Why AMEX?

I notice alot of people use it for their Best Value Guarantee, its like a pricematching policy for stores that don't have it.

I used it for the Costco True Rewards which is a tiered 1/2/3% Cash Back. And I use it for warranty extension.

bssc said: I used it for the Costco True Rewards which is a tiered 1/2/3% Cash Back. And I use it for warranty extension.And Costco doesn't accept Visa or Mastercard.

3x pts on the AMEX Membership Rewards (e.g., for this Nov. 2005 - Feb 2006) if you have a charge card.
That's like 3% rewards.

I'll vote this thread green if the OP comes back and updates the OP/Quick Summary with his findings (pros and cons).

Beyond all the card benefits, I use it because they let me charge about 200k per month in expenses. They seem much more flexible, for most people, with regard to credit lines overall.

tuckeg said: Probably wasting my time, since you seem to already know why people get AMEX cards "Just find it odd that some people like the opportunity to grab an AMEX card (read some Citi AMEX threads) just because its an AMEX" but if you use the many features of the different cards (and I have) you find AMEX is very customer friendly, not like some (all?) of the others. I just had a laptop 60 GB HD fail and it was covered under my AMEX card's extended warrantee. I called was immediately connected to a computer specialist who told me to go to CompUSA and have the drive replaced with a faster 100 or 120 GB drive with 5 year warrantee (old one was 1 year) and have all software reinstalled and send him the bill. I did and about the time the charge showed up so did the full credit for $315 from AMEX. Had the lens of a two-day old telescope accidentally break and AMEX had it repaired ($400) within days. BVG has also been painless and saved me a small fortune (whole hell of a lot more than $300/yr), not to mention wishlist. Missed making payments when traveling overseas, a quick call got all late charges dropped. Every charge I've disputed has been resolved in my favor.

Now I might be able to get similiar results with other cards but based on my past experiences, not without major hassles. I don't keep my AMEX cards just because they're AMEX, but because they deliver much more value that other cards including your MC. So when I buy groceries, I'll use my Visa or MC, but when I buy a big ticket item I plan to keep or BVG, out comes an AMEX card.

well said. I found myself using AMEX blue for most things rather than my citi dividends just because I needed their service to be there for a peace of mind.

not a fan of AMEX. was using citi divident but reached 300 cap in 9 mos so now using chase rewards (750/yr cap).

mansa said: AMEX customer service is miles better than the rest.

stolen card - nov 29.

replacement card still hasnt arrived as of jan06...

i used to think AMEX had best customer service... not anymore.. they said it will take 10days to PROCESS... and 10 for mail to come to me...(OMAHA to SEATTLE) go figure!

ramganesh said: mansa said: AMEX customer service is miles better than the rest.

stolen card - nov 29.

replacement card still hasnt arrived as of jan06...

i used to think AMEX had best customer service... not anymore.. they said it will take 10days to PROCESS... and 10 for mail to come to me...(OMAHA to SEATTLE) go figure!

Sorry, but anyone that doesn't ESCALATE the lack of a replacement card after 5 weeks deserves exactly what they get... RED!

How can you blame AMEX, when you don't care enough to follow up on it yourself??? Heck, they probably sent you a card within 3 days, but it was stolen out of your mailbox!!!!

<--Charge everything on my AMEX Gold.

Always get double/Triple reward points.

KingUltra said: Everytime I call AMEX I can talk to someone who knos what I'm talking about ... not a Robot from India who reads a script ( Yah, that's you Citi )AMEX (Starwood) had script-reading robots from India at least two times I called them a number of months ago. Lately I only get USA reps from Florida.

Did AMEX drop their India call center? I hope so. Maybe I don't get them anymore because the second time I connected with an Indian rep I politely asked the if there was a different number I could call to get an American.

AMEX Blue Cash is my primary credit card. Why? I don't have time to monitor multiple credit CashBack cards with low caps (e.g., $300), so I just use it and get my ~ $800 back a year (about $45k spend) with minimal fuss. My time has value too.

gatzdon said: I'll vote this thread green if the OP comes back and updates the OP/Quick Summary with his findings (pros and cons).Heh! Didnt think this thread would generate so much attention before I was able to follow up, but I suppose that shows how many use AMEX.

Anyhow, I'm aware of the BVG, Costco 123, and wishlist. BVG looks nice, but there'd have to be some good CashBack on the card for me to get it. The Costco 123 looks good, but its increased caseback is on stuff I dont buy now. Perhaps later in life, but note that I dont want to carry 4-5+ cards (2-3 would be great). Unfamiliar with the wishlist (except I know the 360 was on it), but dont think it would be something that I would have to have.

Now I basically buy two things: gas and stuff to sell. Yes that also means Staples, OD, OM, and etc. This card in particular looks fantastic except for the $600 cap on the 3%. At any rate, being interested in BVG, I was hoping that AMEX had something like this - basically a CashBack card with 1.5% or more (looks like Blue Cash would work well if it had BVG).

Back on topic:
*Warranty extension - Citi's got it and I'm actually in the process of getting something (hmmm... not sure what - maybe cash) for my tablet PC's dead battery.
*BVG - One Citi card has it and the card doesnt look all that fantastic. A plus for AMEX.
*TrueRewards - Probably a good card to pickup sometime as a Costco card (have used debit in the past and under my parents Costco membership - havent found their prices appealing enough to warrant membership of my own yet). Like how it looks to apply to any travel and not just agencies.

Now, my turn for the questions:
*fotomaniak - I saw that card, but was a bit put off by the $15k OPEN tier. I suppose it could be a great FedEx card (ship through them). Dont see Staples on their list, but am I correct in assuming they are on it and at 2% as stated?
*myAmex - Is that the Rewards Plus Gold? Seems like the 5% gas/grocery/drug cards might be a bit better. Nevertheless, no reward limit I see...

I posted a scenario here that addresses a "CashBack trio" with the requirement that at least one card be a BVG AMEX as it seems that of three cards, at least one should implement this feature.

fotomaniak said: AMEX business cash rebate card: save 2% on Staples and 5% on fedex.
savings credited to your card in 2-3 days after the purchase posts.
FYI, AMEX business is dropping the Staples discounts very soon (Feb IIRC).

I have 2 AMEX's: Costco Business and Personal (main one)
I use the business card for 5% Hertz, 5% FedEx, and 2% Staples (well, I used to anyway) instant discounts. I also use the business card for BVG opportunities. I just filed one today for about $250.

I use the personal one to charge everything else. I wish it had better Cash Back rates (2% tierd), but I don't like to juggle cards with different balances that are due on different days. I do have the Chase Ultimate Cash Award (5%/1% tierd, i think) and Citi Dividend Platinum (5%/1%, $300 max/yr) cards though. I'm going to change my 2% AMEX Personal to the newer AMEX 3/2/1 soon.

Went to Montreal this summer on vacation, and my wallet fell out of my pocket. When I realized it was lost, I had to call to cancel all my cards. Here's where AMEX service is so great. My wife called the VISA number, and I called my AMEX. By the time she got ahold of a VISA rep, I had cancelled my AMEX, gotten directions to an AMEX office that would advance me cash with no fees due to the circumstances, was relieved to find that AMEX uses different numbers for the 2 cards on our 1 account so my wife's card would still be able to be used unlike every other card in my wallet, and when the Indian from VISA finally got on the line, she couldn't understand me or the fact that we were out of the country.

I finally hung up with VISA after she put me on hold again, and the AMEX rep called the VISA and M.C. 800 numbers on her line, and had people on her end waiting on hold on both lines until someone came on FOR me, while she finished handling things on my AMEX account. She then waited on hold while I dealt with VISA and again with MC, and then called me back to verify that everything was OK. When I called the park where we had been, the phone menu was only in French, so the AMEX operator had someone call the park fluent in French, and listen to the menu to hit the right extensions to reach someone, then hung up only after verifying a live park employee was on that understood and spoke English.

Do you think the call center employee's for VISA or anyone else had any script written to handle such a complex manner, or willing to go this far to help me when I was nervous about things like how do I get back on the return flight and into the US without any I.D.?

My AMEX card has no annual fee, it's a Hilton HHonors card, but I knew right then that I will never be anywhere without an AMEX again, even if I have to pay a fee for it.

That's why AMEX... P.S.- Got my replacement in about 10 days, although they would have overnighted one to me in Montreal.

that's pretty good service cadteach.


I use my AMEX blue cash primarily for the slight CashBack and mainly for the warranty extension, but i've also had great interactions with the CSRs. Stolen card - no problem - new cards within 10 days. Stolen digitial camera - no problem, had a credit on my account within 7 days. estoreonline scam - no problem, credited the next day.

With my AMEX warrantee claim, both the first rep and the computer specialist she turned me over to after a minute were in the USA, we even chatted about the weather while he was checking the warrantee on my computer. It was interesting that all I had to do was give him the Dell service number and he knew that AMEX was now responsible. He didn't even require proof that my computer matched the service number. Entire process took less than 5 minutes and I only had to mail my CompUSA receipt to him for re-imbursement.

Update: Actually I just found my paper work while cleaning up and I faxed the receipt to him and the credit showed up about the same time the CompUSA charge it. So total time spend getting my $300+ repair paid for was less than 10 minutes. I'd be interested to hear from the OP what the process is on his claim and how long he spends getting it.

Thats one of the reasons why I havent looked into an AMEX until now. My parents have some Discover card (a Platinum perhaps) that gives them 2% (or so they think), but even then Discover isnt accepted everywhere either.

Perhaps AMEX service is higher because they can afford to hire US staff due to higher merchant fees...