UPDATE: One or more of these offers are no longer available. Click here to see the latest deals!
Spoiler alert. On this list, I find the FIA Fidelity AMEX to be the most valuable. I just love that card so much.
Thank you for being a friend – and for NOT being issued by American Express
And this post is gonna be focused on Serve.
Note: It is possible to send money between Serve and REDbird, or Serve and Bluebird.
So if you’re managing multiple cards, you can get a Serve card, load it up for $1,000 each month, and send it to Bluebird or REDbird to pay bills that normally don’t accept credit cards. Like student loans, utilities, mortgage payments, or anyone else.
List of AMEX Cards NOT Issued by American Express:
| Bank | Name of Card |
|---|---|
| Bank of America | AAA Rewards American Express |
| Bank of America | Accelerated Rewards American Express |
| Bank of America | Asiana Airlines American Express |
| Bank of Hawaii | American Express Card with MyBankoh Rewards |
| Barclays | Travelocity Rewards American Express (no longer offered) |
| Citibank | Select / AAdvantage American Express (no longer open to new applications) |
| FIA | Fidelity Investment Rewards American Express (no longer offered). Read my review of this card. |
| First National Bank of Omaha | American Express |
| PenFed | Premium Travel Rewards American Express |
| USAA | Cashback Rewards Plus American Express |
| USAA | Cash Rewards American Express |
| US Bank | FlexPerks Travel Rewards American Express |
| Wells Fargo | Propel American Express - Learn more here |
| Store Card | Bloomingdale's American Express |
| Store Card (Issued by Wells Fargo) | Dillard's American Express |
| Store Card | Macy's American Express |
A few reasons why you might want one of these cards
- If it’s no annual fee, to age your credit accounts
- If the card earns 1 point per $1 spent, earn 12,000 extra points each year by loading $1,000 per month to Serve
- If the card earns 2 points per $1 spent (like the FIA Fidelity AMEX), earn 24,000 extra points (worth $240) per year by loading $1,000 per month to Serve
- If the bank also issues mortgages (Bank of America, USAA, US Bank), it might be good to have a pre-existing relationship with them if you think you’ll one day want to finance a house with them
- In the case of US Bank, you can get a free Gold checking account by having a credit card
- The US Bank FlexPerks AMEX has a $49 annual fee, but Serve reload points will more than offset it, and it has some other category bonuses
Easiest points you’ll ever earn… and you can send money between Serve and Bluebird/REDbird
You will NOT earn bonus points on Serve reloads with cards that ARE issued by American Express. But, you can still use Serve to meet spending thresholds. Like earning Hilton Diamond status at the $40K mark on the Citi Hilton Surpass card.
So if you have an AMEX that offers some sort of spending bonus, you might consider loading up Serve to cross the line.
Bottom line
I don’t recommend using a hard pull to open one of these cards (except maybe the FIA Fidelity AMEX – the BEST cashback card out there right now.)
But if you already have one of these cards, or a have a reason for getting one, loading up Serve is a handy way to earn some free rewards points throughout the year.
Seriously. The underwear factor can NOT be overstated. It takes literally seconds to load up, and you can do it in bed on the Serve app.
You’ll also benefit from standard AMEX purchase protection and benefits, like extended warranty and trip cancellation insurance (but be sure to check exactly what’s offered as coverage levels can vary by card or issuer).
The best AMEX cards do tend to be issued by American Express. But you can still use Serve to meet spend thresholds for earning status, elite stay credits, or the like.
Any cards that I missed? If you have experience with any of these niche cards + Serve, please comment below!
And if you’re in the market for a new travel rewards card (or Serve card), please consider using my links. Thank you!
Also see:
- Exploring Amex Serve for free money and handy uses after April 16th
- Is the Fidelity Amex the best cashback card in the universe?
Announcing Points Hub—points, miles, and travel rewards community. Join for just $9/month or $99/year.
BEST Current Credit Card Deals
The responses below are not provided or commissioned by the bank advertiser. Responses have not been reviewed, approved or otherwise endorsed by the bank advertiser. It is not the bank advertiser's responsibility to ensure all posts and/or questions are answered.
Thank you Harlan! I am not a MS but still wish to learn how to pay bills with credit card spend that normally won’t accept credit cards. I will read some of your further posts to see how this is done as this post implicitly mentions same.
Very cool! There are not a lot of MS opportunities left… but this one is definitely a good way to pay bills while earning some extra points!
Thank you for reading! 🙂
Why transfer from Serve to BB or RB to pay bills? Why not just pay bills directly from Serve?
Lots of reasons:
Combine money into one place to pay a bill that’s more than $1,000
Combine Serve’s $1,000 a month limit with REDbird’s $5,000 a month limit to pay more bills / big bills
To have the option of manufacturing more than $1,000 of spend in a given month
You could also just pay some bills from Serve and some from REDbird/Bluebird. This is just another way to give you more options.
But you can’t have both a Serve and a Redbird/Bluebird in the same name, correct? Are you just saying you can transfer the money to someone else?
Correct. Some people manage accounts for family members as a way to increase manufactured spending, so the transfer option would be helpful to get all the cash in 1 place.
I automated Serve loads from my Arrival+ before they blocked non Amex CCs and thankfully it still works, but if that ever gets stopped, there’s some good options here to continue the free points (Fidelity or Flexperks). Especially with the devaluation of Arrival+, I have no reason to cancel as long as I can load up Serve but who knows what will happen in the future.
That is awesome. Hang on to that for as long as you can!
Do you think Amex will eventually block these non-Amex cards when loading to Serve? Or these banks may categorize it as a cash advance? I’m debating whether it’s worth the hard pull now to get the FIA Amex card.
I have an Virgin Atlantic Amex issued by MBNA, (They also provide a linked Visa, giving half the miles the Amex gives.)