Business credit card
Discussion
Hi
There's a current Amex offer for bonus pts if you take one of their business credit cards, I already have their personal card. Obviously there is a minimum spend over a period of time to get the pts.
I do have a company but it's a side hustle and so it only spends a small amount each year and it wouldn't meet the spend criteria for the pts.
So my questions are
1) Does any debt incurred on the card have to be paid from my business account?
2) If the answer to 1) is yes then I'm assuming hmrc (and my accountant) wouldn't be best pleased about me transferring money from my personal account into the business account to pay the cc bill?
Is there a clever (but legal) way around this? The spend has to be within the first 3 months so it wouldn't be happening for very long.
(I would just ask my accountant but he is away for a week over Easter)
Thanks
There's a current Amex offer for bonus pts if you take one of their business credit cards, I already have their personal card. Obviously there is a minimum spend over a period of time to get the pts.
I do have a company but it's a side hustle and so it only spends a small amount each year and it wouldn't meet the spend criteria for the pts.
So my questions are
1) Does any debt incurred on the card have to be paid from my business account?
2) If the answer to 1) is yes then I'm assuming hmrc (and my accountant) wouldn't be best pleased about me transferring money from my personal account into the business account to pay the cc bill?
Is there a clever (but legal) way around this? The spend has to be within the first 3 months so it wouldn't be happening for very long.
(I would just ask my accountant but he is away for a week over Easter)
Thanks
Edited by Deep on Saturday 4th April 10:17
Deep said:
1) Does any debt incurred on the card have to be paid from my business account?
Yes.Deep said:
2) If the answer to 1) is yes then I'm assuming hmrc (and my accountant) wouldn't be best pleased about me transferring money from my personal account into the business account to pay the cc bill?
(I think) there's nothing illegal or underhand in doing that (though AmEx may not like it and if they get wind may withdraw the card and points accrued) providing everything is balanced and accounted for. It's essentially a Director's Loan to the company which the company repays. Where it gets tricky is with VAT (assuming the business is VAT registered) and the classification of what ever it is the company buys in terms of it being classed as an asset.
Life is a little easier if the business is a sole trader enterprise.
Deep said:
Is there a clever (but legal) way around this? The spend has to be within the first 3 months so it wouldn't be happening for very long.
Providing it's short term and everything balances and transparent then it's highly unlikely you'll attract the interest of HMRC.You buy whatever you want on the company card, pay it back from the company bank account, account for it as a Director's Loan and then pay it back from your personal account into the business, settling the 'loan'.
Obviously you don't claim VAT back on the purchases but there's absolutely no problem doing it that way.
I have my business card linked up to Amazon and the few things I buy that are personal, I total up on the statement and pay it back.
Nothing dodgy, nothing difficult.
(Unless me and my accountant are missing anything glaring and I've been doing it wrong all these years)
I am wary of AMEX after a previous bad experience, I used them personally and had cards in 4 different company names. Did an MVL on one of the businesses and they cancelled them all, including personal, quoting their 'one card' rule.
Now I use Capital On Tap for all business cards and it's much better.
Obviously you don't claim VAT back on the purchases but there's absolutely no problem doing it that way.
I have my business card linked up to Amazon and the few things I buy that are personal, I total up on the statement and pay it back.
Nothing dodgy, nothing difficult.
(Unless me and my accountant are missing anything glaring and I've been doing it wrong all these years)
I am wary of AMEX after a previous bad experience, I used them personally and had cards in 4 different company names. Did an MVL on one of the businesses and they cancelled them all, including personal, quoting their 'one card' rule.
Now I use Capital On Tap for all business cards and it's much better.
Puzzles said:
Yep capital on tap is very easy if youre a company and you get 1% cash back with no fees.
Yes it's a very good perk as you can have that 1% paid into your personal account. I had around £5,000 at Christmas time as a nice little bonus, you can turn them into Avios or Virgin Atlantic airmiles or as I did this year, a £5,000 Selfridges voucher which covered a load of presents.I know this is slightly off topic, but as the OP's question has been answered, COT is also good for additional staff and allows them to take pictures of receipts in the app making it easy to manage and you get the benefit of their spending too.
Thanks guys.
I'm naturally a suspicious person when it comes to offers and am trying to figure out what's in it for Amex with this deal. The offer is
Take a business card
No annual charge for the first year but you have to agree to £195 in year 2
Spend £6k in three months and get 60,000 pts
My plan is to take the card, put all the spending that would usually have gone on my personal Amex onto this card, clear the card in full, pay the £150 annual charge in year 2 and then cancel in year 3.
I will therefore get 60,000 pts for £195
Now that's great for me but not great for Amex. Are they just hoping that the majority of customers will carry out additional spending on the business card?
(My limited company doesn't actually trade goods, incur travelling costs etc as such so the yearly spend is less than £1k)
Thanks very much.
I'm naturally a suspicious person when it comes to offers and am trying to figure out what's in it for Amex with this deal. The offer is
Take a business card
No annual charge for the first year but you have to agree to £195 in year 2
Spend £6k in three months and get 60,000 pts
My plan is to take the card, put all the spending that would usually have gone on my personal Amex onto this card, clear the card in full, pay the £150 annual charge in year 2 and then cancel in year 3.
I will therefore get 60,000 pts for £195
Now that's great for me but not great for Amex. Are they just hoping that the majority of customers will carry out additional spending on the business card?
(My limited company doesn't actually trade goods, incur travelling costs etc as such so the yearly spend is less than £1k)
Thanks very much.
Edited by Deep on Saturday 4th April 10:17
Deep said:
Thanks guys.
I'm naturally a suspicious person when it comes to offers and am trying to figure out what's in it for Amex with this deal. The offer is
Take a business card
No annual charge for the first year but you have to agree to £195 in year 2
Spend £6k in three months and get 60,000 pts
My plan is to take the card, put all the spending that would usually have gone on my personal Amex onto this card, clear the card in full, pay the £150 annual charge in year 2 and then cancel in year 3.
I will therefore get 60,000 pts for £195
Now that's great for me but not great for Amex. Are they just hoping that the majority of customers will carry out additional spending on the business card?
(My limited company doesn't actually trade goods, incur travelling costs etc as such so the yearly spend is less than £1k)
Thanks very much.
Transaction fees on business cards aren’t limited in the same way personal cards are so that’s one benefit for Amex. I'm naturally a suspicious person when it comes to offers and am trying to figure out what's in it for Amex with this deal. The offer is
Take a business card
No annual charge for the first year but you have to agree to £195 in year 2
Spend £6k in three months and get 60,000 pts
My plan is to take the card, put all the spending that would usually have gone on my personal Amex onto this card, clear the card in full, pay the £150 annual charge in year 2 and then cancel in year 3.
I will therefore get 60,000 pts for £195
Now that's great for me but not great for Amex. Are they just hoping that the majority of customers will carry out additional spending on the business card?
(My limited company doesn't actually trade goods, incur travelling costs etc as such so the yearly spend is less than £1k)
Thanks very much.
Edited by Deep on Saturday 4th April 10:17
The main risk of your plan is Amex getting wind of what you’re up to and cutting you off.
I also don’t think you get the same protection on purchases that you do when made with a personal card.
What personal Amex card do you have and how long have you had it? What do you intend to use the points for? Reason I ask is there may be other cards available to you where you can legitimately earn the points.
Deep said:
Now that's great for me but not great for Amex. Are they just hoping that the majority of customers will carry out additional spending on the business card?
Amex make most of their money from the fees they charge merchants which can vary between 2.3% and 5% of the total transaction fee. It's one of the highest fees of all cards which explains why Amex isn't as widely accepted as others.But they are one of the most generous in terms of user-incentive and rewards - Avios in particular.
DeuceDeuce said:
Transaction fees on business cards aren t limited in the same way personal cards are so that s one benefit for Amex.
The main risk of your plan is Amex getting wind of what you re up to and cutting you off.
I also don t think you get the same protection on purchases that you do when made with a personal card.
What personal Amex card do you have and how long have you had it? What do you intend to use the points for? Reason I ask is there may be other cards available to you where you can legitimately earn the points.
I have the Amex Gold personal card, have had it for about 8 years.The main risk of your plan is Amex getting wind of what you re up to and cutting you off.
I also don t think you get the same protection on purchases that you do when made with a personal card.
What personal Amex card do you have and how long have you had it? What do you intend to use the points for? Reason I ask is there may be other cards available to you where you can legitimately earn the points.
I only use the pts to convert to air miles with the associated airlines, never anything else.
I have also just got a Personal Barclay Card elite Avios Master card, that will be used for transactions where Amex isn't taken.
Thanks
Do you know this site?
https://www.headforpoints.com
Lots of tips for getting the most out of reward cards.
A quick points boost can often be had by adding supplementary cards or referring others for cards.
If you fly long haul with BA and want to get the most out of your Avios then the BA Premium Amex Avios card really should be on your radar next time an enhanced bonus is offered. The companion voucher is about the most valuable benefit available to UK card holders.
https://www.headforpoints.com
Lots of tips for getting the most out of reward cards.
A quick points boost can often be had by adding supplementary cards or referring others for cards.
If you fly long haul with BA and want to get the most out of your Avios then the BA Premium Amex Avios card really should be on your radar next time an enhanced bonus is offered. The companion voucher is about the most valuable benefit available to UK card holders.
DeuceDeuce said:
Do you know this site?
https://www.headforpoints.com
Lots of tips for getting the most out of reward cards.
A quick points boost can often be had by adding supplementary cards or referring others for cards.
If you fly long haul with BA and want to get the most out of your Avios then the BA Premium Amex Avios card really should be on your radar next time an enhanced bonus is offered. The companion voucher is about the most valuable benefit available to UK card holders.
Thank you.https://www.headforpoints.com
Lots of tips for getting the most out of reward cards.
A quick points boost can often be had by adding supplementary cards or referring others for cards.
If you fly long haul with BA and want to get the most out of your Avios then the BA Premium Amex Avios card really should be on your radar next time an enhanced bonus is offered. The companion voucher is about the most valuable benefit available to UK card holders.
I'm aware of that site but have never really kept an eye on it, I will from now on.
As I already have an Amex I am usually excluded from any introductory offer on other Amex cards, they stipulate that you can't have had any other Amex cards within the preceeding 24 months
Deep said:
Thank you. I won't be going over £10k but I'm curious where that number comes from? Could you explain please?
The £10k is an HMRC threshold where you need to start paying interest on the loan or report it as BIK on P11d and there are also corp tax implications if it s not repaid on time making it a pain.Edited by trickywoo on Saturday 4th April 15:45
trickywoo said:
The £10k is an HMRC threshold where you need to start paying interest on the loan or report it as BIK on P11d and there are also corp tax implications if it s not repaid on time making it a pain.
Excellent, thank you very much indeed!Edited by trickywoo on Saturday 4th April 15:45
StevieBee said:
Deep said:
Now that's great for me but not great for Amex. Are they just hoping that the majority of customers will carry out additional spending on the business card?
Amex make most of their money from the fees they charge merchants which can vary between 2.3% and 5% of the total transaction fee. It's one of the highest fees of all cards which explains why Amex isn't as widely accepted as others.But they are one of the most generous in terms of user-incentive and rewards - Avios in particular.
The intro deal was the first 250k or so at 0.9%
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