AMEX not accepted or surcharge

[lovestotravel]

There is a separate thread started for this merchant, but it should go in this thread...


Received a letter from City Link in Melbourne, the company that does the tolling for the toll roads basically

From the 9th December a 2.15% Amex surcharge, they also mention Diners fee which they are introducing as well but I don't know what that is


So 2.15% and they are blaming Amex with their wording in the letter... They should say they choose simply not to accept the fee anymore and want to pass it on to increase revenue and/or blame Amex for increasing the merchant fee

So does this transitions earn 1 or 0.5 MR points ? It's not a utility or government body so it should be 1..

Either way it's moving across to my CBA Amex card where I still earn 1.5MR points per $1

I also missed a few direct debits that went though on my Plat charge card and need to swap them to my CBA card

Amex must be missing out on quite a bit of revenue from these enhancements...

Then again, even using the CBA Amex card they are getting SOME part of the merchant fee.... but CBA would be keeping a slice as wel

 

[prozac]

Don't remain silent. Notify Amex via their website with the link that deals specifically with merchant surcharge or refusal. They say they look into every one.

 

[k3nnis]

Can you buy bunnings gift cards at coles? or is it woolworths?

 

[ChrisFlyer]

There is a separate thread started for this merchant, but it should go in this thread...


Received a letter from City Link in Melbourne, the company that does the tolling for the toll roads basically

From the 9th December a 2.15% Amex surcharge, they also mention Diners fee which they are introducing as well but I don't know what that is


So 2.15% and they are blaming Amex with their wording in the letter... They should say they choose simply not to accept the fee anymore and want to pass it on to increase revenue and/or blame Amex for increasing the merchant fee

So does this transitions earn 1 or 0.5 MR points ? It's not a utility or government body so it should be 1..

Either way it's moving across to my CBA Amex card where I still earn 1.5MR points per $1

I also missed a few direct debits that went though on my Plat charge card and need to swap them to my CBA card

Amex must be missing out on quite a bit of revenue from these enhancements...

Then again, even using the CBA Amex card they are getting SOME part of the merchant fee.... but CBA would be keeping a slice as wel

You can always wind-up your account with them, and sign up with GoVia (www.govia.com.au). While the system is Qld-based, it is compatible with all toll roads and tunnels in Australia, you can enter delivery addresses from other states (to receive the tolling tag), and can also enter licence plates from all states. Just make sure you remove your rego from CityLink and cancel that tag once you've switched to prevent being charged incorrectly There is also a trick in how to enter the car's rego (eg you enter an incorrect plate, and then update it online as soon as you're ready to go) - which lets you continue using your CityLink tag until it's finished (just remember to cancel any direct debits). One could check with PPQ, find a convoluted plate # that hasn't been taken, and simply enter that for delivery. Then, remove your car from CityLink, and simply update your tag to the correct rego # with GoVia, and you're ready to go!

As a side note, there are fees to manually top-up the GoVia account, but this can be avoided by configuring an automatic top-up of $25 when your account balance reaches $10. For anyone interested, they take Diners too


Sent from my iPhone using AustFreqFly app

 

[lovestotravel]

You can always wind-up your account with them, and sign up with GoVia (www.govia.com.au).

Thanks, but my spend isn't high enough to bother, less than $50 per month

I'll just change it to my CBA card for 1.5 points per $1 for now

 

[StevePER]

Can you buy bunnings gift cards at coles? or is it woolworths?

I had a look at Coles a couple of days ago and didn't see any.

 

[k3nnis]

Thanks. There goes my chance to earn 3X MR per $

 

[lovestotravel]

Woolies cards would work at Masters... I think.....

 

[seay]

From a shop's point of view Amex is less attractive than other cards because of:

1. Higher transaction fees that may or may not be recouped back by surcharges
2. Settlement of funds, with othercards the money is credited to your account the next day after settlemetn, with Amex that can be up to 30 days after you settled, effectively a 30 day account.

Hmm really 30 days still? I wait 2 days max? If you're still waiting up to 30days after settlement then I can only assume Amex set different settlement times depending on the industry you're in? (ours being Hospitality) and they even sent a letter most recently to us stating they plan on doing 24 hour settlements.

We have a small family business (restaurant), have had for over 25 years and during that time we've accepted Diners and Amex with no surcharge although at times I have thought about removing Diners club completely due their un-competitive MSF - with my amazing negotiating skills from 3.5 to 2.25% lol.

As an Amex user myself as well as a merchant who accepts Amex/Diners I can see both sides however we've made the business decision to keep it surcharge free and will continue to do so. I feel our current Amex MSF is very competitive compared with MC/VISA and I honestly can't see why we would even consider a surcharge with our current MSF, and if we're able to attract Amex spending customers then we both win

 

[tim374]

Today I went to a chocolate place after work for a hot chocolate, and they had a sign on the counter advising that due to technical difficulties they could not accept Amex at the moment. Any thoughts? Is Amex processed differently and can have downtime?

I don't know if they have always accepted Amex, maybe some teething issues if it is new.


Sent from AFF Mobile Edition

 

[Moopere]

Today I went to a chocolate place after work for a hot chocolate, and they had a sign on the counter advising that due to technical difficulties they could not accept Amex at the moment. Any thoughts? Is Amex processed differently and can have downtime?

I'd like to know as well. My favourite cafe gave me the same line recently ... can't accept Amex as the machine is broken, but Mastercard is ok. Never used to be a problem, and I don't think they are anti-Amex ... will know for sure next time I pop in for lunch I guess. If its still 'broken' then thats another good eatery off the list ... I will let them know though, out of courtesy as much as self interest.

 

[prozac]

Bought some stuff from Dick Smith the other day. They NO LONGER ACCEPT AMEX WITHOUT 1.9% SURCHARGE. What really sucks is I know smaller businesses are charged less than this for Merchant fee so I reckon DS are ripping us off. I told them when I paid for my item that I would not be back. They said, "You are the first person to complain." Yeah right.

 

[Moopere]

I hit a BP servo last weekend that wanted to surcharge me for Amex ... wow! First one ever. I whinged and moaned and got quite an apology from the guy, but it is what it is and he wasn't the owner. Oh well, plenty of competition who _does_ accept Amex, not like I'll go without fuel. Timely heads up for me though ... don't assume anything, find out first then walk away.

 

[wxxnxs]

Bought some stuff from Dick Smith the other day. They NO LONGER ACCEPT AMEX WITHOUT 1.9% SURCHARGE. What really sucks is I know smaller businesses are charged less than this for Merchant fee so I reckon DS are ripping us off. I told them when I paid for my item that I would not be back. They said, "You are the first person to complain." Yeah right.

WTF, DS starts charging AMEX?? They'd better close all of their stores in national wides.

 

[prozac]

I complained to Amex 10 days ago that my favourite travel agent was having to pass on their 3.09% merchant fee. They emailed me back and said they were "reaching out" to the merchant. Well, I needed to book some business tickets on Friday. I asked the travel agent if Amex had "reached out" to him about the excessive fees they charged him, he said "NO". I went ahead and bought my tickets, total spend a shave under $10,000. I did not use Amex. They lied about what they said they would do, that is plain dishonest.

 

[lovestotravel]

Well it really seems that more and more retailers are passing on the Amex fees, it's getting worse by the day

Bought some stuff from Dick Smith the other day. They NO LONGER ACCEPT AMEX WITHOUT 1.9% SURCHARGE. What really sucks is I know smaller businesses are charged less than this for Merchant fee so I reckon DS are ripping us off. I told them when I paid for my item that I would not be back. They said, "You are the first person to complain." Yeah right.

Not really, standard merchant fee for retail, by Amex is about 1.7-2.3% but a retailer with 100 stores should be able to do better. However if they are setting up a new Amex agreement with Amex it's likely the charge is higher, as Amex doesn't seem to care anymore.

Dick smith is now owned by Anchorage Capital Partners - If they want to surcharge for Amex I wish them all the best in their failing DSE stores.

DSE stores don't do anything right

They sell TV's, laptops, gadgets etc, but have no expert knowledge in those areas.

You want a good range of TV's and the ability to haggle, go to JB Hi Fi
You want a good range of computers and the ability to haggle, go to your local computer store
You want a good range of gadgets, go to JayCar - No haggling there

DSE is a waste of space, cheap Chinese cough that is marked up so high that you may as well buy a product make in Japan/Korea/anywhere else

/Rant OFF

 

[Flashback]

I complained to Amex 10 days ago that my favourite travel agent was having to pass on their 3.09% merchant fee. They emailed me back and said they were "reaching out" to the merchant. Well, I needed to book some business tickets on Friday. I asked the travel agent if Amex had "reached out" to him about the excessive fees they charged him, he said "NO". I went ahead and bought my tickets, total spend a shave under $10,000. I did not use Amex. They lied about what they said they would do, that is plain dishonest.

As per posts in this thread it can sometimes take up to 2 years... I would have just gone and looked for another TA.

 

[lovestotravel]

I complained to Amex 10 days ago that my favourite travel agent was having to pass on their 3.09% merchant fee. They emailed me back and said they were "reaching out" to the merchant. Well, I needed to book some business tickets on Friday. I asked the travel agent if Amex had "reached out" to him about the excessive fees they charged him, he said "NO". I went ahead and bought my tickets, total spend a shave under $10,000. I did not use Amex. They lied about what they said they would do, that is plain dishonest.

Travel Agents seems to be the worst for surcharges and they change all the time in what they charge

My travel agent has gone from
No surcharge
1%
2%
3%
1.5%
Now settled at 2.2%

APT Tours whom I booked a tour with the other week, their booking form stated no surcharge, went to pay and they charged me 3%...

 

[prozac]

As per posts in this thread it can sometimes take up to 2 years... I would have just gone and looked for another TA.

I am traveling into some tricky places so will stick with my agent whom I trust and believe more than I do Amex. DS are heading down the toilet. My local large hardware (privately owned) tells me they pay 1% fee which they absorb because they are growing at a large rate. Dick Smith are pulling your you-know-what if they cannot do better than this hardware store.

 

[Aussie_flyer]

If this was a premium fare on a major carrier the agent should be able to process it through the airlines system for free or a max of $30. Any booking fee on top of the fare would be a separate charge on the agents own merchant system.