Take out the Platinum Cashback credit card before 10th March and Amex will give you a bonus £25 cashback!
American Express is offering a bonus £25 cashback to all borrowers who successfully apply for its Platinum Cashback credit card before 10th March.
The card normally comes with a £25 annual fee, so the welcome bonus means you effectively get the card for free for the first 12 months. Having said that, you'll need to pay a fee in your 13th month to get hold of your cashback
Is the Platinum Cashback card any good?
The American Express Platinum Cashback is one of the best cashback credit cards around. It pays 5% cashback on all of your spending in the first three months, capped at £125 cashback, or £2,500-worth of spending. After that you get a flat rate of 1.25%, nor matter how much you spend. You also benefit from 2.5% cashback in each anniversary month with the card if you've spent more than £10,000 over the previous year.
As with all cashback cards, it is crucial that you pay your bill off in full each month. Otherwise the interest you’ll be charged, at 18.7% APR, will soon wipe out any cashback you’ve managed to accrue.
Also, remember that American Express is not accepted everywhere. So if you do a lot of shopping in stores that don’t take American Express cards, that will dent your cashback earning.
How it compares
American Express now arguably offers the two leading cashback cards, as it also has the fee-free Platinum Cashback Everyday card. This card also pays 5% in the first three months, though it has a lower cap of £100.
[SPOTLIGHT]It also pays a tiered rate of cashback after those first three months, depending on how much you spend. You’ll need to spend more than £7,500 in order to get the maximum 1.25% cashback. And there’s a slightly higher representative APR of 19.9% to boot.
If you don’t want an American Express then in my view the best alternative is the Santander 123 Credit Card. The cashback you enjoy depends on where you do your spending: you get 3% at petrol stations, and on National Rail and TFL travel; 2% on spending at department stores; and 1% on the money you spend at supermarkets.
Until the end of January this card also delivers 1% cashback on spending at Amazon. It comes with an annual fee of £24, though this is waived for the first year if you have a 123 current account with Santander. It has a representative APR of a whopping 22.8%. Unusually, it pays cashback on a monthly basis rather than annual, so it’s a good option if you don’t want to hang around all year waiting for your cashback!
If you’re a big spender then there’s also the Capital One Aspire Elite card. It pays 5% cashback in the first three months, capped at £200, followed by up to 2% after that. It includes a concierge service, but will set you back an almighty £120 a year. It has a representative APR of 19.9%.
For more options, read The best cashback credit cards.
Cashback credit cards vs. rewards credit cards
The great thing about cashback credit cards is that you can choose how to spend your rewards. You aren’t limited by a single loyalty scheme.
However, as Simon Ward discovered last year, play reward cards right and they may actually prove even more lucrative! Read Why top reward credit cards beat top cashback cards for more.