Shops accepting Amex

SteveyJC

I base some of my shopping decisions on whether a place takes Amex. If the goods are the same price in 2 shops, and one takes amex, the other doesn't then I know which one I'll go to.

Why? Because I can treat my family to some nice upper class flights across the pond.

The_Groat_Counter

I'm very sympathetic towards retailers that don't accept Amex (though I agree with the above comments that they shouldn't sit on the fence about it).

chattychappy

When I signed up for Amex during the 1990s (as a merchant), it was part of their T+Cs that I displayed their signage prominently.

jo-bo

We started taking card payments a year ago and we were told at the time that Amex had reduced its fees in line with other providers as they found a lot of retailers wouldn't use them. We get charged more in fees for accepting World MasterCard (0.75% more!).
What is frustrating is people think that we've factored the price already into our products but we've been trading for more than 5 years and didn't think that it would be fair. To be honest it's not that much more to be accepting card payments, for every £10 spent it costs us 20p, but debit cards are a flat 25p.

jo-bo

chattychappy wrote: »

When I signed up for Amex during the 1990s (as a merchant), it was part of their T+Cs that I displayed their signage prominently.

We have signs up all over the place and still get asked:rotfl:

than_prutt

I know it's an old post but I would like to add something to it and hope that it's useful for other retailers.


I used to run a restaurant up until 2012 and we had always accept Amex. The last deal we got with Amex was 1.5% fee which was quite a bit less than Visa and MasterCard, if you consider how much money was paid using credit cards over the whole year. However, there was a flat charge of £36 per year but it paid for itself within 2 weeks of trading...


So if you are a small retailer, give Amex a call and save yourself some money on payment charges are more and more customers are paying by Amex these days!!

Mr_K

I'm a bit surprised at the number of large retailers that still don't accept Amex (i understand the reasons for small retailers).

Recently the following haven't accepted it:- Matalan, Barker & Stonehouse, Citroen dealer. It certainly can't relied on and you need to carry another card.

than_prutt

I understand your thinking, Mr K. However, if you think about the large retailers that DO accept Amex esp. supermarkets, petrol stations, Network Rail, high street cafes and restaurants, Amazon, etc it makes carrying an Amex card worthwhile in my opinion due the better rewards.


What's the harm in carrying a second MasterCard/Visa as a back up?


BTW, I don't work for Amex just in case someone is thinking..

lisyloo

than_prutt wrote: »

What's the harm in carrying a second MasterCard/Visa as a back up?

there is no harm, in fact a back up is a jolly good idea, but I'd prefer one set of accounts, one card easily accessible, one payment and to know the ins and outs of one reward scheme that I can maximise but Puting ALL my expenditure on it.

grumbler

lisyloo wrote: »

... Puting ALL my expenditure on it.

You are dreaming. Some expenditure inevitably goes to a debit card at least.