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Like many of you I’ve received numerous letters re changes to T’s & C’s and having had 3 (platinum, BAPP and Business) cards for a while don’t want to fall foul of AE but here’s the thing.
I buy a rail ticket for a meet in London and use AE as there’s a rail promotion. That expense is then reclaimed at the month end on a monthly expense form. Is that a private or business expense in the eyes of AE. Similarly filling up with fuel or other travel & subsistence costs (hotels/meals etc)? it
is very grey and impossible to police or am I missing something? I’ve always operated on the monthly expense route and never had any issues.I accept that the £13 confirmation statement fee with C House is clearly business (and I file a lot of them) but are AE really going to withdraw the card for the sake of £13. If they do I can cover that with COT but 150% avios for using BAPP is always welcome.
Thoughts welcome on how you are going to deal with these changes
TIA
I think many who run their own companies will continue as they did: pay via Amex, retaining receipt, transferring to debit card from business account, then paying Amex off at month end.
Any more significant transactions such as large Meta ads payments will obviously fall foul of the rules, but smaller payments that Amex can’t track the paper trail of probably mean very little to them.
In short: I really wouldn’t worry
Their software may programmed to search for obvious business transactions such as C House, Addy, Tupp & Pocket etc so I would just avoid those.
It’s more to stop you paying for goods that are for resale. Ie if you are a sales business and pay your supplier with your Amex card then that’s a no no.
I think many who run their own companies will continue as they did: pay via Amex, retaining receipt, transferring to debit card from business account, then paying Amex off at month end.
Any more significant transactions such as large Meta ads payments will obviously fall foul of the rules, but smaller payments that Amex can’t track the paper trail of probably mean very little to them.
In short: I really wouldn’t worry
I am not a business owner, but I really wonder why buying large Meta ads isn’t an expense in the eye of Amex? Amex makes money with their large transaction and network fees.
I think many who run their own companies will continue as they did: pay via Amex, retaining receipt, transferring to debit card from business account, then paying Amex off at month end.
Any more significant transactions such as large Meta ads payments will obviously fall foul of the rules, but smaller payments that Amex can’t track the paper trail of probably mean very little to them.
In short: I really wouldn’t worry
I am not a business owner, but I really wonder why buying large Meta ads isn’t an expense in the eye of Amex? Amex makes money with their large transaction and network fees.
OP was saying that they might be inclined to use BAPP for business expenses as you earn more points/miles per £ – the Meta ad payment comment is in respect of this…
I’m not sure why this issue gets raised so regularly as it’s mainly a matter of common sense and/or risk appetite. If you own/run your own business it is not compulsory, but better from an accountant/accounting and taxation point of view not to mingle personal and business expenditure. It is a breach of Amex terms (and something reinforced in the recent notices of variation) to put business spend on a personal card (in addition to the s75 issue) and given they are currently tightening up on various things it gives them an excuse to close your account peremptorily. Each individual needs to assess that risk for themselves.
If you are an employee putting occasional travel expenses to be reclaimed later, that’s a different issue, particularly as you probably aren’t even in a position to get a business card anyway and your employer may not offer corporate cards. However, if your employer required you to buy shop display units or a company van on your personal card to reclaim , that’s obviously dodgy.
What really gets me is the mixed messages that AMEX send regarding business/personal spend on a business card.
If they do not want me to also make personal purchases on my business card, then why do they put offers on there that are never likely to be business related like the Regent Seven Seas Cruises and omorovicza skin care cash back?What really gets me is the mixed messages that AMEX send regarding business/personal spend on a business card.
If they do not want me to also make personal purchases on my business card, then why do they put offers on there that are never likely to be business related like the Regent Seven Seas Cruises and omorovicza skin care cash back?Companies often reward their best staff with gifts. For some people that might be an Easter Egg or a Christmas Party, someone else might be a Harrods Hamper or a luxury cruise.
My best gift from work was a Tag Heur watch as a thank you for spending 300 nights in UK hotels for work in 15 months.
What really gets me is the mixed messages that AMEX send regarding business/personal spend on a business card.
If they do not want me to also make personal purchases on my business card, then why do they put offers on there that are never likely to be business related like the Regent Seven Seas Cruises and omorovicza skin care cash back?they run tv alerts at the moment with the tag line, The Card Is For Business, The Points Are For Pleasure..
that seems like mixed messaging to me
What really gets me is the mixed messages that AMEX send regarding business/personal spend on a business card.
If they do not want me to also make personal purchases on my business card, then why do they put offers on there that are never likely to be business related like the Regent Seven Seas Cruises and omorovicza skin care cash back?they run tv alerts at the moment with the tag line, The Card Is For Business, The Points Are For Pleasure..
that seems like mixed messaging to me
This is very true actually. HMRC must be seething
What really gets me is the mixed messages that AMEX send regarding business/personal spend on a business card.
If they do not want me to also make personal purchases on my business card, then why do they put offers on there that are never likely to be business related like the Regent Seven Seas Cruises and omorovicza skin care cash back?Companies often reward their best staff with gifts. For some people that might be an Easter Egg or a Christmas Party, someone else might be a Harrods Hamper or a luxury cruise.
My best gift from work was a Tag Heur watch as a thank you for spending 300 nights in UK hotels for work in 15 months.
I trust that the watch paid by your employer was reported as part of your personal income for tax purposes.
I hope the employer would have sorted out tax on the Tag Heuer watch mentioned above. There should be no need for an employee to do anything. That’s what P11D and P60 forms are for.
It all seems pretty clear to me. If I’m staying in a hotel on business and settle the bill, that’s normal usage of a credit card. Paying a hotel bill when I didn’t even stay in the hotel would be abuse. Putting fuel on my own car for a business trip is OK; paying for someone else’s fuel isn’t. Settling a hotel bill for a couple.of colleagues is normal; paying for 20 rooms for a corporate conference isn’t. Buying 50 laptops or paying for Azure data services isn’t normal personal use, but buying a phone for your own use and reclaiming the cost is. The real-wprld test isn’t so much, ‘Do I need this for business’, as, ‘Was this business expense for me personally?’
What really gets me is the mixed messages that AMEX send regarding business/personal spend on a business card.
If they do not want me to also make personal purchases on my business card, then why do they put offers on there that are never likely to be business related like the Regent Seven Seas Cruises and omorovicza skin care cash back?Companies often reward their best staff with gifts. For some people that might be an Easter Egg or a Christmas Party, someone else might be a Harrods Hamper or a luxury cruise.
My best gift from work was a Tag Heur watch as a thank you for spending 300 nights in UK hotels for work in 15 months.
I trust that the watch paid by your employer was reported as part of your personal income for tax purposes.
It was accounted for correctly.
Thankfully nothing to account for on 300 nights split across IHG and Marriott at the time, or the points earned on the weekly flights or train fares.
What really gets me is the mixed messages that AMEX send regarding business/personal spend on a business card.
If they do not want me to also make personal purchases on my business card, then why do they put offers on there that are never likely to be business related like the Regent Seven Seas Cruises and omorovicza skin care cash back?Companies often reward their best staff with gifts. For some people that might be an Easter Egg or a Christmas Party, someone else might be a Harrods Hamper or a luxury cruise.
My best gift from work was a Tag Heur watch as a thank you for spending 300 nights in UK hotels for work in 15 months.
I trust that the watch paid by your employer was reported as part of your personal income for tax purposes.
Wow, relevance to this discussion?
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