AMEX Blue - which utilities ?

Z

zag

Guest
Just a quick note to see what utilities you can *definitely* pay by AMEX Blue.

Can anyone advise whether they pay any or all of the following by AMEX Blue direct debit :

ESB
Eircom
Bord Gais
VHI

Cheers,

z
 
Amex refunds and that nice Mr. McCreevy.

I guess there's been similar comment about Amex Blue in the past but anyway....

I've had one for the last few years, attracted by the 1% refund of turnover at year end.

Problem has always been that you need a Visa or Mastercard as well because you can never rely on retailers etc. accepting it.

That was fine before the government duty. I'm not going to pay McCreevy a load of €40's on the off chance I might get a refund bigger than the tax.

I've cut it up and will cancel it after I get my refund on the anniversary of my originally taking it up - in April. Richest irony is that I'll have to pay my 2004-05 €40 just to get the refund on my 2003-04 expenditure.

Does anybody know of a Visa or Mastercard with a similar refund scheme?
 
Re: Amex refunds and that nice Mr. McCreevy.

I reckon having 2 cards is a necessary evil, but reckon I will reasonably easily cover the stamp duty on both with the AMEX refund, plus a good bit more.

When abroad, I keep one and Mrs Zag keeps the other. That way, if one of us gets robbed at least we still have one good one in the short term. When we got done last year in Australia it all worked smoothly and a replacement card was on its way to me in a day or two.

This was after I called the BoI credit card helpline to be told I had the wrong number, and was given another one (in Kilkenny or somewhere). When I rang that number I was greeted with "How did you get this number ?" followed by the admission that the person could assist me after all. Customer service ?

I don't intend to spend more for the sake of getting 1% back, but I do see opportunities for making a little extra when it comes to charging business or other expenses to the card,or when charging a dinner out between friends to the card and people then paying me in cash.

z
 
Amex & backup...

For what it's worth...

I got a BoI Amex Blue just over a year ago, but held on to my BoI MasterCard "just in case"... (you have to!)

Three points:

(a) I use the Amex card wherever I can, and fall back on the MasterCard only when necessary. But between Tesco/Dunnes/petrol stations/Ryanair, etc. I managed to spend €20K on the Amex card over 12 months. Ergo €200 cashback — more than enough to compensate for the €40 extra duty.

(b) Afaik, BoI and any other CC providers will let you nominate your spouse as an extra cardholder (on "your" account), and this doesn't (afaik) mean a duplication of the €40 charge

(c) To come back to the original query about utility bills, etc. — naturally, once I'd bought the "Blue yoke", I set about trying to transfer as many DDs, bills, etc. as possible to it. Latest state of affairs, as far as I can see, is:
ESB don't take it.
Eircom (Line rental, Inc.) ditto.
Chorus take it — but you have to ring an 1890 number each time, you can't do it automatically each month.
Bord Gáis were the queerest fish of all. I rang them and they said they took it. I posted in the written instruction and sat back. Six months later I got a host of 'phone calls and letters saying it had been returned unpaid and I now owed them €600 or they'd cut me off. Got on to CustServ, who said that at the time I'd signed up they were in "a transitional phase" and I'd fallen between two stools... (to be fair, they graciously credited my account with the €6 cashback I'd lost out on...) Assured me they did now indeed accept Amex cards, and that henceforth my bills would be debited to same. Last month, same scenario all over again! Rang up and spent 30 mins talking various poor underpaid CustServ drones through the history and — again, in fairness — they established for me that they do indeed accept Amex "in principle", but the software they use to process DDs can't yet accommodate Amex's 15-digit a/c numbers... So, you have to ring them every second month and do it "manually"

So — how much is your gas bill? Is it worth 15c or 20c to you to ring them (for 5c) every two months?

"Mind the pennies..." me bollix, Nana...!

Dr. M.
 
P.S.

On reflection...

(a) You can also pay the following by Amex Blue (adds up to "better than a poke in the eye with a sharp stick"...) :

1. Your annual car tax(es). What's wrong with a €5-€10 rebate?

2. I said "Ryanair", but in fact most travel agents/hotels/airlines, etc. How much do you spend on holidays each year?

(b) All of my waxing forth on the benefits of Amex blue (and indeed any credit card, cashback or nay...) only apply if you are ab-so-lute-ly sure that you are in a position to clear your full balance every month. Even if it means a term loan from your local bank. If you don't clear your balance every month, forget all of the above and be a "rate tart" — shift your credit card a/c every 6 months and milk the various 0% transfer rates for "new business" until you run out of providers...

And then cut up your credit cards.

Dr. M.
 
Amex and Rail Travel

Does anyone know if Irish Rail accept Amex? how about rail companies in the UK and 'mainland' Europe?
thanks, ajapale
 
Re: Amex and Rail Travel

Hi Dr M - I had similar dodgy experiences with Bord Gais regarding Amex, but they certainly now process my bi-monthly payment directly to Amex without me needing to remind them.
 
Re: Amex and Bored Gosh...

Thanks, rainyday.

Jeesh! I don't believe it. I'm not sure I can face going back over it all over again with them just now... :rolleyes
I'll wait 'till the next bill comes around.

Good thing these guys aren't in charge of pumping gallons of explosively inflammable gas into my home every day... :x
 
oysterman

why not cancel ur card just b4 april 1st and then you will avoid the govt stamp duty
 
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