Shoppers can pocket a little present for themselves when shopping locally this Christmas.
Launching today (1 December), the American Express Shop Small promotion allows cardholders to earn up to £15 cashback when using their Amex credit card in participating shops.
We'll get into how it works, but first we wanted to highlight how the offer has been scaled back once again.
Dwindling Amex Shop Small rewards
A few years ago, Amex cardholders could earn £5 cashback every time they spent £10 in participating stores.
But it then put a cap of 10 transactions in place, meaning they could only earn a maximum of £50 cashback.
In 2021, it went even further and halved the cashback offer to five transactions, while also hiking the amount someone has to spend to qualify for a cashback payout to £15.
That meant you could only earn a maximum of £25 cashback from a minimum spend of £75.
This year, it has capped the number of transactions at just three, meaning a maximum of £15 cashback.
What's more, it has dramatically reduced the timeframe you can take advantage: in previous years, the scheme ran for up to 10 days, but in 2023 you'll only have one weekend to make all your purchases.
How to take part in the Shop Small scheme
If you're still interested in taking part in the Shop Small promotion, there are a few things you'll need to know.
The scheme will run from today (1 December) to Sunday, 3 December.
You'll need to register your card first to be eligible.
Once that's done, spend at least £15 in a single transaction at a participating small business and you'll automatically receive a £5 credit on your statement.
Finally, note that corporate cards, prepaid cards and cards issued by Lloyds are not eligible for the Shop Small promotion.
How to earn cashback all year round
Aside from Shop Small, American Express cards reward you for spending all year round.
The American Express Platinum Cashback Everyday Card (representative 31% APR), which has no annual fee, will pay you 5% cashback in the first three months up to a maximum of £100 – in other words, you'll need to spend £2,000 during that period to get the top amount.
After that, you’ll earn a tiered rate of cashback, depending on how much you spend.
The American Express Platinum Cashback Credit Card (36.7% representative APR) also pays 5% cashback in the first three months, but this is up to a slightly higher maximum of £125.
Thereafter you'll also earn a tiered rate of cashback, but at a slightly more generous rate than the card above.
The reason it's more generous is there's a £25 annual fee, so it's probably only suitable for those able to use it frequently.
As with any cashback credit card, it's vital you repay your debt in full every month or you'll soon rack up far more in interest charges than you'll gain in cashback rates.