What's so good about American Express?

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  • Sncjw
    Sncjw Posts: 3,500
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    Jlawson how are you affording to pay back all these credit cards if your student loan application isn't going through for you and you have money issues
    Mortgage free wannabe 

    Actual mortgage stating amount £75,150

    Overpayment start date 1/3/23.

    Starting balance £66,565.45

    Current balance £63,787.16

  • fifeken
    fifeken Posts: 2,700
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    The one thing i really like are the reward offers you get monthly saved me a good £2k just this year alone using emirates and various hotel offers.

    Can you give me any info on the Emirates deals? I have a fair bit spend with them over the year and always looking to save a bit.
  • theburningcat
    theburningcat Posts: 198 Forumite
    edited 9 January 2017 at 10:19AM
    The cashback/points are great and the customer service is nothing like what you get at the banks (even better than First Direct in my opinion). The website and app are also really good. The website gives you offers at different retailers every month (roughly). Many of the offers are very good and for me, those offers alone pay the 140pa fee for the gold card. The points and lounge visits are extra - and the points can be valuable depending on how they're used (see headforpoints.com for a good guide to putting them to use).

    The limit I have with Amex (as tested on the website since I have "no preset spending limit") is a multiple of my other cards and I have grown to like the requirement to pay off the card every month.

    You realise the value of good customer service when you need it. I've had experiences with Santander and HSBC that were very time consuming and stressful and I know I am very unlikely to have to waste a lot of time with Amex.

    Acceptance is pretty good but it depends on your buying patterns. If you shop at a lot of small retailers, it might not be the card for you. The FX fee is very high (2.75% I believe?!) which is my key criticism of the card.
  • Jasonh2015
    Jasonh2015 Posts: 136
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    edited 9 January 2017 at 12:33PM
    So you'd report KFC and B&Q for declining AMEX? They don't have to.

    Who are you reporting them to?

    You missed the point. B&Q and KFC do not accept Amex. If a retailer advertises they accept it and ask for another form of payment it's a BIG no no for Amex.

    But if you wanted to buy from B&Q you could buy gift vouchers in Tesco and still get your points ��
  • wolvoman
    wolvoman Posts: 1,173
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    So you'd report KFC and B&Q for declining AMEX? They don't have to.

    Who are you reporting them to?
    I guess the more people that report these issues to Amex then it makes their sales case stronger to those retailers to encourage them to accept an agreement with Amex.


    They are fairly large retailers, so Amex fees would be virtually identical to Visa/MC fees - maybe a tiny, bit bigger.


    Retailers need to decide if it's worth saving the fees difference in exchange for losing potential customers.


    Amex customers on average will buy higher margin products and services, so it's possible that retailers not accepting Amex is actually costing them profit.
  • Nick_C
    Nick_C Posts: 7,442
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    edited 9 January 2017 at 1:36PM
    Nick_C wrote: »
    You shouldn't use a UK Amex for non sterling transactions. The forex fee is one of the worst.

    Correction: I wasn't aware that the Lloyds Avios card has no non-sterling transaction fees.

    I've just taken one out to supplement my BA Amex.

    Edit:
    Although even with a 0 loading, Mastercard tend to give a better exchange rate (0.7% better) than Visa or Amex.

    http://www.moneysavingexpert.com/credit-cards/mastercard-visa-amex
  • Jlawson118
    Jlawson118 Posts: 1,132
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    edited 9 January 2017 at 8:35PM
    Sncjw wrote: »
    Jlawson how are you affording to pay back all these credit cards if your student loan application isn't going through for you and you have money issues

    Where did that even come from? I don't even have an AMEX card nor did I even state I want one.

    I did have the Lloyds Avios cards last year to use abroad which contains an AMEX card, but it isn't an official AMEX card, and I closed this down when I signed up for Barclaycard reward, as their reward scheme seems to benefit me more than the Avios one did.
    I spend around £50 - £100 per week on the card for weekly expenses but I pay it off at the end of each week. My student loan application did go through and I've never had problems with it apart from I had a rough start with it when I started university in September due to expenses I wasn't expecting, but aside from that, I also work and earn money..

    Your statement is invalid.
  • newuser86
    newuser86 Posts: 312
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    I find AMEX are only good for the rewards and in my case airmiles. Enables me to book business class flights that I would never pay for.
  • Nebulous2
    Nebulous2 Posts: 5,072
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    newuser86 wrote: »
    I find AMEX are only good for the rewards and in my case airmiles. Enables me to book business class flights that I would never pay for.

    Congratulations. What about sharing how you managed that?

    Is it all personal spending, or did it include business expenses? How long did it take you?

    Thanks
  • Sncjw
    Sncjw Posts: 3,500
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    It came from because your credit applications are high. I was looking back at your posts and wondered how you were affording these forms of credit
    Mortgage free wannabe 

    Actual mortgage stating amount £75,150

    Overpayment start date 1/3/23.

    Starting balance £66,565.45

    Current balance £63,787.16

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