Sending money to friends via Amex with PayPal UK
With the Platinum Cashback Everyday Credit Card, there is a 5% cashback reward for the first 3 months, up to £100. As such, I'm trying to maximise my spending during this period to make the most of this.
I regularly have to send my friends money with PayPal for split bills etc, so was wondering if it was worth sending money in future via my Amex instead of straight from my current account within PayPal.
I know that you can use PayPal at checkouts and select Amex as the method of payment as a way of using the Amex when a shop might not otherwise accept it, but I wondered if the same applied for sending cash to friends and family, or are there some rules/fees that make this non-viable?
Furthermore, if this were possible, surely I could max out my spending every month by sending money to my friend via Amex in PayPal, then getting them to bank transfer it back to me?
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You can transfer money to friends and family this way, and Paypal don't charge any additional fees, but Amex treat this as a "cash advance" and hence charge higher fees / interest on it and it is not eligible for cashback.
Source: I am in the UK, have a Paypal account which is linked to both my Amex card and my bank account, and regularly transfer money to friends and family members this way. When I initially set it up (several years ago now) I tried using Amex in this way and it resulted in the transfer being treated as a cash advance. I now always use the bank account as the source for the transaction and this works fine with no fees being charged at any stage.
From the link you included in the question, the relevant Ts&Cs clearly show that cash advances a) have a higher interest rate than purchases, b) accrue a fee of 3% or £3, whichever is larger, c) start accruing interest on the date of the transaction (i.e. no grace period to the end of the billing cycle as there is on purchases) and d) are not eligible for cashback.
Years ago, a bank offered a 10% cash back for grocery store, gas station, and drug store purchases. I wondered if buying a 0 Visa gift card at the drug store would work or if it was somehow an invalid transaction.
Long story short, I bought ,000 worth of cards over the 90 days the deal was offered. The card cost in fees, so I was ahead 00.
The answer for you is to test the system. Send a 0 amount, and see the result. In my case, the risk was the fee on one card. When I saw the credit show up, I knew I was good to go.
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