List of AMEX Cards NOT Issued by American Express

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Spoiler alert. On this list, I find the FIA Fidelity AMEX to be the most valuable. I just love that card so much.

List of AMEX Cards NOT Issued by American Express

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: 

BankName of Card
Bank of AmericaAAA Rewards American Express
Bank of AmericaAccelerated Rewards American Express
Bank of AmericaAsiana Airlines American Express
Bank of HawaiiAmerican Express Card with MyBankoh Rewards
BarclaysTravelocity Rewards American Express (no longer offered)
CitibankSelect / AAdvantage American Express (no longer open to new applications)
FIAFidelity Investment Rewards American Express (no longer offered).
Read my review of this card.
First National Bank of OmahaAmerican Express
PenFedPremium Travel Rewards American Express
USAACashback Rewards Plus American Express
USAACash Rewards American Express
US BankFlexPerks Travel Rewards American Express
Wells FargoPropel American Express - Learn more here
Store CardBloomingdale's American Express
Store Card (Issued by Wells Fargo)Dillard's American Express
Store CardMacy's American Express

Sources: Here and here.

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
List of AMEX Cards NOT Issued by American Express

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: 

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About Harlan

Just a dude living in Memphis, traveling, and working toward financial independence.

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  1. 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! 🙂

    • Lots of reasons:

    • Send money to a roommate to pay rent / repay someone for something

      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.

  2. 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.

  3. 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.

  4. I have an Virgin Atlantic Amex issued by MBNA, (They also provide a linked Visa, giving half the miles the Amex gives.)

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