Does PayPal Accept American Express?

Have you ever been shopping online and got to the checkout only to notice there is no American Express logo? Annoying right? Particularly when you are trying to reach a spending target or gets points towards your next trip! What about a PayPal logo? Does PayPal accept American Express? In this post, we are going to see if you can use your American Express card by paying through PayPal.

Does PayPal Accept American Express?

In short, yes! It’s incredibly useful when a website says it doesn’t accept American Express or doesn’t mention that it does but you see the PayPal logo! You can either checkout as a PayPal guest using your American Express card or add it to your PayPal account and use it to pay. There are no extra fees for using PayPal with retailers.

Remember if you pay through PayPal you lose some of your consumer protection which you would have if you paid via debit/credit card. This is because you don’t have a direct contract with the retailer. PayPal does have its own Buyer Protection but it isn’t enshrined into law.

Friend & Family Payments

If you are looking to accumulate points or reach a spending target you might be tempted to send money on PayPal through the ‘friend and family’ feature using your Amex. Don’t. This is a quickfire way to land you in hot water with American Express and/or PayPal. If you are going to send money this way (and don’t care about the risk), at least be sensible and strategic about it rather than sending 4 figures at a time!

Conclusion

The PayPal logo is a very welcome sight if you have an American Express card! It means you’ll be able to collect points on your purchase (hurray!) What retailers have you noticed accept PayPal but not American Express?