AMEX not accepted or surcharge

[JohnK]

Bob Jane Blakehurst. Did not see the sign and when I handed my Amex card over for payment and he used the card to point to the sign showing 3% surcharge. :evil:

Very disappointing and I have been a Bob Jane customer for over 10 years.

 

[Flashback]

Bob Jane Blakehurst. Did not see the sign and when I handed my Amex card over for payment and he used the card to point to the sign showing 3% surcharge. :evil:

Very disappointing and I have been a Bob Jane customer for over 10 years.

That's interesting as they are one of the AMEX bonus points partners.

 

[lovestotravel]

That's interesting as they are one of the AMEX bonus points partners.

Fail is one word that springs to mind!

 

[Dr Bob]

Am planing a lazy 2 week car trip around the south island of NZ in April & with booking inquiries have found with Amex about 1/3 accept without surcharge, 1/3 with & 1/3 just don't accept at all. Interestingly the car hire JUCY where $20 with visa / m/c & $40 with amex surcharge

 

[lovestotravel]

Nothing new to report for me for establishments that accept Amex or surcharge it.

Now with the 0.5 QFF points per $1 for the Commbank Visa I haven't used the Visa card in many weeks.

The Amex has a very nice workout and they have decided to up my credit limit...

 

[straitman]

G'day Bill
Thanks for the welcome. Have been a watcher for awhile. Love the site so thought will sign up to maybe contribute and learn a lot. Your picture of the platform looks great. Are you on it?

TweedleB,

Yep. I was flying the one hanging over the far edge. The closer one was broken down.

 

[straitman]

Am planing a lazy 2 week car trip around the south island of NZ in April & with booking inquiries have found with Amex about 1/3 accept without surcharge, 1/3 with & 1/3 just don't accept at all. Interestingly the car hire JUCY where $20 with visa / m/c & $40 with amex surcharge

Dr Bob,

OT but have a look at some of the car rental threads here as there are some good deals to be had that are otherwise not so obvious.

 

[drewbles]

As far as postbillpay goes, there's a few places that will accept Amex via there but not on their pay-by-phone or even their own online payment facilities.

Red Energy happily accepts Amex via PostBillPay (and I get plenty of points from that one).

NIB also take Amex for health insurance. Two vendors that got my business partially due to this (Red was the cheapest, and NIB was 6 of one..)

 

[JohnK]

That's interesting as they are one of the AMEX bonus points partners.

Which is another reason I went to Bob Jane.

Amex customer care will be receiving another call from me come Monday morning....

 

[auriga]

Bob Jane Blakehurst. Did not see the sign and when I handed my Amex card over for payment and he used the card to point to the sign showing 3% surcharge. :evil:

Very disappointing and I have been a Bob Jane customer for over 10 years.

Not impressed!

 

[coyote25]

Which one? I always use amex for car hire.

A small one booked for me by someone else called Ezi-Rental. Very good service and hassle free however apart, not accepting AMEX. Still overall NZ was great for using AMEX.

 

[edman]

Bob Jane Blakehurst. Did not see the sign and when I handed my Amex card over for payment and he used the card to point to the sign showing 3% surcharge. :evil:

Same deal at Bob Jane Coffs Harbour over xmas. Didn't say anything until the tyres had been fitted otherwise would have gone elsewhere on principle, even with the bonus points.

The owner (who i know) was quite vocal on Amex's fees. Said he has even considered getting rid of it (but it is provided by the franchise) as he has an Amex himself and can't find anyone to accept it.

 

[lovestotravel]

as he has an Amex himself and can't find anyone to accept it.

Really not sure where these people go that "can't find anywhere that accepts it" :shock:

 

[edman]

Really not sure where these people go that "can't find anywhere that accepts it" :shock:

Can't agree more. Though I suspect if you are shopping at low-end retailers/restauants then it is a bit more difficult.

 

[RB]

Maybe a bit of a generalisation but I believe you will find that country "towns" are a little less Amex friendly

 

[lovestotravel]

Maybe a bit of a generalisation but I believe you will find that country "towns" are a little less Amex friendly

True!

Mt Beauty which is at the base of the Falls Creek ski resort in Victoria is not Amex friendly at all.

The best/most expensive restaurant there doesn't accept it
The supermarket doesn't accept it

This is at the base of a ski resort which is filled with BMW, Audi's & Porsche etc. Even Falls Creek doesn't let you use Amex for buying a car park pass.

The on-mountain food places rarely accept Amex as well.

Mt Buller & Mansfield on the other hand, which is another ski resort in Victoria, yet to find a place that doesn't accept Amex!

 

[JohnK]

I called Amex customer service yesterday and mentioned that one of their bonus partners has a 3% surcharge on Amex.

I was shocked at the response I got from the customer service agent "They are entitled to surcharge!".
Then I said "Sorry but they are one of your bonus partners. Don't you think it is a little misleading"
The she said "But you do get bonus points"
And I mentioned "There is no way anyone would value 214 Amex MR points at $6.09" which was the Bob Jane surcharge
She then said "You can provide some feedback on our website and if you leave your e-mail address we will be in contact with you".

The agent was not rude in any way although I felt she was not helpful at all. I did not expect miracles when I called but I also did not expect to get someone working for Amex in customer service to have that cheeky attitude.

 

[BlueAU]

I called Amex customer service yesterday and mentioned that one of their bonus partners has a 3% surcharge on Amex.

I was shocked at the response I got from the customer service agent "They are entitled to surcharge!".
Then I said "Sorry but they are one of your bonus partners. Don't you think it is a little misleading"
The she said "But you do get bonus points"
And I mentioned "There is no way anyone would value 214 Amex MR points at $6.09" which was the Bob Jane surcharge
She then said "You can provide some feedback on our website and if you leave your e-mail address we will be in contact with you".

The agent was not rude in any way although I felt she was not helpful at all. I did not expect miracles when I called but I also did not expect to get someone working for Amex in customer service to have that cheeky attitude.

I recently did not have a good experience with AMEX Plat Cust Service. Without being racist, I was served by an Indian and they kept arguing that I was wrong. Sorry buddy but the customer is always right, and even if they are wrong, I am still right, so don't butt in when I am talking and correct me.

I find it hit and miss to get good customer service. 90% of the time it is good and they treat you well with platinum service.

 

[lovestotravel]

And I mentioned "There is no way anyone would value 214 Amex MR points at $6.09" which was the Bob Jane surcharge
She then said "You can provide some feedback on our website and if you leave your e-mail address we will be in contact with you".

So you spent around $200 ?

Total points should been around 500 then ? Depending on your card

I would value 214 points at around $16 though :mrgreen::mrgreen:

 

[JohnK]

So you spent around $200 ?

Total points should been around 500 then ? Depending on your card

I would value 214 points at around $16 though :mrgreen::mrgreen:

Spent $208 + $6.09 surcharge. I would have got the 208 points if I had gone to any other supplier of tyres that accepts Amex.

The other 214 MR points (Bob Jane bonus partner) are not worth more than 2c to me. If people want to value MR points more than they are actually worth by using them to get into grossly overpriced premium cabins that is fine by me.

Also I am not in the habit of purchasing MR points other than for normal spending for things I need or may not need. So lesson learnt and won't be going back to Bob Jane....