American Express offers £5 cashback if you spend £10 in local shops

American Express gives customers £5 cashback on spends of £10 or more in convenience stores in one of the most generous credit card rewards ever.

To entice shoppers back to the high streets, the credit card giant has launched a bonus deal for customers who spend money at local stores and restaurants.

Under the scheme, you can qualify for £5 cashback up to ten times – meaning up to £50 is available to each customer.

You can use the offer only once at each retailer. The cashback is funded by American Express, not the store. It can also be used in conjunction with the government’s Eat Out To Help Out 50 per cent discount program for restaurants and bars, which launches tomorrow.

American Express has signed thousands of small businesses across the country to the deal, including family-run butchers, clothing stores, hair salons, dry cleaners, bars, fine dining restaurants or local fish and chip shops.

She says she wants to help small businesses struggling to survive the pandemic. The special offer is only available to those who use an American Express payment card. Corporate cards are not eligible.

To take advantage of this feature, you must first download the American Express “Amex” application on your smartphone and press the “Offers” button. Then scroll down to the ‘convenience store’ link which pledges to give your account £5 each time you spend £10 or more at a selected local retailer.

Finally, you hit the blue “Save to Card” bar at the bottom of the site page to activate the deal when you shop. The offer is open for the next six weeks, ending September 13th.

Any participating store can be easily found using the “View Participating Locations” link on the Amex app page when you’re looking at a deal. The link will also be emailed to you upon registration.

Clicking the link will take you to an online map where you can find stores in a specific area. You can also search by company name.

When you use your card to pay at one of these specific stores, the balance should automatically appear on your next card statement.

For example, spend £20 on sirloin steaks at a local participating butcher with your Amex card, and American Express will only charge you £15 from your account.

This should be evident when the phrase lands on your doormat. You must wait at least four days from the moment of payment for the bonus to be credited. The special offer is only available to those who make a purchase within a participating store, not online.

An American Express spokeswoman says, “During these challenging times, we need to support our local small business more than ever. Even though so many are going through hardship, the lockdown has provided an opportunity to reflect on how our money is spent and to show how much we appreciate the support of local independent stores and service.” character you provide.

American Express makes money by charging retailers typically between 2 and 3 percent of each transaction in which its cards are used. It previously relied heavily on international travelers, with Avios points offered for spending with the cards.

Offering “small shopping” isn’t the only way it hopes to attract more customers. It also has other store discounts and “cash back” offers for those who use an American Express payment card.

If you use or exit an American Express card, make sure you pay the bill in full each month. Otherwise you can find the offers end up costing more than the savings made.

For example, those holding British Airways’ American Express Premium Plus card could find they were hit with a staggeringly high APR of 74.7 percent on outstanding balances if they failed to pay the full amount each month.

This is one of the highest interest rates on any credit card on the market.

According to the Small Business Federation, one in five businesses has been forced to lay off employees because of lower demand for high-street goods and services — and local convenience stores have been among the hardest hit by lower profits.

‘After months of little or no revenue coming in but still bills and rents to pay, our high street small business needs all the help they can get,’ says Mike Cherry, president of the Small Business Federation.

“It would be great to see all card providers and banks do everything they can to motivate shoppers to visit small businesses whenever possible, wherever they are.”