American Express in the UK?
 

I am wondering if American Express is widely accepted in London, Edinburgh and The Lake District? I've heard it's not very popular, but was hoping someone could give me some personal experience on this.

Thanks!

A few smaller retaulers might not take it (and for a while British Rail did not either) but on the whole you will find it widely accepted.

There are a few major retailers don't take it, too (including my local petrol/gas station) so beware, but they are in the minority.

You will occasionally see a supplement for using it (that's legal here) but that's more common online.

Personally, I use mine most of the time, but your do need a backup MC/Visa if you want to avoid cash. The Lake District is the most likely to be problematic as you're going to find a lot more smaller business who will find the higher processing fees too expensive. Best to check first.

Amex is very widely accepted in the UK. Smaller retailers sometimes don't (as in the US), but I don't use anything but Amex.

Amex is generally accepted in larger stores or where tourists might shop. Having a backup payment method MC/Visa/Cash would be a good idea, though.

It's not as widely accepted as it is in the States and it costs the retailer more to accept than MC/Visa.

Also, be sure your card has a Chip in it and carry a pen. One of the side effects of Chip & Pin is that no one ever seems to have a pen around to deal with the Chip & Signature cards issued in the States.

I find that quite incredible! I try to put everything on Amex. I certainly do put most things on Amex, but there are plenty of restaurants, for example, which won't touch it.

I would not be so complacent. I agree it's unusual for a large retailer not to accept Amex, but, outside London, IME it's rare for a small retailer to take it. Even in London I have only a 50% success rate. Just last night at the theatre, they wouldn't take Amex for the intermission drinks. You absolutely need another card and I would go further and suggest having back up cash for very remote parts of Cumbria.

As someone who lives well beyond the M25 but works in London 3 days a week, I would agree entirely with this prognosis.

I entirely concur with this. In particular don't put yourself in a situation where the card must be accepted and succeed (the only place to get dinner, the petrol you already put in your car's fuel tank, etc). Ask beforehand if you don't have cash to cover the bill. If you are wondering where to get rid of cash, don't forget almost all hotels will take a part cash, part card payment if you want to do that to use up cash near the end of your trip.

If going around Cumbria, it will be essential to stop into the small shops, tea houses, etc, on the way to fortify yourself for the arduous journey to the next tea house or corner shop :)

Thank you for the help! I will definitely plan on having another card and some cash as backup. I didn't realize that hotels would take part cash part credit card. That will be convenient to use up the cash at the end of the trip.

Thanks everyone!

Cash is definitely useful as some independent places will charge a flat additional fee to use a card on small purchases, so under £5 or £10 you could be hit with an extra 50p-£1. In percentage terms, that's quite punchy.

Amex is widely, but not completely, accepted among big retailers. I find it unusual when a small or independent business tells me they accept it.

Several UK banks issue dual Amex/MC accounts so you use the Amex wherever you can, and switch it for the MC when you find a non-Amex location. So that tells you all you need to know about its acceptance. However, I mainly shop at big retailers and can go months and months without pulling out the Mastercard.

i put everything on my AMEX here

What do you mean by "everything"?

As noted above, not everywhere accepts Amex, so clearly you must sometimes use cash, or Visa/MC, or (for bills) BACS.

Interesting comments from the city-dwellers!

In the Lake District, I would expect to be able to use my Amex at petrol stations, major supermarkets and chain stores, some medium to higher-end hotels.

Elsewhere, at independent shops, small hotels, pubs, museums and attractions etc. I wouldn't even be sure of them accepting cards. And if they do, there might be a minimum transaction value and/ or they might accept debit cards only, not credit.

You won't get far if Amex is your only means of payment.