True, but my point is that up until recently, American Express charged higher annual fees and higher merchant fees than Visa, Discover, and Mastercard. 10-15 ye

True, but my point is that up until recently, American Express charged higher annual fees and higher merchant fees than Visa, Discover, and Mastercard. 10-15 years ago there were many smaller retailers who would not take AmEx. Now they have several products that are "no-fee" to the consumer, though of course still with merchant fees.