Monzo and AMEX topup

Hi,

I spend using my AMEX to collect Avios points (£1=1 point). However I’ve discovered Monzo and it looks to be perfect for budgeting etc.

It seems that it’s not possible to top up Monzo using Amex thus benefiting from Avois rewards and Monzo usability.

However could people confirm if this roundabout technique could be used:

-Get a Paypal Access Card
-Link my AMEX card to my Paypal account
-Top up Monzo using my Paypal Access Card
-Receive Avios points and spend using Monzo

I know it seems a bit mad… What do people think?

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You’ll likely be charged a fee for what is essentially a cash withdrawal through your Amex would you not? If so, are the points worth more to you than the charge?

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PayPal charges fees on Amex

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I currently connect my AMEX card to my Paypal and don’t get charged any fees when I purchase using it e.g. on eBay etc.

Recently I bought gig tickets and they only accepted Visa, Mastercard or Paypal. So I used my Paypal and it was therefore charged to my AMEX and I was able to collect points without any extra fees.

So I suppose the question is, does the Paypal Access Card charge fees when it’s used? As I understood it was just like using Paypal anywhere and the money would automatically come out of the account attached to your Paypal. Therefore I would be transferring money from Paypal Access to Monzo, which isn’t a cash withdrawal technically, it’s technically purchasing Monzo ‘credit’?

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Hi @iweb89, I have a Paypal access card and it doesn’t charge fees when used for point of sale and internet purchases.

Might be worth trying a small £10 topup on your Monzo card with your Paypal card, to see if you incur any fees on the Paypal side. I don’t see why you would but I could be wrong. It is Paypal after all! :slight_smile:

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So with a PayPal access card, do you need to top up your PayPal balance first to use it?

Or does it automatically deduct from your chosen bank account/card?

Looking into this a bit more I realised you can’t top up your PayPal account with a credit card, only with a bank account.

yep. it is not automatic so you need to top up with bank transfer or debit card

Foiled again.

What if,

I had 2 paypal accounts set up. Then transferred the money from one to the other (as you can pay other accounts with Amex linked to PayPal).

Then topped up with a PayPal access card?

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I’ve topped up my Monzo account with my PayPal Access Card before. Just for the record. No fees on that.

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Yeah the trouble I’m having is crediting my PayPal account with my AMEX. Any work around ideas would be appreciated.

You’re essentially trying to engineer a way to get ‘cash’ from a card which is designed (rightly or wrongly) to not allow it without additional fees being charged for the privilege .

There’s unlikely to be a workaround as I’m sure they’ll have thought of all options, but if you do find one I’d be interested to hear.

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Get a PayPal Here card reader and charge your card that way.

As anyone tried topup with apple pay ?

it doesn’t work, Amex is recognised as a credit card :slight_smile:

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Many people would be interested to hear I’m sure. There are several ways to do what you describe, but they’re generally kept under wraps because they get jumped on by people looking to cash out stolen credit cards and the like. As such it’s in financial institutions’ best interest to shut these loopholes ASAP.

If you do find a route that works, the best thing to do to preserve it is not to share it with anyone. I’ve got quite a lot of them on the go - easy things like direct deposits into current account with Amex to complex multi layered arbitrages which seem funds moved from Amex to my bank account. For inspiration perhaps try Googling “Manufactured Spending”. Probably best not to use Monzo for this sort of thing though!

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