Mmm, I'm thinking of giving up my last points paying VISA/MC (the woolies one) as its rubbish now and too costly for the benefit it provides, have a couple of other VISA cards that are free but don't earn to cover those 'emergencies' when Amex _really_ isn't accepted. Otherwise I'm going to try a lot harder to only use Amex - which will change my spend habits a little. There seems very little choice in VISA/MC land for decent earn and relatively low cost, not really interested in another 300-500$ a year VISA style card that offers little else than 1(ish) points/$ when the Amex suite outperforms on pretty much every level.
Over here in Perth I've been very happy with acceptance recently - even a lot of the small family owned type restaurants and cafes have started accepting Amex - must have been a recent push by the reps to get acceptance up. Petrol, Supermarkets, hardware, parking, cafes, restaurants, car servicing & tyres, hotels, flights, clothing and related - all covered by Amex. Even some of my suppliers are now accepting Amex without a charge .. so they will gain more business at the expense of those who don't.
I used to pay the ATO on the Woolies card, but with the ridiculous 2500$/month 'cap' on decent points earn now its a bust, so I cop the fee and pay with Amex now, the fee is deductible if you play the game correctly and its probably an even proposition in my view .. not really an earner but about even.
