What is the point of charge cards?

DavidLaGuardia

As well as may merchants getting the hump with the addtional charges, what on earth is the point of regular Amex (the non creditcard version) and other "charge" cards that require the balance paid every month and charge excessively for any extended credit why notjust get a credit card? This has always bugged me, so I would be grateful for any answers.

cifpower

People whose expenditure or "costs" are paid for by the company with which they work.

M_Thomson

DavidLaGuardia wrote:

As well as may merchants getting the hump with the addtional charges, what on earth is the point of regular Amex (the non creditcard version) and other "charge" cards that require the balance paid every month and charge excessively for any extended credit why notjust get a credit card? This has always bugged me, so I would be grateful for any answers.

Another thing I guess is the discipline of knowing that you have to clear the balance in full every month.

M_Thomson

mark_jones13 wrote:

I have the AMEX Gold Charge card and don't like the fact that they've introduced credit cards. A charge card is convenient, you don't have to carry cash around with you, you get MR points, you get the concierge and travel service, excellent insurance on purchases with the card. Its having the flexibility to charge almost anything to your card without having to worry about a credit limit. And of cousre there's that status that carrying an AMEX charge card brings that you just don't get with any credit card, whatever colour it is.

I think that the £95 fee per year is excellent value for money.

There is actually a credit limit even on the charge cards, they will just not tell you what it is. If you look at the book that comes with the card it says that they will authorise a charge to your card, based on your credit record, payment record and how you run any other Amex Cards. They can refuse charges even on the charge card. If you are spending a lot if you call them they will usaully give you a yes or a no as to wether they will accept a charge.

nrsql

You could say what is the point of credit cards which are a very expensive way of getting credit.
Until I recently started stoozing I only had charge cards (nat west gold and amex centurion) because I didn't have any use for credit cards (and still won't pay interest on them).

Debt_Free_Chick

mark_jones13 wrote:

And of cousre there's that status that carrying an AMEX charge card brings that you just don't get with any credit card, whatever colour it is.

As someone who had one until about 15 years ago, I have to say that only you feel that it gives you status. Many of us simply do not see those with a charge card of any colour as "impressive" or of higher status

Debt_Free_Chick

One of the advantages with a charge card is that you can keep your cash in an interest earning account until you come to pay the bill off. However, the interest you earn in a year should be enough to pay the annual fee. And you can do the same with a credit card, which has no fee.

I gave up my Amex (Gold, natch ) years ago ... I felt ripped off by the annual fee and never had cause to use any the "benefits", which I think are just a clever marketing ploy. You seem to get free travel insurance with just about every financial product, these days.

nrsql

Not concerned about any supposed amex status (don't believe there is any anymore) but they do tend to give better service - especially abroad and in emergencies.
They can also get big discounts on hotels and room upgrades if you travel a lot.

mrcow

mark_jones13 wrote:

A charge card is convenient, you don't have to carry cash around with you, its having the flexibility to charge almost anything to your card without having to worry about a credit limit.

And of cousre there's that status that carrying an AMEX charge card brings that you just don't get with any credit card, whatever colour it is.

I still don't see what facility it's giving you that a VISA debit card that you get free from your bank doesn't give. It's just as widely accepted (I've never been anywhere in the world where AMEX was accepted and VISA wasn't). Okay there are some incidental freebies that you get, but I've never thought that they were good enough to consider applying for a card.

The cashback idea is good, so if you are getting your money back that way, then perhaps you can justify the £95 annual fee.

I understand why companies would choose this option for their employees BTW.

As for the status issue, if anyone really thinks that, then IMO they need to get out a little bit more (seriously no offence intended, but I assume that you were joking of course!). Isn't that a bit like saying that you think others are honestly impressed with the size of your car?

daveboy

What you earn, what card you have, what credit limits you have meen diddly squat.

It's the type of person you are that matters.

Anybody that talks about 'status' is a bit sad.

student100

mrcow wrote:

I still don't see what facility it's giving you that a VISA debit card that you get free from your bank doesn't give. It's just as widely accepted (I've never been anywhere in the world where AMEX was accepted and VISA wasn't).

Firstly, with a debit card the cash comes out of your account instantly; with a chargecard you have on average a month to pay it off.

For businesses AMEX chargecards have several advantages. My dad has an AMEX chargecard for work-related expenses. It keeps them separate from any personal CC; anything he spends on the chargecard is paid by himself but (I believe) his work also gets a copy of the statement, so they can pay the expenses off straight away. Also AMEX statements are somewhat more detailed than typical CC statements: for instance if you book a flight on the Amex chargecard it will show up on the statement details including the start and destination airports, airline, flight date and details, and name of the passengers booked on to the flight. This is a big advantage to business because people can't fraudulently claim expenses for flights they shouldn't have been taking/booked for someone else etc. Similarly for hotels it shows the dates of the stay, etc.