Paying your car tax on an American Express card

Links on Head for Points may pay us an affiliate commission. A list of partners is here.

Reader Dan dropped me a note to say that he had just renewed his car tax, and was pleasantly surprised to see that the DVLA website is now accepting American Express for payment. This is quite rare for a Government department.

I had a dig around, and it seems that this has been possible for at least six months. However, as you only renew your tax once a year you might not have come across it yet.

There is a £2.50 fee for paying by Amex. If you have a low-emission car then you might find that the £2.50 fee is not worth it, unless you have a spend target to meet on a new American Express card. Once you get into the £200 range, though, it is tempting to pay the fee – especially with a BA Premium Plus Amex, at 1.5 Avios per £1.

You may also want to think about timing your next Amex card application to fit in with your next car tax payment. After all, a £200 charge makes a big dint in the minimum spend required to hit a sign-up bonus. As a reminder, the spend targets on the main Amex-issued cards are:

Amex Preferred Rewards Gold – £2,000 spend in 3 months, current bonus 20,000 Amex points (=20,000 Avios) – My Review

Amex Platinum – £2,000 spend in 3 months, current bonus 30,000 Amex points (=30,000 Avios) – My Review

BA Amex – £500 spend in 3 months, current bonus 3,000 Avios points – My Review

BA Premium Plus Amex – £3,000 spend in 3 months, current bonus 18,000 Avios points – My Review

Starwood Preferred Guest Amex – £1,000 spend in 3 months, current bonus 10,000 SPG points (=10,000 Avios) – My Review

Want to earn more points from credit cards? – December 2021 update

If you are looking to apply for a new credit or charge card, here are our November 2021 recommendations based on the current sign-up bonus.

You can see our full directory of all UK cards which earn airline or hotel points here. Here are the top current deals:

British Airways BA Amex American Express card

British Airways American Express

5,000 Avios for signing up, no annual fee and an Economy 2-4-1 voucher for spending ….. Read our full review

British Airways BA Premium Plus American Express Amex credit card

British Airways American Express Premium Plus

25,000 Avios and the UK’s most valuable credit card perk – the 2-4-1 companion voucher Read our full review

American Express Preferred Rewards Gold

Your best beginner’s card – 20,000 points, FREE for a year & two airport lounge passes Read our full review

The Platinum Card from American Express

30,000 points and an unbeatable set of travel benefits – for a fee Read our full review

Earning miles and points from small business cards

If you are a sole trader or run a small company, you may also want to check out these offers.

American Express Business Gold

20,000 points sign-up bonus and free for a year Read our full review

American Express Business Platinum

40,000 points sign-up bonus and a long list of travel benefits Read our full review

British Airways Accelerating Business American Express

30,000 Avios sign-up bonus – plus annual bonuses of up to 30,000 Avios Read our full review

Capital On Tap Business Rewards Visa

The most generous Avios Visa or Mastercard for a limited company Read our full review

For a non-American Express option, we also recommend the Barclaycard Select Cashback card for sole traders and small businesses. It is FREE and you receive 1% cashback on your spending: