got QF Amex but no one accepts it...

[albatross710]

Wonder why we are prepared to pay three times the price for accepting Amex?

 

[mileagemax]

I've been overseas for the last couple of years, but on my recent trip back to Melbourne/Sydney I was shocked at how less accepted Amex is today compared to before.

Sure the major retailers now accept it, but it seems most of the smaller retail outlets now do not (whereas a few years ago they did)... eg. hairdresser, gift shop, clothes shop. Such a shame.

 

[wiz]

Even these days "The Good Guys" still market their "pay less for cash" slogan and encourage their customers to take advantage of it when purchasing goods. There must still be some extra margin involved with cash payments.

One point that should be made here is that small businesses (especially ones in shopping centres etc) often don't require a security escort when banking, as most often they get their retail staff to do it discreetly for them. So in this case the cost to the small business in accepting cash is negligible.

However if these small businesses decide to surcharge for credit card usage, I'm more than happy to tell them I'll easily find somewhere else that doesn't. I find it poor / lazy business practice that a company can't factor credit card fees into their product pricing and instead try to slug it on at point of sale. If they find that justified, do you see high-rent retail stores charging us a "real estate surcharge" because of the higher leasing fees they pay?

 

[serfty]

There must still be some extra margin involved with cash payments.

Maybe yes ... if it gets banked. :shock:

 

[NM]

Even these days "The Good Guys" still market their "pay less for cash" slogan and encourage their customers to take advantage of it when purchasing goods. There must still be some extra margin involved with cash payments.

Last time I bought something from The Good Guys (a washing machine about a year ago), I walked in with a roll of $50 bills. So after deciding on the model and receiving a price, I asked about a better deal for cash. The salesman said the price was the same for real cash, EFT, Visa, Mastercard and Bank Card, but would be more expensive for Amex and Diners.

At least at the store I went to, they treated EFT, Bankcard, Visa and Mastercard all as Cash for the purpose of calculating their best price.

 

[kyle]

Was at the Good Guys once. The cash price (as in bank notes) was $5 less...pffftt. I think the item was over $500. I'd rather use my card and get purchase protection + points + interest free days.

 

[JohnK]

Reality check! How long before we are charged a surcharge for using cash at most places?

Already this is evident with Optus TV or Optus internet as if I do not sign up to pay by BPAY or credit card I am charged an extra $2/month. There are other service providers where I have no option to pay cash monthly.

 

[kyle]

So therefore, sooner or later, every form of payment will have a surcharge. Thus making the RBA reforms on credit cards redundant

Hey we might just end up with the situation where the merchant might get rid of all surcharges altogether and just up the prices for everyone.

 

[oz_mark]

Reality check! How long before we are charged a surcharge for using cash at most places?

Already this is evident with Optus TV or Optus internet as if I do not sign up to pay by BPAY or credit card I am charged an extra $2/month. There are other service providers where I have no option to pay cash monthly.

I think that most places provide at least one non-surcharged option.

So therefore, sooner or later, every form of payment will have a surcharge. Thus making the RBA reforms on credit cards redundant

Hey we might just end up with the situation where the merchant might get rid of all surcharges altogether and just up the prices for everyone

Wasn't one of the ideas behind the RBA reforms that the prices would get reduced for non-cc payments

 

[kyle]

Wasn't one of the ideas behind the RBA reforms that the prices would get reduced for non-cc payments

That was the idea, but whether it worked or not, that's another matter.

I reckon the merchants would have already factored in the credit card surcharges in the prices. So as a consumer, you have to pay the higher prices irrespective of the payment method used. Then if you use a cc, the merchant would just add another x% on top.

 

[JohnK]

I think that most places provide at least one non-surcharged option.

True but it is not consistent.

There should never be a surcharge for paying by cash.

 

[Deleted member 6404]

ok

got my brand spanking new Qantas Amex with 20K points offer and im keen
to load it up but none of my bills supports AMEX card !!!

Local Rates.. $500 ish .. nope no amex
Gas .. $200 ish.. nope no amex
Car Rego.. $500ish .. nope no amex..
Dentist... $400ish .. nope no amex..
Laptop .. $3000ish.. nope but after arguing with the person they
said OK but slugged me 3% fee

about the only place i can use it is coles/safeway/petrol..

looks like most major bill companies dont like it.

also i noticed a lot of Billers also charge you the 3% fee..

very annoying

I had the same problem here in Far North Queensland, so I cancelled it, the $195 annual fee is to high.
Since I all so had a Citibank Gold Visa card with $119 annual fee ( Is Annual fee free for life now) . The 1.25 ffp per dollar was my main draw to the Amex, maybe when more places accept it I will apply again (or a 20,000 ffp promotion )

 

[simongr]

True but it is not consistent.

There should never be a surcharge for paying by cash.

Actually you could argue in some places where cash is less often used (top end restaurants say) that there should be a surcharge for cash as it requires increased security etc.

Not sure why people have so many problems with Amex - I am currently pushing about $2-3K per month through on personal spend and that's without coles/woolworths...

 

[coco50]

Actually you could argue in some places where cash is less often used (top end restaurants say) that there should be a surcharge for cash as it requires increased security etc.

Not sure why people have so many problems with Amex - I am currently pushing about $2-3K per month through on personal spend and that's without coles/woolworths...

One day the business world is going to wake up and just accept credit cards and absorb the fees. My local council (s) do not accept all sorts of payments, but especially Amex. Now that I have retired and have a bit more time, to pay my last quarterly rates bill, I went to the bank (haven't been inside a bank for years) asked for $400 in small bills, took them to the Council Chambers and took up the time of the clerical officer while she counted out the money for my rates, gave me change and a receipt. They have to store and bank the cash and as simongr says, this is added security risk. None of that would have been necessary with a card transaction via the Internet.

 

[JohnK]

Going Off topic here and didn't really want to create a new thread.

I have had 2 foreign currency charges, one in USD and the other in SGD, on my Amex Gold card in the last few days and they only show the AUD amount. There is no reference at all to the foreign currency amount.

Has anyone else noticed this change lately?

 

[Evan]

Yep, just noticed ! only and AUD amount, no extra details when you "show details" thats on the web site.
That could or would be a major pain for some people doing expense claims. I know they would have the reciept with the local curreny on it but hard to match up and also to see what they add in charges and forex fees.

E

 

[Mal]

Saw the same thing with Amex about a week ago. Was going to wait for my statement to arrive to work out whether it's a real issue or just a display issue.

Hopefully it's just a glitch they need to resolve, and it will be fixed shortly.

Just annoying at this stage, but as i said above, if the statement is the same then I'll be contacting them to ensure it gets resolved. Without that, I cannot determine whether an overseas vendor has fraudulently increased a legitimate charge or the exchange rate that Amex have used. So much for clear fee disclosure...

 

[serfty]

I believe it should be a new thread for the American Express Rewards forum ...

http://www.frequentflyer.com.au/com...oreign-currency-amounts-10367.html#post132941

Done ...

 

[JohnK]

Hopefully it's just a glitch they need to resolve, and it will be fixed shortly.

I hope you are right.

Just annoying at this stage, but as i said above, if the statement is the same then I'll be contacting them to ensure it gets resolved. Without that, I cannot determine whether an overseas vendor has fraudulently increased a legitimate charge or the exchange rate that Amex have used. So much for clear fee disclosure...

I will have many charges that should appear as foreign currency in the week, actually the next 2 months, and I can't wait to receive the paper statement. I will attempt to find out what is happening from the off shore call centre tomorrow.

 

[sparoy]

My local council has started accepting Amex for rate payment.
Good on you Randwick Council
Now, does anyone know how to program a quarterly payment on the internet using Amex?
I used to do it with BPay using Visa, but my CBA don't have Amex facility on their BPay system and Amex themselves don't have BPay facility