grumbler

This is the one that kills me, because when they say no Amex, my Visa is an Infinite (admittedly forced upon me by my issuer, which got Visa and MC into some hot water) - and so they aren't really coming out ahead. They irritate a customer and end up paying high interchange anyway.

Kagehitokiri

and dont many reward credit cards have high interchange?

obviously agree re door sign, wallet isnt really advertising

amex advertising getting million(s) to start accepting

frobozzelectric

as amex still not 100% in asia.

LondonElite

Wow, passive aggressive indeed. Note that the manager couldn't care less about any of your premium cards, even if on the off chance he noticed it.

tmiw

That really depends on their processing. A significant number of smaller businesses pay the same regardless of the kind of card they run (for example, every single business that uses Square), so switching to a supposedly "cheaper" card likely won't help them. On the other hand, those types of places generally accept AmEx anyway since it likely came with whatever service they went with.

TeddyBoomBoom

I cannot imagine being out to dinner, and deciding to get the bare minimum as far as drinks and extras, because I couldn't pay with my American Express. Seriously, that's just goofy.

nkedel

Was anyone else reminded of this series if Visa ads from the 1990s:

"At .... they .... but they don't take American Express."

Interesting to see the older thread bumped. I rarely use my Amex anymore (for the prior couple of years it only came out for Costco, and now of course they're off that.)

cpdc1030

I've never really felt entitled to having shops or restaurants accept American Express. In Europe, it tends to be either fast food, pricey, or tourist oriented places that accept them. But rarely places that locals eat out at regularly.

Even in San Francisco I've run into the same situation many times - acceptance of Visa/MC but not Amex. I guess this will start to change as Square gets more market share. So I've never expected Amex acceptance, except at hotels (I don't think there's ever been a time where that wasn't an option). And many small predominantly Asian run restaurants only accept cash. I'm certainly willing to pay cash for a good, cheap banh mi for $4-5, or Pho for $10, but not for anything over $20.

If a retailer doesn't accept Amex, I pay usually pay using my HSBC Premier MC when overseas as it has contactless, to avoid the embarrassment of signing the receipt ("what, in the US they still don't use a PIN??"). In the US I usually use my Chase Sapphire Preferred card.

lhrsfo

Not surprisingly, no establishment on my recent visit to Cornwall took Amex. What amused me most was the shop where I bought my lunches. Clearly they were catering to the London crowd but still marvelled whenever anyone used contactless (ie everyone), as if it were some new invention.

MasterGeek

They don't take take AMEX ? Give your valuable business to places that welcome AMEX cardholders!



Canada: https://maps.americanexpress.com/ca/cards-welcome

Australia: https://maps.americanexpress.com/AUShopSmall

UK: https://maps.americanexpress.com/gb/shop-small/

USA: https://map.americanexpress.com/us/s...hop-small/maps

KDS777

If they don't take AMEX I simply go somewhere else, unless I am socially obligated to dine there (group function, etc).

If you're dealing with an owner or manager you can politely explain that AMEX cardholders spend about 30% more per ticket and that your dinner of $500 could have covered XXXXX of interchange fees quite easily.

A lot of business owners are plain stupid.

thelark

fascinating that you’re so strongly attached to a credit card brand that you’d obnoxiously cite statistics to a business owner and presume to tell them how to run their shop based on your n of 1. Further that you’d change your dining habits solely because of it.

MasterGeek

If they complain about the interchange fee, I tell them that they could use Square only charges 2.65% for all cards including AMEX

tmiw

If a business cares that much about swipe fees, even Square would be too expensive for them. Not to mention that Square isn't too great of a solution for table service restaurants in general (which is why you see restaurant-specific POSes more often than not).

KDS777

Ever heard the term......."too busy tripping over dollar bills while trying to pick up nickels" ?

It explains the position of this kind of business owner perfectly. As a former succesfull small business owner I would not turn down profitable transactions because of a 1-2% difference in CC interchange fees. That is just plain stupid. Let's alienate a client base over 1-2% when the transaction is profitable.

AMEX is a great product and I've been a member since 1985. Annual spend $120K all personal.

If any business owner has issues with $10 or $20K of fees they should look at the amount of profit generated by those fees and think again about how much they are willing to lose.

I am in Rio de Janeiro right now where everyone takes AMEX........even the roving popsicle/beer vendors walking the beach.

Sorry you find the truth obnoxious........It was not my intent to personally offend anyone. This entire website is about changing habits to maximize benefits.