I was a big Amex user for years, so I understand the sentiment.

But as a retailer (not food, but consumer electronics) I also fully understand and respect merchants' decisions to say away from Amex. And I'm frequently tempted to cut acceptance of the card myself.

Amex charges merchants a painful fee - typically 50% higher than that of Visa, MC, and Discover. And there's no negotiation, where with Visa and MC, at least, merchants can shop for better deals.

Next, when I told Amex that due to a rate increase (in my case, to 3.15%) that I might de-emphasize acceptance of their card on my website, they gave me a whole legal intimidation of the consequences of that, and faxed me my acceptance agreement.

Now I also use my Costco Amex (restaurants and travel only) because it offers the best rewards. But I know exactly why that's possible - they pull it from the merchants.

In my line of work, I need to take the card. Otherwise, customers, like yourself, might go elsewhere.

But with restaurants? Food is unique, and I'm always proud of a restaurant, or any vendor, who has the strength to fly the bird to Amex. In fact, I'm maybe more likely to patronize them.