Yes. Woolworths accepts American Express in every Australian supermarket, at self-checkout, on Scan&Go and online, with no Amex surcharge. Woolworths lists Visa, Mastercard, American Express and Diners Club as accepted cards. If your Amex was declined at Woolies, it was the card or the terminal, not the store policy - the fixes are below.
Last checked against Woolworths’ own payment page on 21 September 2026. [Affiliate disclosure: I earn a referral fee if you sign up via my links - it never affects my analysis.]
The short version
- In store: yes, including self-checkout and staffed registers.
- Scan&Go trolleys: yes - contactless Amex is accepted for the whole payment.
- Woolworths online / Delivery Unlimited: yes.
- Surcharge: Woolworths does not add an Amex surcharge at the register.
- Everyday Rewards points: yes - scan your card as normal, the payment method does not change your points.
Why people keep asking this
Two reasons. The first is history: Amex spent years as the card that half the country’s retailers refused, because Amex charged merchants more than Visa and Mastercard. That reputation outlived the reality. The second is ALDI. ALDI genuinely does not take Amex, and because ALDI sits in the same mental category as Woolworths and Coles, people assume supermarkets in general are a coin flip.
They are not. Of the three big supermarkets, two take Amex and one does not:
| Supermarket | Amex accepted? | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Woolworths | Yes | Woolworths payment page |
| Coles | Yes | Coles payment options page |
| ALDI | No | ALDI help centre |
We keep a fuller, sourced list on the which Australian shops take Amex page.
If your Amex was declined at Woolworths
Store policy is not the cause. Work through these in order:
- You tapped a card Amex issued overseas. Some international Amex cards are not enabled for Australian merchants. Insert and use chip and PIN instead of tapping.
- It is an Amex charge card, not a credit card, and you are over your adaptive limit. Charge cards have no fixed limit, which means Amex decides transaction by transaction. A large shop after a big month can trip it.
- The terminal is an older third-party unit. This bites at in-store concessions - the pharmacy, the florist, the cafe inside the centre - which run their own merchant facilities, not Woolworths’.
- You are paying at a Woolworths-branded site that is not a supermarket. Big W, BWS and Dan Murphy’s are separate businesses with separate merchant agreements.
- Amex fraud rules held it. A first-time large spend at a new merchant is a common trigger. The Amex app usually shows the hold and lets you approve it.
Is Amex actually the best card to use at Woolworths?
Accepted and optimal are different questions. Amex generally earns more points per dollar at supermarkets than Visa or Mastercard, which is the whole reason to carry one for the weekly shop. Whether the annual fee is worth it depends on how much you actually spend on groceries - a card charging $195 a year needs to earn back $195 of value before it beats a free card.
We run the numbers on that properly, including the break-even spend for each card, in the best credit card for Woolworths shopping. If you would rather do it with your own numbers, the card worth-it calculator works out whether the fee pays for itself on your spend.
Common questions
Does Woolworths charge a surcharge on Amex?
No. Woolworths does not apply a card surcharge on Amex at the supermarket register.
Can I use Amex on Woolworths self-checkout?
Yes, the same as a staffed register - tap, or insert and use your PIN.
Does Woolworths online accept Amex?
Yes. Amex is an accepted card for online orders and delivery.
Do I still earn Everyday Rewards points if I pay with Amex?
Yes. Everyday Rewards points come from scanning your Everyday Rewards card, not from how you pay. You earn your card’s points as well, so the shop earns twice.
Does Big W take Amex?
Big W is part of the Woolworths Group but runs separately, so Woolworths’ supermarket policy does not automatically apply. We have not verified Big W’s current policy against an official source, so we are not going to assert one - check at the register.