American Express Discussion Area

nibelung

DaveO wrote:

The most annoying thing with Amex is that I am stuck without chip and pin intil the card expieres which is not for some time yet.

Just report your card as having a worn signature strip and they'll replace it with a new one with chip and pin.

JohalaReewi

mcampney wrote:

My experience with AMEX to date has not been the best. It seemed to take ages for the card to arrive and then nearly a month for the pin number to turn up!

Mine arrived very quickly (about a week). But other cards have taken weeks.

I have also found that AMEX is the least available card when spending at my regular stores.

True, but a lot of places do take it. Sometimes you have to ask. For those that don't take Amex, have a cashback VISA/Mastercard handy.

By the way if you register your AMEX card for Paypal purchases on EBay it automatically assumes you want to pay in dollars!!

This is a problem and you can't change it so don't use Amex for Paypal purchases. In fact many people would say don't use Paypal.

Therefore my conclusion to date is that although it looks goods financially it isn't that good because it is difficult to use! Has anyone any comments on this?

It all depends what you spend your money on. I have no problem using Amex at supermarkets, garages, hotels, travel (trains, planes, etc.).

M_Thomson

I read somewhere that newly issued Amex Blue cards are now translucent. Does anyone know if this is the case?

allycat999

I have an amex platinium card with a morgan stanley platinium for the places american express isn't excepted. In my experience the vast majority of large companies ie asda, tesco ect take amex its usually but not always the smaller firms that don't and you soon learn the shops that don't accept it.As an amex card transaction costs the shop more than others ie visa I can understand why smaller firms will not accept it. I always use my card in Tesco because I like the fact that they have to pay more to get my money
Both of the cards have great online services and I love the cashback I get. I always pay my balance off in full every month so APR isn't a variable. I think the solution of Amex backed by another good cashback card is brill.

JoseChungsDoomsday

M_Thomson wrote:

I read somewhere that newly issued Amex Blue cards are now translucent. Does anyone know if this is the case?

mine is 2 months old and still has the old design

nearlyfunny

I don't know if I'm posting this in the right place or not. It concerns the Amex Platinum card, ( Best Life of Balance transfers )here - http://www.moneysavingexpert.com/cgi-bin/viewnews.cgi?newsid1107182516,76509,
I've clicked the link which states 4.9% interest, but when printing off the form I noticed the small print states 9.4% - a bit of a difference. Needless to say I did not sign the form. Obviously, American Express were aware that I had filled in the form and I received a phone call from them today. When I explained why I had not signed, they told me they think it might be a misprint ( the 9.4% that is ), as all their rates end in .9%. I just wondered had anyone else signed these forms and where would you stand legally as far as interest went.

JohalaReewi

If you check the online T&Cs, it says 4.9% (section 5.4).

https://www66.americanexpress.com/eapp/uk/platinumrevolve/termscond_uk_platinumrevolve.jsp?cgid=null

nibelung

Earlier I posted that I was told by customer services at Amex that my new blue card was receiving double cashback instead of the 2% cashback offer I applied for. I checked my online statement and I'm getting 2 moneyback points for every pound I spend. Does this mean I'm in fact getting the 2% I am supposed to?

riker71

I recently signed up for the Nectar AMEX 5.9 APR on balance transfers for life of balance offer. I just received my statement and am a bit concerned with the estimated interest. Statement date 8th Nov-7th December.

Current balance £2466.04, made up of

£18.49 spent at sainsburys 19th November
£2441 balance transfer 30th November from other card.
£6.55 interest charge 7th December

ESTIMATED INTEREST FOR NEXT MONTH £25.54

This assumes I pay the minimum balance.

Interest rates listed on statement:
Monthly Rate Goods And Services 1.02%
Monthly Rate Cash Advance 1.57%
Monthly Rate Balance Transfer 1.02%

I have called them to query and the girl didnt know why the estimated interest was so high and has forwarded it onto another dept who will write to me....

She also said the £6.55 interest shouldnt be on as was first statement so has refunded that.

Does anyone know how they can have got such a high interest of £25 for next month when the balance transfer rate should be fixed at 5.9 apr?

Their own smallprint regarding interest says:

If you do not pay the full amount you owe by the payment due date, you will be charged interest on any amount you owe from the last month and, on a daily basis, on each Transaction you make from the date of the transaction until you pay the total amount that you owe.You will be charged interest on all balances that result from Cash Withdrawals or BalanceTransfers, on a daily basis, from the date of the Transaction until the amount is fully repaid to us.
If you make only the minimum payment each month, it will take you longer and cost you more to clear your balance. We will apply your payments in the following order - interest; any repayment protection insurance premiums; fees; Promotional Purchases and Balance Transfers; Transactions (other than Cash Withdrawals), Cash withdrawals.

update

actually i think Ive just found the problem, their monthly balance transfer interest rate of 1.02% is wrong, it should be 0.48% as described in their offer on the website

Balance Transfers conducted within the initial 6 month period from the date we open your Account will be charged at a Balance Transfer rate of 5.9% p.a. (monthly rate 0.48%) fixed until the balance is paid in full. Balance Transfer(s) conducted after the initial 6 month period from the date we open your Account will be charged at the standard rate of 12.9% p.a. (monthly rate 1.02%). The Nectar Credit Card for American Express and the Nectar for Business Credit Card from American Express standard rate of interest for goods and services is typical 12.9%APR variable (1.02% per month). Written details are available on request.

I advise everyone to check their statement when received to make sure a similar mistake has not been made!

M_Thomson

riker71 wrote:

I recently signed up for the Nectar AMEX 5.9 APR on balance transfers for life of balance offer. I just received my statement and am a bit concerned with the estimated interest. Statement date 8th Nov-7th December.

Current balance £2466.04, made up of

£18.49 spent at sainsburys 19th November
£2441 balance transfer 30th November from other card.
£6.55 interest charge 7th December

ESTIMATED INTEREST FOR NEXT MONTH £25.54

This assumes I pay the minimum balance.

Interest rates listed on statement:
Monthly Rate Goods And Services 1.02%
Monthly Rate Cash Advance 1.57%
Monthly Rate Balance Transfer 1.02%

I have called them to query and the girl didnt know why the estimated interest was so high and has forwarded it onto another dept who will write to me....

She also said the £6.55 interest shouldnt be on as was first statement so has refunded that.

Does anyone know how they can have got such a high interest of £25 for next month when the balance transfer rate should be fixed at 5.9 apr?

Their own smallprint regarding interest says:


update

actually i think Ive just found the problem, their monthly balance transfer interest rate of 1.02% is wrong, it should be 0.48% as described in their offer on the website



I advise everyone to check their statement when received to make sure a similar mistake has not been made!

A word of advice to you. If you have a balance transfer rate of 5.9% for life DO NOT make any purchases on it. These are charged at the rate for purchases and any payments each month to clear the balance will pay back the balance at the 5.9% rate first. So interest on purchases will continue to accrue at the higher rate.