Credit Cards
Explore credit cards and the world of opportunities they offer. Find out more about exclusive benefits and rewards and pick the right American Express product for your needs and lifestyle.
When you use your card to make purchases, your credit provider lends you money and pays the merchant on your behalf. This means you owe them the amount spent.
If you pay off your balance in full each month, you won’t incur late payment fees and interest charges. If you don’t, you’ll need to pay interest on any amount outstanding.
To choose the right credit card, carefully consider your financial habits and goals. You’ll also need to:
Check Credit Limits
Your Credit Card has a limit, which is the maximum amount of money you can borrow. Knowing your credit limit is the first step to keeping your balance under control. You can also make regular payments on your balance to avoid going over your limit.
Discover tips for staying within your credit limit
Review Fees and Charges
The charges you pay partly depend on the type of card you have and how you use it. For example, some of our Cards have no annual fee. Read your Card's terms and conditions to understand the interest rates and fees associated.
Find out more about fees and charges
Learn more about Interest Rates
To find the right card for your needs, familiarise yourself with Annual Percentage Rate (APR) to understand how interest is calculated.
American Express offers a range of Credit Cards with different rewards and benefits tailored to your lifestyle and interests. Whether you want to earn points or cashback on purchases, we make it all possible.
Compare Credit Cards
- Spend £0 to £10,000 and recieve 0.75% cashback on all purchases
- Spend over £10,001 and recieve 1.25% cashback on all purchases
Your interest rates will change in line with the Bank of England base rate. Please click here for more information.
- Get Membership Rewards® points for every pound you spend and redeem with a range of shopping, travel and lifestyle partners
- Unlike other loyalty programmes, Membership Rewards® points never expire. Get shopping, travel and entertainment rewards or even offset any purchase made on your Card.
- Earn up to 1% cashback with no annual fee
- Travel and shopping protection
- The Card that allows you to collect Avios on purchases you are already making, with no annual fee
- Get a Companion Voucher when you spend £15,000 each membership year on the Card, which you can use to either take a companion with you on the same flight and cabin or, if travelling solo, a 50% discount on the Avios price you pay for your flight. Vouchers are redeemable when you book a British Airways, Iberia or Aer Lingus Reward Flight in Euro Traveller, World Traveller and economy class cabins only. Reward flights and Companion Voucher bookings are subject to availability. Taxes, fees and carrier charges apply per person².
- Earn points when you spend – so you’re never far away from your next shopping, lifestyle or travel reward
- Redeem points with great partners like Amazon, Boots and Currys PC World
- Collect 1.5 Avios for every £1 spent, and three Avios for every £1 spent with British Airways or BA Holidays
- Get a Companion Voucher when you spend £15,000 each membership year on the Card, which you can use to either take a companion with you in the same flight and cabin or, if travelling solo, a 50% discount on the Avios price you pay for your flight. Vouchers are redeemable when you book a British Airways, Iberia or Aer Lingus Reward Flight in any cabin. British Airways American Express Premium Plus Cardmembers will have access to additional Reward flight seats within Club World (business) when booking with a Companion Voucher, subject to availability. Taxes, fees and carrier charges apply per person2.
- First year’s Cardmembership4 fee of £30 is on us
- Collect 2 points5 for every full £1 spent on the Card
- Collect up to 4 points6 for every full £1 spent at Nectar partners
- Travel and shopping protection
- Automatic upgrade to Gold Elite Status when you spend £15,000 in purchases on your Card each year
- Receive a Free Night Award, for each year you spend £25,000 on the Card
To apply for a personal Card in the UK you need to meet certain eligibility criteria. As well as our eligibility checker, you can use the following checklist:
- I am aged 18 or over
- I have no history of bad debt
- I have a permanent UK home address
- I have a current UK bank or building society account
You may also need to provide your employment, income and bank account information for some of our Cards, that have additional specific eligibility criteria.
Find out if you're eligible with our Eligibility Checker
Only takes a couple of minutes to complete
Will not impact your
credit rating
Allows you to apply
with confidence
Credit and Charge Cards Explained
Feeling confused about fees, charges and repayment options?
Our simple Credit and Charge Card Guides are a great place to start.
Explore types of Credit Card to suit your needs
Explore our range of Credit Cards to find the one that suits your needs and lifestyle.
A Credit Card limit is the maximum amount of credit you can use on your Card, set when your application is approved. Get tips to stay within your credit limit.
You can find businesses that accept your American Express® Card here.
You can use your Card for any online or in-store purchase, to pay your bills, book flights, hotels and more. Using your Card responsibly could also be a good way to build a positive credit history and improve your credit score.
Increased buying power, cashback, and purchase protection are just some of the advantages of American Express® Credit Cards - as long as you use them responsibly. Find out more about the pros and cons of Credit Cards.
If your application is approved, you'll receive your new Card by post within the next 10 business days.
British Airways American Express Credit Card
1. 5,000 bonus Avios will be awarded onto your Account if you are a new Cardmember and once you have been approved and you have spent and charged a minimum of £2,000 on goods and services to the Account within the first three months of Cardmembership. Cardmembership begins from Card approval.
Please note, it can take up to one month for the bonus Avios to be awarded to your Account once you have met the required spend. Introductory offers are not available if you currently hold or have held any personal American Express Cards in the past 24 months.
2. Terms and conditions apply to Avios redemptions. Reward Flights and Companion Voucher bookings are subject to availability and taxes, fees and carrier charges apply per person. Companion Vouchers can only be used when redeeming Avios for a British Airways, Iberia or Aer Lingus Reward Flight seat in economy only. Detailed information on Companion Vouchers can be found at ba.com/amex-companion or by calling 0844 493 0750 (calls cost 7ppm plus your telephone company access charge). Companion Vouchers earned from 1 September 2021 can be used on bookings departing from outside of the UK as well as allowing the Companion Voucher holder to benefit from a 50% reduction in Avios when making a Reward Flight booking with their Companion Voucher as a solo traveller. Only vouchers earned after 1 September 2021 can be used on Iberia and Aer Lingus. For full Companion Voucher Terms and Conditions visit: ba.com/amex-companion
3. Subject to enrolment, for more information click here. Terms and Conditions apply. Please see the Insurance Terms and Conditions for full details. Please read this to understand the limits and exclusions that may apply.
British Airways American Express Premium Plus
1. New Cardmember Offer: This new Cardmember offer is only available if you have not held a personal British Airways American Express Card within the previous 24 months. If you have held a personal British Airways American Express Card within the previous 24 months, you will be entitled to all other Card benefits, excluding the welcome offer.
30,000 bonus Avios: The 30,000 bonus Avios will be awarded onto your once you have been approved and you have spent and charged a minimum of £6,000 on goods and services to the Account within the first three months of Cardmembership. Cardmembership begins from Card approval. Please note, it can take up to one month for the bonus Avios to be awarded to your Account once you have met the required spend
2. Terms and conditions apply to Avios redemptions. Reward Flights and Companion Voucher bookings are subject to availability and taxes, fees and carrier charges apply per person. Companion Vouchers can only be used when redeeming Avios for a British Airways, Iberia or Aer Lingus Reward Flight seat in any cabin. Detailed information on Companion Vouchers can be found at ba.com/amex-companion or by calling 0844 493 0750 (calls cost 7ppm plus your telephone company access charge). Companion Vouchers earned from 1 September 2021 can be used on bookings departing from outside of the UK, as well as allowing the Companion Voucher holder to benefit from a 50% reduction in Avios when making a Reward Flight booking with their Companion Voucher as a solo traveller. Access to Reward Flight seats within Club World (business class) is available for British Airways Premium Plus Companion Vouchers earned from 1 September 2021. Only vouchers earned after 1 September 2021 can be used on Iberia and Aer Lingus. For full Companion Voucher Terms and Conditions visit: ba.com/amex-companion
3. Subject to enrolment, for more information click here. Terms and Conditions apply. Please see the Insurance Terms and Conditions for full details. Please read this to understand the limits and exclusions that may apply.
1. 5% cashback on your purchases for the first three months of Cardmembership (up to £125). Cardmembership begins from Card approval. Introductory offers are not available if you currently hold or have held any personal American Express Cards in the past 24 months. Any cashback from introductory offers will be credited to your Account in your card anniversary month. Your Card anniversary month is the one month period each year following the date on which your Account was opened. Cashback is not earned on Balance Transfers, Cash Advances, American Express Travellers' Cheques, Foreign Exchange transactions, interest, any spending in excess of your credit limit, charges for returned payments, late payment or referral charges and American Express Credit Card finance charges. You will earn cashback at the rate of 0.5% cashback at warehouse retailers in the United Kingdom. You can find out which retailers we treat as warehouse retailers by checking the FAQ section of our website (americanexpress.co.uk).
2. Cashback is calculated on the amount of the purchase and then rounded down to the nearest full pence. You will earn cashback on purchases applied to your Account at the following rate: 0.75% for the first £10,000 of purchases on your Card Account in the preceding 12 months; and 1.25% on purchases on your Card Account over £10,000 in the preceding 12 months. Cashback will be paid by crediting your Account during each Credit Card anniversary month on the expenditure that has taken place during the preceding 12 months. Cashback is not earned on Balance Transfers, Cash Advances, American Express Travellers' Cheques, Foreign Exchange transactions, interest, any spending in excess of your credit limit, charges for returned payments, late payment or referral charges and American Express Credit Card finance charges. You will earn cashback at the rate of 0.5% cashback at warehouse retailers in the United Kingdom. You can find out which retailers we treat as warehouse retailers by checking the FAQ section of our website.
3. Subject to enrolment, for more information click here.Terms and Conditions apply. Please see the Insurance Terms and Conditions for full details. Please read this to understand the limits and exclusions that may apply.
4. The annual fee is £30. With this offer you will receive the first year of Cardmembership with £0 annual fee. From year two of your membership, a £30 annual fee will automatically be charged to your Account on or after the anniversary of your Account opening date. The first year fee waiver is only available to new American Express Cardmembers. A customer is not considered a new Cardmember if they hold or have held any personal American Express Cards in the past 24 months.
5. 2 points per full £1 spent consists of collecting 2 points for every full £1 spent and charged on your Nectar Credit Card everywhere, including abroad (except for purchases made at warehouse retailers in the United Kingdom (e.g. Costco) where you will earn Points at the rate of 1 point for every full £1).
6. 4 points per full £1 spent consists of collecting 2 points for every full £1 spent and charged on your Nectar Credit Card (except for purchases made at warehouse retailers in the United Kingdom where you will earn Points at the rate of 1 point for every full £1) and 2 points on your Nectar loyalty card at most participating Nectar partners. For BP, Expedia and Homebase, different points levels apply as the base earn rate on the loyalty card varies. See nectar.com for details.
8. Cardmembers can enjoy access to a wide range of in-demand events including music, theatre, and film, often before they go on general sale. Tell me more.
9. Earn Gold Elite status after making £15,000 in eligible purchase on your Card in a calendar year. This includes 25% Bonus Points on Stays, Gold Welcome Gift of Points (250/500 Points), Varies by Brand), 2p.m. Late Checkout (Based on Availability), Enhanced Room Upgrade (Based on Availability), Complimentary Enhanced In-Room Internet Access, Dedicated Elite Reservation Line.
10. Terms and Conditions apply to points redemptions and are subject to availability. Detailed information can be found here. All applicable terms and conditions will be provided to you as you receive your Card when approved.
11. New Cardmember offer: This new Cardmember offer is only available if you have not held a personal American Express® Card within the previous 24 months. If you have held a personal American Express Card within the previous 24 months, you will be entitled to all other Card benefits, excluding the welcome offer.
20,000 bonus Marriott Bonvoy® points: You will receive 20,000 bonus points when you spend and charge £3,000 within the first three months of Cardmembership. Please note that it can take up to two months for bonus points to be awarded to your Account. To join the Marriott Bonvoy Program or for further details, visit https://www.marriott.com/default.mi