When Is Amex Shop Small 2022 Happening?

Amex has recently confirmed Shop Small 2022 is returning in late June. Whereas this used to be an annual event in the winter it now seems its ‘smaller’ summer version is here to stay. Unfortunately, the watered-down version of spending £15 to get £5 back also appears to be here to stay…

What is Amex Shop Small?

Usually a promotion in the run-up to Christmas, it’s to encourage you to shop in smaller independent stores over larger chains. This of course also encourages smaller independent stores to accept Amex cards so they can participate! When making a qualifying purchase (you need to register first) of £15 (or more) at a participating retailer during the promotion period you will receive £5 back.

When is Amex Shop Small 2022?

It runs from 20 – 26 June 2022 (Monday – Sunday.) This is much shorter than the previous summer versions presumably as the previous two summer versions were in between COVID lockdowns.

How do I find stores taking part in Amex Shop Small?

You can use the map on Amex’s Shop Small website – https://www.americanexpress.com/uk/benefits/shop-small/shoppers.html – often you’ll see shops with an Amex Shop Small sticker in the window.

On the map, you can search by business name or postcode/location to see what shops near you are taking part!

Please note in previous years this map hasn’t been 100% accurate. There are stores not on there that are taking part and stores that are that don’t even accept Amex!

It’s not restricted to shops selling physical products! You will find a selection of barbers, cafes & pubs amongst other stores taking part too.

How do I take part in Shop Small 2022?

First of all, save the offer to your card (registration is not open yet but when it is, it will appear under offers once you’ve logged into your account.) Starting from the 20th of June when you make a qualifying purchase of £15 or more at a shop that is taking part in shop small, you will receive a £5 credit within a few days of your transaction.

Key points

You can only make one transaction, per registered card, per shop. So if you only have your Gold Amex registered you will only receive the credit once per location.

If you have multiple cards and/or supplementary cards that are registered for the promotion you can use them in the same location you’ve used a different card in and get the credit.

You can use the offer at up to 5 different participating small businesses per registered card.

Don’t abuse the offer! For example, asking the merchant to split your bill into £15 chunks and paying with a different Amex card for each piece. Amex has been known to close the accounts of people who do this.

You needn’t worry about taking full advantage of this offer as it is fully funded by American Express, not the small business. You can read more about the promotion here – https://www.americanexpress.com/uk/benefits/shop-small/shoppers.html