Why is AMEX popular

[Cruiser Elite]

OFF Topic: I regularly see AFF members quoting 3pts/$1 earn on CCs - do any of these yield greater than 1.5 eff FF pts when transferred to various FF programs?

ON Topic: IMHO the answer to Harvy's original question is easy - 1.5 KF FF pts / $1 spend for me - was happy to wear surcharge imposed by merchents who chose to be reasonable - I was only ever attempting to maximising rewards pts at minimum average cost per pt.

However - those were the good ol' days - AMEX has chewed itself up for whatever reason with it's 'enhancements' which now has me questioning whether or not to even hold an AMEX card after 20+ years.

 

[deejo77]

1.5 qff per $$........but have 3 other cards for various shopping extra points macq for x5S. AmeX iS accepted at 100% of ALL the places that have card facilities *for me anyway

 

[AdMEL]

OFF Topic: I regularly see AFF members quoting 3pts/$1 earn on CCs - do any of these yield greater than 1.5 eff FF pts when transferred to various FF programs?

ON Topic: IMHO the answer to Harvy's original question is easy - 1.5 KF FF pts / $1 spend for me - was happy to wear surcharge imposed by merchents who chose to be reasonable - I was only ever attempting to maximising rewards pts at minimum average cost per pt.

However - those were the good ol' days - AMEX has chewed itself up for whatever reason with it's 'enhancements' which now has me questioning whether or not to even hold an AMEX card after 20+ years.

Amex Plat Edge earns 3 MR points per $ for supermarket spend, which converts to 3 points in half a dozen FF programs, including Kris, Velocity and Malaysia.

Interestingly, you can also earn 3 points per $ for booze at BWS, at least the ones attached to supermarkets in Vic, as they post as Safeway/Woolworths on the statement! Pretty handy given the recent discounts (30% off 6 bottles of wine for the last 2 weeks) and bonus points (500 points for $50).

 

[RickyT84]

Which bank issues Amex is this? Westpac black? It's 3 points but after conversion it's 1.5 miles per $?

Sorry I wasn't clear in my OP, it was $1 = 3 CBA rewards point which converts at 1.5 rewards points = 1 QFF.

 

[JohnK]

For me it is the Amex membership rewards program.

And I hardly ever pay a surcharge to use Amex.

 

[anat0l]

I think if you ask here, you will always hear the reason that Amex's rewards programmes are always better than the other major cards.

Acceptance is increasing (if very, very slowly), even with surcharges, so most people can conduct almost all of their business with their Amex.

For even "normal" people who don't have the astute appreciation we do for rewards programmes, I find - at least for American Express direct-issued cards (not the ones that are coupled with the banks) - the service experience is a lot better than many Visa and MC cards. Better agents, better service, monitoring of accounts...... maybe it's because my Visa is with a bank, because my experience with my 28 Degrees MC is also not too bad.

 

[ftm]

Two strong pull factors are the points and the comfort limit rather than a credit limit.

You'll always have an alternative card for where the surcharge is too high. For me the travel service is poor and the people they have in there are (by and large) not of a good standard.

 

[Cynicor]

3QFF pints per dollar on all supermarket and restaurant spend. Combined with gift cards and that increase to a large range of products.

Then the service is a bit better, even if it's still hit and miss.

And it is more widely accepted than the OP thinks. I use it for more than 50% of purchases by $ value, with no surcharge. But after the points restructure I only use it in 2 and 3 pint earning establishments .

 

[anat0l]

3QFF pints per dollar on all supermarket and restaurant spend. Combined with gift cards and that increase to a large range of products.

Then the service is a bit better, even if it's still hit and miss.

And it is more widely accepted than the OP thinks. I use it for more than 50% of purchases by $ value, with no surcharge. But after the points restructure I only use it in 2 and 3 pint earning establishments .

Gee... wish I had a card which gave you beers over FF points

I think the OP doesn't necessarily imply that Amex is poorly accepted, just that it is, admittedly, less accepted than Visa or Mastercard. Having a Visa or Mastercard (probably the former) is the only sure fire way that a credit card will be accepted (I haven't seen an establishment yet that doesn't accept Visa or Mastercard but accepts other credit cards - except perhaps in Asia with JCB, and maybe possibly in the USA with Amex, ironically enough).

That said, if I were put in a random country with a credit card filled with money and tasked with living there for a few days then getting home, in more than 3/4 cases an Amex card would not preclude you from achieving that goal.

 

[harvyk]

And it is more widely accepted than the OP thinks. I use it for more than 50% of purchases by $ value, with no surcharge. But after the points restructure I only use it in 2 and 3 pint earning establishments .

I think the OP doesn't necessarily imply that Amex is poorly accepted, just that it is, admittedly, less accepted than Visa or Mastercard.

It's not that I thought that it wasn't accepted, it's more that it's not as widely accepted as Visa or MC, and from what I have seen, AMEX always as surcharges added on before Visa / MC and I've also noticed that the surcharges are always higher. Of course if AMEX will then waive those surcharges under certain conditions and you fore-fill those conditions (eg minimum spend from what I've gathered here) then that is a moot point.

 

[lovestotravel]

Less than 5% of my purchases go on my MCard
Less than 5% of my Amex purchases have a surcharge

 

[anat0l]

It's not that I thought that it wasn't accepted, it's more that it's not as widely accepted as Visa or MC, and from what I have seen, AMEX always as surcharges added on before Visa / MC and I've also noticed that the surcharges are always higher. Of course if AMEX will then waive those surcharges under certain conditions and you fore-fill those conditions (eg minimum spend from what I've gathered here) then that is a moot point.

I'm not sure about Canberra (*cough* middle of whoop whoop *cough*), but I can live quite comfortably putting almost everything on Amex.

Outside Australia is anyone's guess, though keep in mind that certain countries are still cash dominant societies - Asia comes to mind here.

Some retailers do make a note of surcharging Amex (either having one for Amex and none for Visa/MC, or a higher one for Amex and typically Diners is bundled in with it too), but in my experiences it's been rather rare. Of course, some retailers see fit to surcharge all credit cards - yep, travel...

But definitely Visa/MC is accepted more than Amex - no one can deny that. However, there are tangible advantages to using Amex compared to most Visa/MC, so we use it when it is possible and economical.

Less than 5% of my purchases go on my MCard
Less than 5% of my Amex purchases have a surcharge

Yes, but you are well known here for both:

• Insisting on only using Amex-accepted merchants
• Walking out on merchants or mentally blacklisting companies which do not accept Amex (or cease to do so, or surcharge for it)

For me, the main times I need a non-Amex card are:

• Some online merchants are impossible to use Amex
• Food retailers. Whilst the major fast foodies accept Amex now, many smaller (and unfortunately ones that sell delicious food) ones barely accept credit cards and then don't accept Amex. Some restaurants - Chinese or Asian in particular - will not accept credit cards for payment if you're there using a special (e.g. promotional item or discount of sorts). Mind you, this happened the other day but was happy to oblige due to the service!
• Some government agencies, e.g. passports.
• Conferences by professional bodies or educational institutions.

There's probably a handful of others which I've missed for now, but that's just the start of a list.