Why do my American Express bills come by air mail?

JJG

This has been bugging me for a while.

Why would my American Express bills come priority airmail from the United States? The return address being Ft Lauderdale Florida. That seems really inefficient.

agrinnall

Well presumably Amex have done their sums and this is the cheapest way to do it, even if it's not the most efficient.

pogofish

IIRC all mail from the States has been air mail for some considerable number of years now - the days of Royal Mail steamers chugging-on relentlessly through all conditions to ensure the timely delivery of sometimes slightly damp and bedraggled mail is no more. The RMS title applied to the remaining MAil Ships is more of a courtesy title applied out of respect for their historic routes and apart from the token sack of mail each carries on its maiden voyage to secure the title, I don't think they carry any regular mail these days.

As for priority - I get that from other firms in the States and frankly, its delivery time is only "Priority" if you measure it against the geological timescale but I would imagine a big firm like American Express would have the clout to negotiate an advantageous bulk rate and better service for its mailings?

shortcrust

I always thought, at least in part, that it was a marketing thing. The 'cachet' of being so important that your bills get delivered by email.

[Deleted User]

I like it.

I pretend that I have a friend in America who misses my so much that they write to me once a month.

agrinnall

Just to add, I suspect they could, if they wanted to, print and mail bills in Brighton, and delivery within the UK might be quicker and cheaper as a result, but they probably look at the worldwide picture and have picked the most suitable option for delivery to all destinations.

OllyM

It only costs about $1 to send a letter from the USA to the UK so barely any more than mailing a first class letter in the UK!

Voyager2002

Why don't you get them electronically?

Anthorn

JJG wrote: »

This has been bugging me for a while.

Why would my American Express bills come priority airmail from the United States? The return address being Ft Lauderdale Florida. That seems really inefficient.

Because it's American Express? I get online statements in the Android app so I don't get many letters from America. The last I received was telling me about referring friends to the credit card and the 10 quid I and my friends would each get.

btw a nice Starbucks offer currently in the app - get £1 statement credit for every £3 spent up to a max of £5 until 27 November. In the app three lines icon top left, Offers.

Ben8282

They stopped sending the statements from Brighton and started sending then from Ft Lauderdale in the late 1990's.