BIG NEWS: Pay HMRC with an American Express card via Bluechain

Last year we covered Bluechain, a company which allows you to pay invoices, business or personal, with a credit card.

Bluechain charges your credit card, adds a small fee and sends a bank transfer to the company or person to whom you owe money. Easy. You can also use it to pay Council Tax.

Even better, it works with American Express as well as Mastercard and Visa.

One major snag for HfP readers was that Bluechain did not accept American Express cards for payments to HMRC – only Visa and Mastercard.

This has now changed. You can pay HMRC using an Amex card via Bluechain for a 2.3% fee.

There is an exclusive HfP offer for signing up if you use our link here. See below for details.

This news may tempt you to jump on the excellent sign-up deals currently running on American Express Business Platinum and Business Gold:

• American Express Business Platinum currently offers up to 120,000 Membership Rewards points. You receive 80,000 points when you spend £12,000 within three months and a further 40,000 points when you make a single transaction between Month 14 and Month 17.

• American Express Business Gold – which is free for your first year – currently offers up to 60,000 Membership Rewards points. You receive 40,000 points when you spend £6,000 within three months and a further 20,000 points when you make a single transaction between Month 14 and Month 17.

If £12,000 in three months felt like too high a target for Business Platinum, this new Bluechain deal may change your mind.

The American Express card offer is valid for applications received by 8th April 2025.

The application links are:

• American Express Business Platinum card – apply here
• American Express Business Gold card – apply here

What is Bluechain?

Bluechain is an online payments platform aimed at small businesses, including sole traders. It allows you to manage invoices and pay any of your suppliers with a credit card.

You can also sign up to Bluechain as a private individual.

As well as maximising your reward points, it can also help with your cashflow because of the grace period given by your credit card to settle the bill.

How does Bluechain work?

You can use Bluechain to pay any registered UK business including sole traders, local authorities (for Council Tax) and HMRC.

Bluechain takes payment from your card on the date selected, pays your invoice via a standard money transfer and – optionally – reconciles it in your accounting software when linked to Xero or Sage.

If you are a sole trader, some HfP readers have found it easier – in terms of account verification – to open a Bluechain account as a private individual and not as a business. To do this, on the page where you are asked if you are a Sole Trader or Ltd Company, just click ‘Skip’ instead.

I tested out Bluechain last month to settle the HfP PAYE bill. Whilst the Bluechain interface is not going to win any awards for user experience, I had no issues making my payment via our American Express Business Platinum card. HMRC received its money promptly and Amex treated the payment as a purchase, awarding my Membership Rewards points.

What does Bluechain cost?

Bluechain is free to join. You only pay when you make a payment through the platform.

The current payment fees are:

• American Express 2.3%
• Mastercard and Visa 2.5%

Is it worth the fee?

For a business – potentially yes, because the Bluechain fee is a tax deductible expense. This means that you are not paying 2.3% or 2.5% in return for your loyalty points. You can deduct your marginal tax rate.

For an individual – it is unlikely to make sense purely for the points you earn on the transaction. However …. it is very much worth it if you need some additional card spend to push you across the line for a new card sign-up bonus or an annual voucher.

Here’s a day to day spend example

Here’s an example of where it might work. American Express Business Platinum gives you 10,000 bonus points when you spend £10,000 in a calendar month.

Let’s assume your tax rate from your business is 42% including NI. If you receive a mix of dividends and salary you need to adjust this slightly.

Here’s the maths for someone who is self employed:

• You use Bluechain to pay £9,775 to HMRC via American Express Business Platinum
• You pay a fee of £225 which you expense to your business
• You receive 20,000 American Express Membership Rewards points (10,000 base points and 10,000 for spending £10,000 in a calendar month)
• Your NET fee after the tax shield is £130
• Your ‘price per point’ is 0.65p

In this example you can ‘print’ yourself 20,000 Avios (or Virgin Points, or whatever Membership Rewards currency you want) per month for 0.65p per point via Business Platinum.

Note that there is no VAT on the Bluechain fee so a VAT-registered business does not make an extra saving.

What sort of invoices can be paid via Bluechain?

Bluechain can be used to pay any registered UK business or sole trader, with the bonus of being able to pay companies, such as Google Ads, with a credit card when they no longer accept direct credit card payments.

You can also use it to pay Council Tax.

The only notable exception was that Amex was not accepted for payments to HMRC. This restriction has now been lifted.

Get a £10 Amazon voucher with your first payment via HfP

Bluechain is offering a £10 Amazon voucher to any HfP reader who signs up from today onwards.

You will receive your voucher by email after your first transaction has been made. This does not need to be to HMRC, for clarity.

This is how it works:

• Sign up for Bluechain via this link – there is no mention of HfP but the click will be tracked as coming from us

• Within two working days you will receive an email confirming you are registered for the HfP Amazon voucher offer

• If you do not receive an email within seven days of registering, email katie [at] headforpoints.com and tell her the day you registered and the email address you used – she will ensure you are added

• You will receive your Amazon voucher within 30 days of making your first Bluechain payment (in reality we expect it to be quicker)

Please note that this offer is only available to first time Bluechain account holders.

You can find out more about Bluechain on its website here. Do NOT register via that page or you will not receive your voucher.

You MUST register via this link (click) to receive your £10 Amazon voucher.

Remember that if you are signing up as a private individual, click ‘Skip’ on the page where you are asked if you are a Sole Trader or Limited Company.