actually, my experience with AMEX isn't that great. i've tried to dispute 2 charges so far, and they've been really slow and not too helpful. on the other hand, with my wells fargo visa/mastercard (forget which), they credit me immediately and then send me a form to sign, or credit me immediately and that's that (in a case of a paypal dispute).
with AMEX, first off they didn't credit my account both times. one time i had to call again, and ask why nothing changed, to get them to take the amount disputed off the balance. and the other time, currently, the amount is said to be suspended, but i don't see a change in my online statement.

i use the costa true earnings card, which is nice cause costco only takes AMEX, and i don't need to carry the extra card, but i'm not too pleased with their dispute process. they take forever and don't do a good job, whereas other people (like wells fargo) seem to side with the customer immediately, and all they do is send you a form you have to sign (stating you didn't get the item, or it wasn't as stated, etc)

KingUltra said: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.

I always call the toll #, vs the toll free #. I always get an American rep with just about no wait time.
I've found that most of the cc companies seem to xfer the toll free calls to their overseas reps. Some of the cards that I've got that this works for are: SPG AMEX, Bank of America USAirways Visa Signiture, CitiBank Platinum AA Mastercard & MBNA AAA Diamond Visa.

This is my GOOD AMEX experience:

I rented a car from Enterprise, by the time my flight arrived at the destination it was 11:45PM, I booked a Midsize car with free upgrade. The enterprise guy told me that he has no midsize cars and he can upgrade me for $5 a day and Gave me a Nissan Maxima. I was happy, TOOK ALL THE INSURANCES THEY HAD TO OFFER (including PAI), signed the contract and left. 15 days later one fine morning I came out of my Hotel, and I couldnot believe my eyes "THE CAR WAS SITTING ON TWO ASPHALT BRICKS, ALL 4 TYRES STOLEN" . Called the cops, got the report number and then called Enterprise to tell them about the incident. Enterprise told me that the Maxima was a premium car and they offer Loss or Damage Waiver for only upto $1000, they told me that I have to pay for all the tyres and loss of business. I was very pissed as they did not tell me all this earlier and got me signed for the $1000 limited insurance in the mid of night when I was tired and exhausted. Still it was my mistake that I signed the contract without reading it, then I remembered that I rented the car with my AMEX Blue card. I called AMEX and all they asked was for the Police report Number and the Enterprise number. They covered about $3000 which is great. I LOVE AMEX.

darkhaven said:Zrike said:I am a student -- and was declined for the AMEX clear card. How dissapointing!
I have some assets, but it doesn't help that I am in the earning category of $0 - $11,000/year.
Then they tried to push me off on the AMEX student card. I think I'll pass.
Any ideas on how to get around this?!

When I first applied for an AMEX blue (and blue for students, blue for business, and costco card) prior to starting college I was denied every time as well. I got a Chase student card (ugh) and kept it for ~3 months then reapplied and recieved a blue for students card. After I had that card for 8 months or so I called in to request a credit line increase. They said they couldn't give a credit line increase for a student card that had been open for less than a year, but they could convert it to a regular blue account which would make it eligible for an increase immediately.

Honestly, there isn't a difference between the Blue and Blue for Students card that I've found other than this one limitation and the lack of the Blue for Students "special" rewards/discounts. Considering that you can upgrade the Blue for Students card into a regular Blue card at any time, there isn't any reason not to get it.


On another note, my experience with AMEX customer service has been for the most part positive. Same with their warranty protection. I called in and got them to credit me back for (no joke) a rubber ducky from CB2 that my dog somehow managed to get ahold of. I expected the guy to laugh me off the phone when I told him the charge was for $5.40, but he simply went ahead and processed it without any further questions. Compare this to the time I tried to file a warranty claim with Mastercard for $50 and had to do everything next to signing away my first born before they would even tell me that the item I was trying to file was ineligible for any return at all and you see why I love AMEX so much more.

Their return protection is also quite nice. I bought a sprint cell phone charger at the sprint store for $45 (in a distinctly unfatwallet sort of way) without checking online to see if I could get one cheaper. Found one on eBay for $0.99 (with $5 shipping) but only after my 14 day return window had passed. Called AMEX up, gave them the info, and had all the paperwork in my mailbox within a week. Now, mind you, I had to ship the charger back to AMEX at my expense, and the credit took almost a month to show up, but all said considering how stupid I felt after I found how much I had been ripped off I felt pretty good to get anything back. It really is because of the added protections (and their ease of use) that I use AMEX every time I buy something non-consumable.

nice story. but do they BVG auction prices? i was under the impression they didn't...

The best benefit I have found, is that they are give so many side discounts and benefits. If you are going to buy anything, there is a good chance they have some sort of discount at some store related to that item. The coolest thing I use is the Car Rental Collision insurance. The car rental places charge from $10 - $20 per day for Collision Coverage, but using an American Express card covers the car upto $50,000 for free!!!

qcumber98 said:wutsdadealio said:dawhim said:
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.

Citibank also offers extended warranty as well. Because of that and the CashBack, I use my Citibank over AMEX.

"AMEX extends the terms of the original manufacturer's warranty for a period of time equal to the duration of the original manufacturer's warranty, up to one additional year (up to three additional years for Centurion card members), on warranties of five years or less that are eligible in the U.S." AMEX Link

Mastercard also doubles the original warranty time period up to a maximum of one additional year. "If, however, the original warranty is for more than one year, no coverage will apply." MC Link

Only Visa Signature cards have the extended warranty benefit and they extend up to one additional year for warranties of three years or less. Visa Link

I learned this the hard way because who really spends time to read the fine-print in the card benefits anyway? Case in point, I tried to file a claim for a dead Lexar jumpdrive that I purchased with my MC. Since Lexar's warranty is two-years, I thought that MC would extend the warranty to three years and then I can file a claim. Unfortunately, that is not true and MC customer assistance told me to suck it. In a separate incident, I tried to file a claim for a dead Canon digital camera that I purchased with my AMEX Blue. The camera was still under warranty. I originally bought the camera for $270 and it would have costed me $220 to send it to Canon and have them fix it. I filed a claim with AMEX over the phone and it was easy. They did not ask me to send in any paperwork and in a few days, I got $270 back. For this reason, I use AMEX over Citibank.

nice!

however, i think it'd be very helpful if posters included the cards they have, and whether they had annual fees. the times i did try to file some extended warranty etc they had asked for receipts and what not, so i'm just wondering if paid cards have a higher level of service (which they probably do) which might account for the relative ease of getting refunds/credits.

Used to be an avid user of AMEX 2 cards well over 100k per year spent and never had a problem. Until I came to Fatwallet and discovered I had been raped the past 3 years on interest rates around 17%. I figured my mistake and their benefit. Well I'll call them and figure it out. They ran credit and advised this was their best rate; sorry nothing they can do for me. (FICO in the 700's as of 2 months ago). I wasn't too happy. Needless to say they have never increased my credit line (after asking 2-3 times), they screwed up our points allocation for a trip to the UK where we were stuck in the airport without a ticket for my son (which they claimed they authorized). I still purchase everything with them but pay it off in full now (don't use the EXPO) and have all revolving balances on discover. Horrible customer service - really declined in the past year.

Sorry it seems like i'm not the only one
AMEX SUX

I don't hate them but they are the best one out there.

happypants said:dcwilbur said:And Costco doesn't accept Visa or Mastercard.

Costco accepts both on their website.

Yeah, but how much most people buy @ Costco site v/s @ Costco store?
Basically, if you are a CostCo member - you will be going to CostCo store and so you are better off getting an AMEX card

btw.. after reading some people's stories here on AMEX I decided to get AMEX starwoods CC and got 10K line approved

desi101 said:Yeah, but how much most people buy @ Costco site v/s @ Costco store?
Basically, if you are a CostCo member - you will be going to CostCo store and so you are better off getting an AMEX card

I wonder why Costco accepts only AMEX in store instead of Visa and/or Mastercard? Merchant fees are higher with AMEX. Costco could have set up the same awards program with VISA or Mastercard.

To post somewhat on topic, I don't like it that with AMEX cash rewards I have to wait one year for the rebate rewards. I can cash out earlier with Citibank and Discover's rewards programs.

lein said:How about the Citi Dividend American Express card? Would that be enough to get the awesome customer service from AMEX, or would I have to go through Citi when I have a problem?

With that, you would get the best of both worlds: the AMEX wide acceptance and Citi's top of the line customer support