6 ms·

Well that's annoying. Visa credit cards are very common in the UK, I myself use one for everything online. I don't know anyone who's got an American Express ca

Well that's annoying. Visa credit cards are very common in the UK, I myself use one for everything online. I don't know anyone who's got an American Express card in the UK Edit: Could it also be that Amazon offer their own Mastercard credit card and they're trying to nudge people towards that?

em10fan 5y ago
They aren't that common. Only 2 of the high street banks offer them, and one is moving away from them. The rest are all Mastercard.
- DharmaPolice 5y ago
  Barclaycard was the most popular credit card in the UK at one point and they have ten million customers. As far as I know, they only offer visa credit cards.
Kiro 5y ago
https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=29250661 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=29250661 is saying the opposite so what is it?
- fredoralive 5y ago
  Presumably confusion between debit (where Visa is common) and credit (where it isn't).
  - IanCal 5y ago
    HSBC credit cards were visa. I assume they'll change as first direct has.
    - ealexhudson 5y ago
      I got a new HSBC credit card just the other day - still Visa. If they're planning to change, they're taking their sweet time about it...
  - ChrisRR 5y ago
    HSBC and barclaycard are both Visa credit cards. Not sure about the rest
aigo 5y ago
Fun fact: At M&S, 12% of payments taken online for delivery to London addresses are paid by Amex. The rest of the country? <3%.
- 00deadbeef 5y ago
  Any idea why Amex would be so popular in London? I'd never even consider an Amex card due to my perception of it being something that many places won't even accept.
  - lmm 5y ago
    Amex is positioned as a premium card for high earners, who mostly live in London.
  - hocuspocus 5y ago
    My guess: Lots of business meetings in London -> merchants need to accept Amex company cards -> people realize acceptance is high -> people look into Amex for their personal usage, for instance to enjoy higher rewards.
  - dazc 5y ago
    Status symbol?
    - billyruffian 5y ago
      I had my wallet nicked in Padstow on the last day of a trip there and was just about take the 3.5 hour drive home. Problem was I didn't have enough fuel to make it. My CC providers took ages to even answer the phone and cancel the cards. Amex dealt with it a just a few mins, arranged to courier a replacement card to me by the next day and authorised a fuelling stop for me on my way home. I'll never be without one, ever.
      - dazc 5y ago
        Fair point, I wasn't aware of this feature.
agilob 5y ago
I never knew Visa even has credit cards, only knew about MC and I know plenty of people who use Amex for everyday shopping. It's my default for pretty much ALL online payments, even grocery deliveries.
docdeek 5y ago
Not sure about the UK but here in France Amazon has just started promoting a co-branded Amazon Amex card.
- Semaphor 5y ago
  Those have existed in Germany for a long time. I got one, but canceled it after using up the 50€ they gave me because the banking interface of their partner was atrocious.
- mytailorisrich 5y ago
  In the UK Amazon has had a co-branded Mastercard credit card for at least a decade.

em10fan 5y ago

They aren't that common. Only 2 of the high street banks offer them, and one is moving away from them. The rest are all Mastercard.

DharmaPolice 5y ago
Barclaycard was the most popular credit card in the UK at one point and they have ten million customers. As far as I know, they only offer visa credit cards.

Kiro 5y ago

https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=29250661 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=29250661 is saying the opposite so what is it?

fredoralive 5y ago
Presumably confusion between debit (where Visa is common) and credit (where it isn't).
- IanCal 5y ago
  HSBC credit cards were visa. I assume they'll change as first direct has.
  - ealexhudson 5y ago
    I got a new HSBC credit card just the other day - still Visa. If they're planning to change, they're taking their sweet time about it...
- ChrisRR 5y ago
  HSBC and barclaycard are both Visa credit cards. Not sure about the rest

aigo 5y ago

Fun fact: At M&S, 12% of payments taken online for delivery to London addresses are paid by Amex. The rest of the country? <3%.

00deadbeef 5y ago
Any idea why Amex would be so popular in London? I'd never even consider an Amex card due to my perception of it being something that many places won't even accept.
- lmm 5y ago
  Amex is positioned as a premium card for high earners, who mostly live in London.
- hocuspocus 5y ago
  My guess: Lots of business meetings in London -> merchants need to accept Amex company cards -> people realize acceptance is high -> people look into Amex for their personal usage, for instance to enjoy higher rewards.
- dazc 5y ago
  Status symbol?
  - billyruffian 5y ago
    I had my wallet nicked in Padstow on the last day of a trip there and was just about take the 3.5 hour drive home. Problem was I didn't have enough fuel to make it. My CC providers took ages to even answer the phone and cancel the cards. Amex dealt with it a just a few mins, arranged to courier a replacement card to me by the next day and authorised a fuelling stop for me on my way home. I'll never be without one, ever.
    - dazc 5y ago
      Fair point, I wasn't aware of this feature.

agilob 5y ago

I never knew Visa even has credit cards, only knew about MC and I know plenty of people who use Amex for everyday shopping. It's my default for pretty much ALL online payments, even grocery deliveries.

docdeek 5y ago

Not sure about the UK but here in France Amazon has just started promoting a co-branded Amazon Amex card.

Semaphor 5y ago
Those have existed in Germany for a long time. I got one, but canceled it after using up the 50€ they gave me because the banking interface of their partner was atrocious.
mytailorisrich 5y ago
In the UK Amazon has had a co-branded Mastercard credit card for at least a decade.