Why isn't AmEx promoting restaurant spend ?
Jul 24, 2017, 7:33 am
#1
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Why isn't AmEx promoting restaurant spend ?
btw, why isn't AmEx giving incentives to use of their cards at restaurants buy giving bonus points on restaurant spend on more of their cards ? That would give more visibility to AmEx cards (more people will pull out their AmEx that colleagues/friends will see) and will please the increasing numbers of millennials who eat out frequently instead of cooking at home.
Lots of credit cards offer bonus points on gas spend but in big cities like New York, Toronto and Montreal with a decent transit system, lots of people don't own cars and spend no money on gas.
Here in Canada, none of the cards issued by AmEx give category bonus points on dining purchases.
If there were more AmEx cards with category bonus points on dining transactions, the number of restaurants accepting AmEx will increase because there will be more demand for AmEx acceptance from patrons due to the category bonus points
Lots of credit cards offer bonus points on gas spend but in big cities like New York, Toronto and Montreal with a decent transit system, lots of people don't own cars and spend no money on gas.
Here in Canada, none of the cards issued by AmEx give category bonus points on dining purchases.
If there were more AmEx cards with category bonus points on dining transactions, the number of restaurants accepting AmEx will increase because there will be more demand for AmEx acceptance from patrons due to the category bonus points
Last edited by MasterGeek; Jul 24, 2017 at 7:54 am
Jul 24, 2017, 10:57 am
#3
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Even AMEX in the US seems to have only one card that earns bonus points for dining transactions (the Preferred Gold Rewards card) and on top of that it's limited to US restaurants
Jul 24, 2017, 11:08 am
#4
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I finally gave in and got the Chase Amazon Prime card - moved all my restaurant spend onto it for 2% rebate available on statement close towards amazon spending (buy something weekly, now that they carry groceries)
The Chase Hyatt card is pretty good too - 2x for Hyatt points sorta worth 2 cents ... so potentially 4% back ... I'm swimming in Hyatt points though ...
The citi AA card usually runs restaurant spend bonuses at least once a year
I think part of the Amex restaurant spend issue is that business meals are likely directed to a corporate card, as opposed to personal
The Chase Hyatt card is pretty good too - 2x for Hyatt points sorta worth 2 cents ... so potentially 4% back ... I'm swimming in Hyatt points though ...
The citi AA card usually runs restaurant spend bonuses at least once a year
I think part of the Amex restaurant spend issue is that business meals are likely directed to a corporate card, as opposed to personal
Jul 24, 2017, 11:22 am
#5
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...plus Blue Business Plus which earns 2X everywhere.
Last edited by mia; Jul 24, 2017 at 11:34 am
Jul 24, 2017, 11:32 am
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It's not just millennials. I spend a large portion of my income at restaurants and would love to earn more than the 1.25 MR that I get on my platinum card. I buy alot of restaurant gift cards from grocery or drug stores to earn 2 MR using my gold rewards card but would rather have a cc that gives that directly.
Jul 24, 2017, 1:11 pm
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I finally gave in and got the Chase Amazon Prime card - moved all my restaurant spend onto it for 2% rebate available on statement close towards amazon spending (buy something weekly, now that they carry groceries)
The Chase Hyatt card is pretty good too - 2x for Hyatt points sorta worth 2 cents ... so potentially 4% back ... I'm swimming in Hyatt points though ...
The citi AA card usually runs restaurant spend bonuses at least once a year
I think part of the Amex restaurant spend issue is that business meals are likely directed to a corporate card, as opposed to personal
The Chase Hyatt card is pretty good too - 2x for Hyatt points sorta worth 2 cents ... so potentially 4% back ... I'm swimming in Hyatt points though ...
The citi AA card usually runs restaurant spend bonuses at least once a year
I think part of the Amex restaurant spend issue is that business meals are likely directed to a corporate card, as opposed to personal
I can't answer why Amex isn't giving incentives on restaurants, if they even did 2 MR/$ I'd be more likely to spend on it (compared to 3% cash from Costco's Citi)
Jul 24, 2017, 1:21 pm
#8
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Discover IT offers 5% cash back (up to $1500 in spending) on restaurants for 3mo, and 5% at Amazon for 3mo every year. The other two quarters are usually fuel and home goods. I get that those points aren't convertible to air miles as FT'ers often prefer, but they're good bonuses.
I can't answer why Amex isn't giving incentives on restaurants, if they even did 2 MR/$ I'd be more likely to spend on it (compared to 3% cash from Costco's Citi)
I can't answer why Amex isn't giving incentives on restaurants, if they even did 2 MR/$ I'd be more likely to spend on it (compared to 3% cash from Costco's Citi)
Jul 24, 2017, 1:31 pm
#9
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Technically five:
...plus Blue Business Plus which earns 2X everywhere.
- American Express® Gold Card for Ameriprise Financial
- Gold Card from American Express
- Premier Rewards Gold Card from American Express
- The Mercedes Benz Credit Card from American Express
- Morgan Stanley Credit Card
...plus Blue Business Plus which earns 2X everywhere.
Jul 24, 2017, 1:33 pm
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Jul 24, 2017, 1:33 pm
#11
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Jul 24, 2017, 2:00 pm
#12
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customer service is important to me ... granted last time I had Discover was late 90s ... but I don't trust them to resolve problems without causing me big headaches ... one of the main reasons I still pay AMEX $550 , regardless of dilution of benefits each year ... AMEX will fix problems no hassle ...
Jul 24, 2017, 2:06 pm
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Jul 24, 2017, 2:23 pm
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Jul 24, 2017, 2:36 pm
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customer service is important to me ... granted last time I had Discover was late 90s ... but I don't trust them to resolve problems without causing me big headaches ... one of the main reasons I still pay AMEX $550 , regardless of dilution of benefits each year ... AMEX will fix problems no hassle ...
For Discover though, my parents have been Discover cardholders since the 1980s, myself since 1999, and I've always been happy with their CS, and call centers are still all US-based which is nice. They also have a 90 day purchase price protection (like Chase Sapphire, unlike Amex) for no annual fee and it's paid out to me three times.
Okay, commercial over.
