No. ALDI Australia does not accept American Express - not by card, not by Apple Pay or Google Pay, and not online. ALDI’s own help centre states it accepts cash and credit and debit cards including Visa, MasterCard and ALDI Gift Cards, and that “AMEX, Afterpay, ZipPay and lay-by are not accepted”. Bring a Visa or Mastercard.
Last checked against ALDI’s own help centre on 21 September 2026. [Affiliate disclosure: I earn a referral fee if you sign up via my links - it never affects my analysis.]
What ALDI does accept
- Cash
- Visa credit and debit
- Mastercard credit and debit
- EFTPOS
- Contactless - PayPass, PayWave, Tap & Go
- ALDI gift cards (and Westfield gift cards at ALDI stores inside a Westfield centre)
Not accepted: American Express, Diners Club, Afterpay, ZipPay, lay-by.
Why ALDI holds out when Woolworths and Coles don’t
It is the business model, not an oversight. Amex charges merchants a higher fee per transaction than Visa or Mastercard. Most retailers absorb that cost because they want the customer; some pass it on as a surcharge. ALDI does neither, because ALDI’s entire proposition is stripping cost out of the operation and putting it into shelf prices - the same logic that gives you a smaller range, boxes instead of shelf-stacking, and a coin-release trolley.
Accepting Amex would mean either eating a higher fee across every basket or surcharging at the register. Both are off-brand for a chain that competes almost purely on price.
Worth noting that the no-Amex club is smaller than it used to be. Bunnings, which spent years refusing Amex, now accepts it. ALDI and Costco are the two large Australian retailers still holding the line.
What this costs you
If you shop at ALDI and carry an Amex for the points, you lose the points on your grocery spend - usually the single biggest category in a household budget. On a $250 weekly shop, that is $13,000 a year going onto a Visa or Mastercard that likely earns at a lower rate.
Three ways people handle it:
- Carry a decent second card. If ALDI is your main supermarket, the card that matters is your best Visa or Mastercard, not your Amex. A no-annual-fee card that earns a flat rate on everything is usually the right backup - see the best no annual fee credit cards.
- Split the shop. Some people do the Amex-earning categories at Woolworths or Coles and the price-sensitive staples at ALDI. Whether that is worth the extra trip is a personal call - the points rarely beat ALDI’s price gap on the same goods.
- Stop optimising the grocery shop. If ALDI is cheaper on your basket than the points are worth, the points are a rounding error. Buy the cheaper groceries.
The points vs cash comparison puts a dollar figure on what the points are actually worth, which is usually the number that settles this.
Does ALDI accept Amex through Apple Pay or Google Pay?
No. A digital wallet does not change which card networks a merchant accepts - it just presents the same card through your phone. An Amex in Apple Pay will be declined at ALDI the same way the plastic would be. Add a Visa or Mastercard to your wallet as the default for ALDI trips.
Common questions
Has ALDI ever accepted Amex?
Not in Australia. The policy has been consistent, and ALDI’s help centre still lists AMEX as not accepted as of September 2026.
Does ALDI online accept Amex?
No. ALDI’s stated position covers online as well as in store.
Which other big Australian retailers refuse Amex?
Costco Australia is the other notable one - its warehouses accept cash, Visa, Mastercard, debit cards and Apple Pay only. The full sourced list is on which Australian shops take Amex.
Do Woolworths and Coles take Amex?
Both do - see does Woolworths take Amex.