Exclusive: Amex ‘Small Business Saturday’ cashback details revealed

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Two months ago, I ran this article on ‘Small Business Saturday’. This has been running in the US for a few years, and is a nationwide attempt to promote smaller retailers.

It is of interest to Head for Points readers because American Express is the main sponsor. In the US, Amex offers generous discounts on transactions made on the day.

As per my original post, the first UK ‘Small Business Saturday’ will be on Saturday 7th December.

Small Business Saturday

I have now found out what the American Express promotion will be.

For all purchases made at participating shops on the day using an American Express card, you will receive a £5 statement rebate. The minimum purchase required will be £10.

The exact details are not yet available. I am guessing that you will need to register your Amex card in advance, and I am guessing that you WILL be able to use MBNA and Lloyds cards as well. I am also guessing that it will be ‘one statement credit per card per retailer’. (This means that if you have 5 Amex cards, you could buy 5 x £10 gift vouchers in each shop and use them for a larger purchase.)

The list of participating shops appears to be same list as was used for the ‘Shop Small’ promotion earlier this year.

More details will undoubtedly emerge from Amex as we get closer to the date.

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:

Barclaycard Select Cashback Credit Card

1% cashback and no annual fee Read our full review

Category

American Express Gold card, American Express Platinum card, British Airways American Express, Marriott Bonvoy American Express

This article is closed to new posts. Discussion continues in the HfP Forums.

PTM101 says:

9 Nov9 November 08:01

Just one day? It’s going to be tricky to earn back the Platinum fee in just one day, but will give it a go! I miss the the foursquare and shopsmall promos of last year. Discounts aside, it is excellent that American Express promotes it’s smaller merchants with these offers. From last Novembers shop small we found a number of excellent retailers that we didn’t know existed, let alone that accept Amex, and have been back regularly ever since.
- John says:
  
  9 Nov9 November 08:51
  
  The Platinum fee? Do you have 90 Amexes?
  
  I’ve only managed to earn £10 of the potential Gold fee (tripadvisor) back so far, as all the previous offers have made me spend more than I otherwise would…
  - PTM101 says:
    
    9 Nov9 November 10:41
    
    Not quite 90, but with Mrs PTM’s accounts, MBNA accounts and additional cards, we have taken full advantage of recent promotions! Living in Manchester we’re forgotten by Amex when it comes to Platinum offers (unless they think all members have a second home in London), so we take any scraps they throw up here!
    - Phillip says:
      
      9 Nov9 November 13:36
      
      Isn’t it up to merchants to sign up rather than Amex going after them? Maybe a few flyers are needed in Manchester to get merchants more involved! 🙂
      - Alan says:
        
        9 Nov9 November 13:41
        
        For ShopSmall perhaps, but for the main Platinum offers it sadly seems to be just a bit of South East myopia from Amex that’s to blame!
      - PTM101 says:
        
        10 Nov10 November 01:17
        
        Shop small was used very effectively by Amex to attract new merchants to accept their cards. In many of the business we visited Amex had actively targeted them stating that the promotion would win new customers, and they enjoyed free promotion from the offer. It worked well as far as I can see. As mentioned earlier we have become regular customers to several businesses that I would never have otherwise visited, and certainly wouldn’t expect to accept Amex. To their advantage Amex have worked hard to build up the number of merchants that accept the card, and are starting to rid themselves of the perception that only large multiple outlet retailers accept their cards.
        
        Of course a number of retailers particularly those who use a third party for merchant services such as payment sense, knew nothing of the Shop small promotion and where perplexed by the sudden increase in Amex turnover! Payment Sense and other similar providers must have put all of their customers into the promotion, and didn’t tell them.
        
        And yes I was referring to the many London only Platinum perks that us Northern cardmembers subsidise!!
      - Mummy55 says:
        
        10 Nov10 November 03:27
        
        Your right! Try living in Newcastle it’s a ‘black hole’ for Amex Platinum perks!!!!!!
Phillip says:

9 Nov9 November 08:37

Oopsy, wrong country 😛
Mike Turnbullu says:

9 Nov9 November 09:29

Happy belated birthday !
Simon says:

9 Nov9 November 09:48

Can’t complain although reading AMEX in the US offered $25 statement credit for any purchase of $25 or more I was being greedy and hoping for a little more!

I’m still drinking my way through all the half price booze purchased during the last small shop promo!
thesaver79 says:

10 Nov10 November 09:11

All details and registration form have now been published http://www.amexshopsmall.co.uk/
- Rob says:
  
  10 Nov10 November 09:16
  
  Good spot, confirmed at an unlimited number of £5 rebates!
  - thesaver79 says:
    
    10 Nov10 November 09:23
    
    The website is much better this time, by the way. I like the fact that you can filter by “Food and Drink” and “Shopping”.
- Alan says:
  
  10 Nov10 November 09:30
  
  Thanks – as you say a much easier website this time. Filtering also seems to let you see a list too, making it even easier. This time round they seem to have a lot more locations outside of London – shame it’s only for a single day though rather than a weekend – predictably I’m abroad on the Saturday so miss out 🙁
  - thesaver79 says:
    
    10 Nov10 November 09:35
    
    My plan so far is to have three meals out that day and possibly some drinks during the day 🙂
Will says:

11 Nov11 November 11:07

registered. going to france on that day so trying to work something on the way down. searched around the M20 and find a Tesco store included. surely that’s a mistake given the nature of this promotion?!