I'm in retail (high-end consumer durables, for those of you scoring at home) and for years we didn't accept Amex. Primary reason was that their commission rate was 2% higher than Visa/MC and they took 7 (yes, seven) days to give you your money. They were also arrogant, always saying that their cardholder base was posh etc. They also said that we were missing out on sales because we did not accept their card. I rebutted that I didn't know anyone of a professional/managerial stripe who didn't have a fistful of Visa and MC in addition to their Amex.

A couple of years ago we did decide to start accepting Amex, as they reduced the spread to about 0.6% and the settlement period to 3 days. They also agreed to put some bucks into co-marketing.

Whenever I am in another OMB that doesn't take Amex I always ask why. Invariably the guy tells me that Amex is too expensive or the settlement time is too long.

With regard to Loblaws, the Westons run a pretty tight ship and I'd bet that Galen doesn't want to cough up the extra margin that taking Amex would cost. In the Toronto area, at least, all the Loblaws I have been in take Visa/MC.

Some of the publications in which we advertise take Amex and some don't. I have the Amex Aeroplan Platinum and in 2004 it netted me over 60K in bonus miles....well worth the $399 fee in my case.