MBNA withdraws its Amex Rewards and Cashback credit cards

MBNA is scrapping two popular American Express reward credit cards next month, affecting more than 75,000 customers.

The firm’s Rewards Credit Card and Credit Card with Cashback have not been available to new customers since October 2015. But existing cardholders have now been told that from Sept 22 they will no longer be able to earn points or cashback.

Customers will be sent a new Visa credit card, which MBNA said will arrive by the end of November. The majority of customers currently earn one point per £1 spent or 0.5pc cashback on purchases.

Reward points must be redeemed by Nov 30. Cashback earned in 2017 will be paid into the customer’s account by the end of October.

MBNA blamed the withdrawal of the two cards on changes to EU legislation in December 2015, under which debit and credit card fees were capped.

Before the regulation was introduced, retailers paid an average rate of 0.8pc per credit card transaction and 9p for debit cards. In December 2015, the fees were capped at 0.3pc for credit cards and 0.2pc for debit cards. Banks feared losing millions of pounds a year so credit card providers began to cut the cashback and rewards they offered to customers. American Express’s Platinum Cashback Everyday credit card offers new cardholders 5pc cashback up to £100 in the first three months as long as you spend £3,000 in a year.

After three months, the card offers up to 1pc cashback if you spend more than £5,001. If you spend less, you’ll earn 0.5pc. American Express also has a Platinum Cashback credit card that pays 5pc cashback up to a maximum of £125. The rate then drops to 1.25pc on spending over £10,001, or 1pc on smaller sums. There is a £25 annual fee.

Asda’s Money card pays 1pc on spending at Asda and 0.5pc elsewhere. Its Cashback Plus card offers 2pc cashback on Asda spending and 1pc on other purchases but costs £3 a month.

Santander’s Everyday credit card offers 0.5pc cashback and five “welcome offers” that give borrowers between 5pc and 25pc at selected retailers. You can also opt in to its retail offer scheme, which could earn you 15pc cashback. It costs £3 a month.

However, some have already withdrawn their cashback cards. Capital One, one of the biggest credit card providers, was the first and scrapped all of its reward cards in April 2015. A month later, RBS and NatWest announced the end of the “YourPoints” scheme.

Tesco Bank has cut back its offers. From November, customers need to spend £8 outside Tesco to earn one Clubcard point, instead of £4 previously.