probably not for a one off, small purchase. Repeated behaviour? Might raise flags, especially if your business is not processing a high volume of other Amex cards.

The Directors of Marks and Spencer almost certainly use their personal credits cards when they buy their weekly food shop in one of their own stores. Legally the same, but clearly no issue. A director of an SME using their own credit card to spend £30,000 in their own small business?

Arguably have bigger issues with your accountant than the tax man. Round tripping spending, related party transactions etc

[JDB]

The problem lies within your Amex merchant agreement. There is a specific provision about not using your own cards through the merchant account.

[byronlewis]

Hi all

Just to clarify a few things – it’s the Amex platinum Personal card, and its a purchase of £300 for some garden furniture I am selling.

Cheers

[AnotherRandomPerson]

byronlewis wrote:

Hi all

Just to clarify a few things – it’s the Amex platinum Personal card, and its a purchase of £300 for some garden furniture I am selling.

Cheers

I would recommend you just do’t even though it is unlikely that they will find out.

[richo]

byronlewis wrote:

Hi all

Just to clarify a few things – it’s the Amex platinum Personal card, and its a purchase of £300 for some garden furniture I am selling.

Cheers

How do your parents come into it? Them being supplementary card holders mean you are the one paying the credit card bill…if they were buying it from you, why wouldn’t they use a card they paid the bill for?

[byronlewis]

richo wrote:

byronlewis wrote:

Hi all

Just to clarify a few things – it’s the Amex platinum Personal card, and its a purchase of £300 for some garden furniture I am selling.

Cheers

How do your parents come into it? Them being supplementary card holders mean you are the one paying the credit card bill…if they were buying it from you, why wouldn’t they use a card they paid the bill for?

My parents are the supplementary card holder to my main card to help me with the minimum £6k spend to trigger the bonus I am eligible for. They transfer money to me based on what they spend on their supplementary card. I ultimately pay the credit card bill based on their spend and on my spend.