Tips for American Visitors to The Uk: Don’t Rely on Amex Cards

Debit and credit cards are widely accepted in Britain, but a visitor from the USA might be surprised to find that most small stores (and even some large ones) as well as many small to medium hotels don’t accept the American Express credit card.

Why? All credit and debit card providers charge a fee (though you as the purchaser don’t usually notice it since it’s the retailer who gets charged). With American Express this percentage fee is higher than with most other cards. American Express don’t deny this, claiming that the higher fee is worth it since it encourages AMEX card holders to spend with them and those people, American Express say, are on average higher earners and higher spenders. They also cite more detailed tools they provide to analyse transactions for patterns. However it seems that quite a few UK retailers aren’t convinced, since many don’t accept the card.

Visa is the most widely accepted credit card in the UK, with Mastercard a close second. If you are determined to use American Express over here, best check first that the shop or hotel accepts it, or have backup means of payment to hand in case you are turned down at the till.

From my own experience, the big supermarkets accept it. Tesco and Morrisons certainly do. I have found that the large home furnishings and accessories chain Dunelm Mill do not, nor do the more budget chain Wilkinson. The list of stores accepting the AMEX card is growing, though, with Boots (the large UK pharmacist, beauty products and photo processing chain) now accepting it, whereas they used not to.

The rule, really, is check first.