AMEX not working ?

[sailor723]

I use my Amex gold rewards card for everything I possibly can. The points have good value and are quite flexible. They can be used as cash back against your bill or exchanged for Aeroplan as well several hotel plan's points one for one. Given the choice between shopping online with a company that takes Amex and one that doesn't I'll go with Amex whenever possible.

[sailor723]

Nobody takes Amex anymore these days.

I wouldn't agree with that at all. I use mine for groceries, gas, automotive service and repairs, Amazon, CDN Tire,movie theatres, restaurants, hotels, airlines and almost all online shopping (LL Bean, Lands End and a bunch of online stores my wife buys from)

[canucklehead]

I get why customers WANT to use Amex - you just need to understand why merchants DON'T want people to use Amex. Some other premium cards (MasterCard World Elite and Visa Infinite) come close to Amex rates, but Amex is consistently the most expensive form of payment to accept. Reward points aren't free... and CC companies just pass along the cost to merchants.

Interac is orders of magnitude less expensive, which is why most merchants prefer it (in person). Online, you're kinda stuck.

[sailor723]

I get why customers WANT to use Amex - you just need to understand why merchants DON'T want people to use Amex. Some other premium cards (MasterCard World Elite and Visa Infinite) come close to Amex rates, but Amex is consistently the most expensive form of payment to accept. Reward points aren't free... and CC companies just pass along the cost to merchants.

Interac is orders of magnitude less expensive, which is why most merchants prefer it (in person). Online, you're kinda stuck.

Oh, I understand that merchants would prefer not to pay the extra cost of taking Amex. I just don't care. Amex fees are part of the price they need to pay to get my business. As I said, all things being equal, I will always choose the store that takes Amex over the one that doesn't.

[canucklehead]

Oh, I understand that merchants would prefer not to pay the extra cost of taking Amex. I just don't care. Amex fees are part of the price they need to pay to get my business. As I said, all things being equal, I will always choose the store that takes Amex over the one that doesn't.

Point taken. You're Amex's ideal customer!

[lil_juiced_coupe]

Amex on average takes about 5-7% off the retailer which is where all your points come from. Visa and MC hover around the 1.5% mark.