4 ms·

This is de rigeur in payments; the brand guidelines for the big three credit card companies have similar things IIRC. They don't want you to say "Visa accepted

by patio11 10y ago

This is de rigeur in payments; the brand guidelines for the big three credit card companies have similar things IIRC. They don't want you to say "Visa accepted here THOSE BASTARDS we prefer Amex" or otherwise interfere with their customer relationships while servicing your customer relationships. There has been litigation around this routinely, including (IIRC) a US holding that says that merchants are allowed to say X is cheaper for them than Y if that statement is accurate. Edit: that may have been reversed on appeal. https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2016-09-26/american-express-wins-ruling-reversing-merchant-fee-decision https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2016-09-26/american-...

toomuchtodo 10y ago
Maybe it's only my anecdotal experience, but I've seen a lot more merchants lately flat out stop accepting expensive payment methods like Amex, and these were all merchants that I had previously been able to use Amex at before.
- twblalock 10y ago
  Amex is in a bit of trouble for a few reasons: 1. Competing card companies offer much better cards than they used to, and include benefits that only Amex used to provide. For example, Visa Signature and Mastercard's competing product offer return coverage, extended warranties, free rental car insurance, etc. 2. One of the main draws of accepting Amex was that Amex's customer base was more affluent than that of other card companies, but that is no longer the case, partly because of #1. 3. Amex lost the Costco deal. That's a loss of a great deal of credit card fees, and 10% of Amex cards were the Costco card. The court case was also seen as a blow, but maybe not if it got reversed on appeal. In any case, there are plenty of other problems for Amex to worry about.
  - toomuchtodo 10y ago
    Oh for sure! I myself no longer feel like I'm getting as much value from my $450/year Platinum charge card with Amex and am looking to switch to the Chase Sapphire Reserve card, as it's a visa (taken everywhere), has a better rewards program, and provides far more services for that same $450/year annual fee.
    - JoshTriplett 10y ago
      I have yet to find any credit card that's worth paying a fee for at all. What do (did) you get for either of those cards that's worth more than $450/year, that you can't get with a $0/year card?
      - toomuchtodo 10y ago
        They reimburse me $200/year in airline expenses (I use Southwest primarily, so I just buy Southwest gift cards which get reimbursed, and use them for flights), reimburse me for global entry every few years, top tier status at Hertz, Hilton, and Starwood, free Boingo account, free access to Amex lounges in a few major airports, rental car insurance coverage, etc. http://thepointsguy.com/2016/01/maximizing-amex-platinum-in-2016/ http://thepointsguy.com/2016/01/maximizing-amex-platinum-in-... I'm old and busy; I'll pay for covenience in life, which is why I've kept the card up to this point. EDIT: Almost forgot: I have had the need to pay for a friend to be airlifted out of a central american country due to a medical emergency, and Amex was the only card willing to auth a low five figure amount with just a phone call to pay the helicopter fee. I have yet to find another financial provider who'll do that.
        jmcgough 10y ago
        I'll probably get them if I keep up my level of travel, the free tsa pre-check, airline expense reimbursement, and benefits at hotels (free spa treatments etc) alone pay for the annual fee.
        deleted 10y ago
        [deleted]
        cardiffspaceman 10y ago
        There is a major high-end hotel chain that has a $495-fee card with similar benefits to those stated for the AMEX card above. And if there are two ways to get something like that, there's probably a third.
        10y ago
rixed 10y ago
So that's the big three credit card companies disrupting PayPal, basically.

by patio11 10y ago

toomuchtodo 10y ago

Maybe it's only my anecdotal experience, but I've seen a lot more merchants lately flat out stop accepting expensive payment methods like Amex, and these were all merchants that I had previously been able to use Amex at before.

twblalock 10y ago
Amex is in a bit of trouble for a few reasons: 1. Competing card companies offer much better cards than they used to, and include benefits that only Amex used to provide. For example, Visa Signature and Mastercard's competing product offer return coverage, extended warranties, free rental car insurance, etc. 2. One of the main draws of accepting Amex was that Amex's customer base was more affluent than that of other card companies, but that is no longer the case, partly because of #1. 3. Amex lost the Costco deal. That's a loss of a great deal of credit card fees, and 10% of Amex cards were the Costco card. The court case was also seen as a blow, but maybe not if it got reversed on appeal. In any case, there are plenty of other problems for Amex to worry about.
- toomuchtodo 10y ago
  Oh for sure! I myself no longer feel like I'm getting as much value from my $450/year Platinum charge card with Amex and am looking to switch to the Chase Sapphire Reserve card, as it's a visa (taken everywhere), has a better rewards program, and provides far more services for that same $450/year annual fee.
  - JoshTriplett 10y ago
    I have yet to find any credit card that's worth paying a fee for at all. What do (did) you get for either of those cards that's worth more than $450/year, that you can't get with a $0/year card?
    - toomuchtodo 10y ago
      They reimburse me $200/year in airline expenses (I use Southwest primarily, so I just buy Southwest gift cards which get reimbursed, and use them for flights), reimburse me for global entry every few years, top tier status at Hertz, Hilton, and Starwood, free Boingo account, free access to Amex lounges in a few major airports, rental car insurance coverage, etc. http://thepointsguy.com/2016/01/maximizing-amex-platinum-in-2016/ http://thepointsguy.com/2016/01/maximizing-amex-platinum-in-... I'm old and busy; I'll pay for covenience in life, which is why I've kept the card up to this point. EDIT: Almost forgot: I have had the need to pay for a friend to be airlifted out of a central american country due to a medical emergency, and Amex was the only card willing to auth a low five figure amount with just a phone call to pay the helicopter fee. I have yet to find another financial provider who'll do that.
      - jmcgough 10y ago
        I'll probably get them if I keep up my level of travel, the free tsa pre-check, airline expense reimbursement, and benefits at hotels (free spa treatments etc) alone pay for the annual fee.
        deleted 10y ago
        [deleted]
        cardiffspaceman 10y ago
        There is a major high-end hotel chain that has a $495-fee card with similar benefits to those stated for the AMEX card above. And if there are two ways to get something like that, there's probably a third.
      - 10y ago

rixed 10y ago

So that's the big three credit card companies disrupting PayPal, basically.