American Express Membership Rewards - Fine driving in France

I've just received an email from Amex France about "Fine driving".

This is targeted for Platinum and Centurion card holders.

What they call Fine Driving is a partnership between Amex (France) and Lexus (France). Amex cardholders can in any Lexus car dealership in France:

- Use their Amex card to purchase a Lexus car
- receive a complimentary leather card holder after a test drive
- "Lexus circle" free membership for any car purchase + invitations to Lexus events
- Free car rental + valeting + priority service when you bring your car in for a tune-up

The color of the car used in the email is the same color as your Amex (silver or black)...

The color of the car used in the email is the same color as your Amex (silver or black)...

22 months between joining and posting. Not too shabby...

Welcome to the posting side of the crowd :D

Welcome to Flyertalk indeed cwmac !

I've just received an email from Amex France about "Fine driving".

This is targeted for Platinum and Centurion card holders.

What they call Fine Driving is a partnership between Amex (France) and Lexus (France). Amex cardholders can in any Lexus car dealership in France:

- Use their Amex card to purchase a Lexus car
- receive a complimentary leather card holder after a test drive
- "Lexus circle" free membership for any car purchase + invitations to Lexus events
- Free car rental + valeting + priority service when you bring your car in for a tune-up

hello fred and welcome aboard,

we have not seen a similiar program here in the u.s. of a. with the centurion program. perhaps it will be forthcoming. france leads the world in many trends so perhaps this will be one new promo to head this way.

to add some levity to the site i will relate some "fine driving" my wife and i did when vacationing in france. i was navigating so it was my fault.

we were trying to find a perfume museum in grasse and our map was pretty much worthless and i was likewise worthless as a navigator. so we kept getting lost. the city was lovely, well maintained old buildings and charming brick streets in the historic part of town we were in. as we kept winding around we finally got on a street that got narrower and narrower until finally the street became so narrow we just had to stop the car. at that time a bunch of old shopkeepers came out yelling at us. (probably laughing also) it turns out we had turned off of the old brick road and we had turned onto an old brick or stone sidewalk! we were driving down a shop lined pedestrian way!

another "fine driving" example of americans lost on vacation.

oh well, at least no animals, humans, or buildings were harmed in our above adventure.

lucky our car had french license plates or they probably would have thrown rocks at us!

we were quite embarressed but now it is humourus in hindsight.

all the best,
jsq

Oct 2003 Avignon Rail station;

Spent a frantic half hour driving around trying to locate the return spot for the Avis rental car. Finally parked and Janet went in to inquire. It was the same road as we had exited from two weeks before but no sign existed in French or any other language pointing out the rental return.

Inside we grabbed some lunch while awaiting the train to take us back to Paris another couple arrived and the man sat down heavily and sighed.

I looked over at him and asked if he had been having a spot of trouble with returning his rental car. " Oh yes" he replied ' "we've been out there for ninety minutes trying to figure it out"

I suddenly felt a lot better:o

"Free car rental + valeting + priority service when you bring your car in for a tune-up"

doesnt lexus treat customers pretty well?

i remember seeing someone's owners materials, and they included things on hotel benefits etc, that you can get for being an owner.

Well, I am convinced I'll definitely consider a Lexus next time I buy a car.

My last car purchase (BMW) almost ended up in a lawsuit:
I wanted to pay the car with my Amex card and of course mentioned it clearly. I had even agreed to pay the Amex commission. In order to avoid a bad surprise, I had written it down next to my signature in the order form. 3 days after signing it, the car dealership called me to inform me they would not allow me to pay the car with my Amex card, as the Amex commission had just increased. However, they insisted I was bound to buy it from them since I had signed the contract.

I called Amex customer service which informed me that their commission had not increased. They contacted BMW France which investigated this matter and told them I had never mentioned the fact that I wanted to pay with my Amex card and I had added it next to my signature while the salesperson had left his office to get me a cup of coffee!
This was the worst lie ever. Had Amex agreed to give me the name of the person who said that, I would have sued them!

Anyway, I ended up buying the car from a different dealership but I am definitely not happy with the way BMW handled this as I am still awaiting an apology from them...

Anyway, this is so typical of French customer service (which is inexistant!)

Well, I am convinced I'll definitely consider a Lexus next time I buy a car.

My last car purchase (BMW) almost ended up in a lawsuit:
I wanted to pay the car with my Amex card and of course mentioned it clearly (...)

BMW Financial Services issues co-branded American Express cards in Germany (see BMW Premium Cards ( http://www.bmw.de/de/de/insights/bmw_card/premium_cards/introduction.html) ) , but I don't think that Amex (or any other card) will ever be accepted in payment for cars.

Buying a car with a credit card is also very unusual (unknown?) in France.
From that point of view, the Fine Driving program with Lexus is really a new benefit.

Buying a car with a credit card is also very unusual (unknown?) in France.
From that point of view, the Fine Driving program with Lexus is really a new benefit.

I agree that buying a car with a credit card is unusual in France but it is quite feasible. The dealership that I ended up buying my last BMW from wasn't equipped to accept Amex cards but they went through the trouble so that I could pay my car with my Amex card... You usually just have to ask (and of course come to an agreement about the Amex commission). Of course, in order not to waste anyone's time, I always mention the fact that I want to pay a car with my credit card right away when entering a car dealership.
Since I'm not crazy about cars, I choose my cars depending on the dealerships that will accept an Amex payment!
The aforementioned BMW was bought because the only 2 Audi dealerships in my city told me they would not agree to let me pay with my Amex card (even if I was to pay the full Amex commission)!

even if I was to pay the full Amex commission

Do you know the % of that commission?

Usually 2,95 % !

Thanks

The French government has pushed credit card use for many years, in part, because it makes it harder for tax evaders, and, in part, as a way to push telecom and net use in France.

One part of this program has been to regulate credit card merchant fees to a level which is much lower than US charges. The big push was with Visa via the government controlled banks.

I do wonder if it is the straight skinny as to the 2.95% charge? Sounds like a US rate.

Usually 2,95 % !
why would u pay the fee?

22 months between joining and posting.

Isn't it 33?

The French government has pushed credit card use for many years, in part, because it makes it harder for tax evaders, and, in part, as a way to push telecom and net use in France.

One part of this program has been to regulate credit card merchant fees to a level which is much lower than US charges. The big push was with Visa via the government controlled banks.

I do wonder if it is the straight skinny as to the 2.95% charge? Sounds like a US rate.

I believe that wat you're referring to applies to VISA/Mastercard. Most merchants in France can now accept VISA/Mastercard for a cheap flat rate (30 euros/months) with unlimited commission-free transactions. That is why there are no VISA/Mastercard cards in France that enable you to earn miles/points.

Amex is a whole different story AFAIK...