With the Amex card, it looks like *most people* would get something like 1/2 to 3/4 percent back, paid an average of 6 months after the charge was incurred (assuming flat spending over the course of a year). Factor in the time value of money and we're talking about a small, small carrot for this card.

Unless someone can work out a moneymaking method of carrying a balance to get the bigger rebates...but I'm guessing that Amex has crafted these rebates to make sure there are no loopholes.

Honestly, it looks like Amex is targeting this card directly at builders and others in the home improvement industry. To them, this looks like a beautiful card. (For my spending, it's not worth much at all.)