They did mine straight away on the phone - the card number is still the same, just the last 4 digits have changed

I loaded �100 on a card and the paypal conversion US$ rebate meant I was down by �1.29 - so just about enough to make it not worth getting the miles anyway.

You could have been unlucky, given the large swings in the US$ rate in the last few days. That said, until Paypal sorts out their Amex billing issues, this seems - at best - to be something best suited to those of you who have trouble hitting their �10k Amex spend through normal means and would benefits from putting a few �k of visa charges through (eg TV licence, BT bill, insurance, self assessment tax etc).

can anyone confirm that the 24 months validity applies to all BA Amex card accounts? I have not received anything from AMEX confirming it for my blue card and am in the process of applying for a Premium Plus card, and the conditions for that still state that the 2-4-1 is valid for 12 months from issue date.

No, it is just Premium Plus cards according to the leaflet I got

OK, so I guess that's another good reason to get the PP card. Strange that the T&Cs still state 12 months though.

Raffles, I think you've written about this before, are you able to pay self assessment tax & VAT of a partnership on Amex ? Would be great if you could!!

if they're separate cards, would that mean any balance outstanding would incur a balance transfer fee?

The HMRC billpayment website does not accept AMEX.

No. See 'Sticky 3a' on the BMI board. It really only makes sense if you have the old BMI Mastercard at two miles to the �.

It doesn't make sense for BA Miles with the new Tesco card, but if you have the old one (1 mile per �2) then its also a winner.

Just a quick report back on the top up card.

Did a �500 topup and it posted today on Amex quite happily as a normal transaction, miles are through yet but should appear as normal I guess....

Interesting thing to note is that perhaps the �200 daily withdrawal limit on the card is not so strict. I was able to get �490 in 3 withdrawals of �200, �200 and a �90. Next time I'll try in one go and see what happens...

But indeed this does look a good way of getting mileage at a penny a mile or there or thereabouts...

-mrploddy

Be very careful with this: as soon as you start breaking the card's terms and conditions, PayPal are completely within their rights to cancel the card, charge you for the financial cost to them for your break of contract, and probably charge you for the cost for processing your BA Amex credit card transactions (at a guess this would be about 3%).

I know it sounds extreme, but it only takes one quick google search to see how badly PayPal treats their customers, and the possibility that you do not get any money back for months whilst they do their 'investigations'.

Which would be fine, except that I only value a BA Mile at 0.8p, unless I'm using an Amex voucher when you can double that to 1.5p! I'd say using this for cash withdrawals is only worth it if you need to push your Amex spend up to �10k or are considering the more expensive alternative of buying a load of miles via ba.com.

It seems to have some merits as a normal Visa card, though, as long as you remember to top it up, remember what the balance is at all times and don't try it for any restricted transactions such as hotels.

Interesting maths calc there...

About the PayPal top up card, Mrs Roger's tax is due next month, so I could use the opportunity of earning BA Miles via the card. (I had diverted spending from AmEx BA to other cards as the qualifying date for the 2-4-1 was inconvenient for us and because I need to use some of my BD miles. The validity extension for 2-4-1s is making me reconsider.)

I called the AmEx 'help' desk. The person 'didn't think' that a PayPal purchase for the PayPal top up card would qualify for miles and in her opinion it would be considered a cash transaction. I pointed out that an opinion is all very well but wasn't the answer I was looking for, especially as purchases and top ups to the late AmEx TCC did qualify for miles. I'm promised a callback.

Miles are usually shown in online accounts a couple of days after the transaction is posted. If mrploddy or another poster is able to identify miles having been earned for a PayPal top up transaction, it would be very useful if they could confirm. Thanks.