What's so good about American Express?

concernedSaver

Don't know about their credit cards, but I was accepted for an AmEx charge card when my other credit card wouldn't trust me with more than a mere £400 credit limit.

The main points for me are the lack of a spending limit (and Amex is the only real charge card issuer in the UK) and the flexibility of membership rewards points, since I travel a lot.

System

I think that Amex is vastly overrated - I have got rid of Amex personal basis but kept the corporate one issued by my employer.

The various gaps in acceptance mean that you have to use your debit card or carry a Visa/MasterCard credit card in many situations. Online, you have to use Paypal frequently and this removes the S75 protection.

The forex rates are generally inferior to MasterCard (and even Visa) too.

The only plus point is their Amex offers that cover Amex (and sometimes third party Amex) cards.

worried_jim

I've got an Amex Gold card, its in a tub of polly filler, I find they are great when filling small cracks. Maybe one day I'll get another but it's been 13 years since I used one properly. I rarely use any credit cards these days, I have one for emergencies (new boiler last July) but as a general rule if I can't afford to buy it I don't, I have been like this for the last ten years.

Nick_C

I've had a BA Platinum Plus Amex card for a while now. The main benefit for me is that if you spend £10K a year on the card, you get a two for one voucher for Avios redemptions on BA. My OH and I will be flying to LA next summer in business class thanks to Amex.

The annual fee for this card is now £195, but it usually comes with a generous sign up bonus. Last year, I paid a £150 fee, but I got £75 in cash back on exclusive Amex offers. I also earned 23,000 Avios, which I value at £150.

Its acceptance at small shops is surprisingly widespread. My village post office, butcher, and farm shop all take Amex. My Dentist takes Amex. All the major supermarkets do.

Places that I use that don't take it don't take it - B&Q, IKEA (take it in store but not on line), Aldi & Lidl, Dunelm.

By buying Gift Cards, you can effectively use it in more places. For example. I bought Netflix Giftcards with my Amex at Tesco. You can also buy B&Q gift cards in Tesco, but you can only use these cards in store, not on line.

I don't use my Amex abroad or for non sterling transactions as the fee is too high. I also chose to use Visa and MC where they have better deals.

Wellard_Mann

My experience of Amex is very similar to that of Ben8282 above. During the late 1970’s to the mid 1980’s I was travelling extensively worldwide and had an Amex own issue charge card, which was at the time the only widely accepted card internationally. (Arguably excepting Diners Club – I had one of them too but rarely used it).

I took another job in the mid ‘80’s involving much less travel and, though I kept the Amex for a while, by that time Visa and MasterCard had global coverage and was more generally accepted. I too had the experience of being asked if I had another card when proffering the Amex for payment several times both in the UK and in different countries in Europe. Eventually I wasn’t using the Amex enough to justify the annual fee so I downgraded to the green charge card for a year or so and then relinquished it completely. Amex started issuing credit cards and the incentives programmes a few years later but I never got around to applying for any of these.

I found their customer service centre in Brighton very helpful on the rare occasions I needed them. I think back in the day they were a premium product and went the extra mile to help their customers – maybe and hopefully they still do!

Being retired nowadays, I spend much less and mostly on debit cards. I have a Barclaycard Visa for no fee foreign expenditure until 2018 and an MBNA Visa and MBNA MasterCard, both affinity cards for charities and which I use occasionally just to keep the accounts open.

sausage_time

Platinum cashback credit card here.

Advantages for me:
- Cashback pulls in many £100s a year the way I use it.
- Great customer service (instant refund when I was double charged by a certain rail company)
- Great web site (desktop and mobile versions)
- A credit limit that is as close to infinity as I need
- Special cashback offers - I made £25 in December alone!

Negatives are:
- Acceptance (so I have a MC for backup)
- No Android Pay support (their Android App supports contactless, but my experience continues to be very mixed - see separate thread)
- Hefty but not atypical FX rates for foreign transactions (so I have another card for travel).

ryuuoo

I am 22 and was accepted for the BA Amex back in July. Did it for the avios bonus (9000) and because everyone at work seemed to be getting one - haha.

Then in August got approved for a Gold Charge Card (got the 20000 MR bonus). It's so helpful not having that credit limit to worry about and Amex have been very generous with a couple large purchases since then. I also paid my tuition fees with it and got a tonne of MR.

Their customer service is amazing over the phone, their apps are great. Have no complaints and use both my Amex cards alternatively but regularly!

Living in London, you rarely find somewhere that doesn't accept it. Plus the Gold one is just gorgeous with the black ink on the etched lettering :P

20aday

I've an American Express card issued by Lloyds Bank (Choice Rewards).

I know acceptance varies from business to business but the points I've accrued since May 2016 will continue to build up as/when I use my card as I can turn them into cash-back (towards my statement balance) or indeed gift vouchers will come in handy for Christmas 2017.

As a Club Lloyds member £12 of the card's Annual Fee of £24 is refunded on the anniversary statement so that's one bonus I guess-well until Lloyds pull the benefit as part of the rewards cull!

cooltt

Jlawson118 wrote: »

I remember back when I was 18, I tried to apply for an AMEX card for the travel insurance benefits, not knowing they were so hard to be a part of :rotfl:

I remember my grandad saying he once got offered one when he was working but he declined the offer, but back then they were really rare to be a part of. But in all fairness, I look around now and I think I've only ever seen one American Express card and even then that wasn't in England.

I've heard from numerous people that they are a credit card that everybody wants. Yet I don't understand why when quite a few places don't even accept it. I used d the Lloyds Avios cards last year and tried to use the AMEX wherever I could opposed to the MasterCard because that one offered more points. But a lot of places I shopped just didn't accept it.

So what is the big deal really?

In a nut shell it is/was the snob value.

Much like many other ridiculously overhyped products in the world Amex do a fantastic job of telling you which of their cards you need and why, and that your life is worthless without one. They're the false prophet of the credit/charge card world. All fur coat and no nickers. If you have little use of their various reward schemes they really are next to useless.

If you travel a lot and spend wads of cash every month then great. If you don't, we'll don't bother.

MallyGirl

Platinum cashback credit card here too.

Advantages for me:
- Cashback standing at £185 so far this year.
- no fee
- Great customer service
- Great web site (desktop and app) with instant notifications on transactions
- A decent credit limit that just got increased by £4k unasked
- Special cashback offers - I made £47 in December from offers and ShopSmall
- 0% for 21 months on purchases
- £28 from topcashback when I took it out

Negatives are:
- Acceptance (so I have a MC for backup)