Originally Posted by
Gaucho100K
Getting around the Amex card fee when you join is pretty much impossible, but getting it refunded from the second year on is quite simple. You just have to have relevant use of the card, call them when the new annual fee is due and tell them you will close the account if they don't refund it. Works like clockwork. Given you like the 1 to 1 point thing and that the rest of the local plastic isn't appealing to you, seems like you and the wife are better served dumping all the rest of your local plastic and giving all the business to el Centurion......
I had an Amex card in Argentina and as far as I can remember they didn't charge the first year (that was in 2012), but it's always good to know there's a tool to sort it out in case they do.
Other than that, I have always been a happy Amex customer. Their card would work in ATMs (or cashpoints, as they call them here) across the world even when Visa wouldn't, and their customer service was always very helpful. Now that I have to deal with Visa everyday I do miss them (transferring my Amex card to the UK was way beyond my budget).