[QUOTE=maksimfa;22670671]It may be regional but in the big cities I've found almost every merchant takes amex. Some small coffee shops and dry cleaners don't and some government organizations like like LADWP (water and power) don't. State Farm doesn't either which is really annoying.

Amex also is stricter with issuing merchant accounts, I know a few examples of restaurants that have had to wait a few months for amex to be accepted rather than not wanting to accept amex.

But back on topic I really think this change is due to the huge amount of credit and debit card fraud that takes place every day. When someone get stolen cards they want to liquidate as soon as possible. Unfortunately they have the same goals and methods as MSers...