The popular cashback promotion has been replaced with a new raffle-style promotion where cardholders could win a £1,000 credit.
American Express will not be offering cardholders the chance to earn extra cashback at local shops in the buildup to Christmas.
Each December, Amex used to run a Shop Small promotion, which allowed cardholders to earn up to £15 cashback when using their Amex credit card in participating shops.
However, it has taken the decision not to offer the scheme to members for 2024, as first revealed by Andy at Be Clever With Your Cash.
Instead, it will be running a new promotion you can enter to be in with a chance to win a £1,000 credit on your Amex card.
To do so, you will need to nominate your favourite small shop on this page before 7 December. Once you've nominated them your name will be entered into the £1,000 raffle, while the firm will be in with a chance of winning £10,000.
Dwindling Amex Shop Small rewards
While the decision to scrap the Shop Small cashback offer is a blow, the truth is Amex has been greatly cutting back on the incentives over the years.
Back in 2020, you could earn up to £50 cashback but, by last year, this had been slashed to just £15.
What's more, the window for taking part in the promotion was shortened from 10 days to just one weekend.
So the loss of the Shop Small scheme will be less of a loss than it would have been a few years ago.
How to earn cashback all year round
While it's disappointing Amex has taken this decision, it's worth stressing that their cashback credit cards remain among the most generous on the market and are certainly worth considering if you want to get rewarded for spending all year round.
The American Express Platinum Cashback Everyday Card (representative 30.7% APR), which has no annual fee, will pay you 5% cashback in the first three months up to a maximum of £125 – in other words, you'll need to spend £2,500 during that period to get the top amount.
After that, you’ll earn a tiered rate of cashback of 0.5% on all sums below £10,000 and 1% on all spend thereafter.
If you'd like to earn even more cashback, the American Express Platinum Cashback Credit Card (36.3% representative APR) has more generous rates of 0.75% below £10,000 and 1.25% above that point.
However, it charges 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.
Don't fancy borrowing to earn cashback?
If you'd prefer to avoid having to borrow and then repay your debt in order to rack up cashback, another option worth looking into is cashback current accounts.
Some will pay cashback on regular monthly bills, while others will give you cashback on almost all spending.
The cashback is pretty decent, ranging from £3 to £17 a month depending on which option you go for.
See which one best suits your spending habits in our roundup of the best cashback current accounts.