Worth remembering that proper Amex card (i.e. those issued by Amex direct, not through MBNA or Lloyds) has the ability to pick up a replacement card from a local Amex office. I believe they can also courier a card to you in an emergency but that may only apply to certain charge cards I'm not sure.

Amex cards also issue supplementary cards with different numbers so if one person loses theirs other cardholders can carry on using their cards (one of the biggest drawbacks with MBNA is supplementary cards have the same number, so one lost means all cancelled).