Oh, they don't take Amex -- How much do you care?
 

An emerging local trend here on Cape Cod is for restaurants to take all cards except Amex -- it's not to make a protest, but more like a quiet acknowledgement that nowadays everyone who has an Amex also has another card [and, I suppose, that the Amex fees are high].

So here are the questions -- honest answers please --

What thoughts cross your mind about the restaurant you're in if you have to put away the Amex and pull out something else to pay the check?

Assume you enjoyed the meal. What about next time you go out -- what do you think about going back to the place that takes Visa/MC etc.?

Any insurmountable problem if the meal is a business expense and you can't use the Amex?

I own a restaurant, and I'm not sure I'll join this bandwagon, but we did drop I-Dine in 2004, with no effect on business. Also, I don't observe that guest checks paid by Amex are any higher than checks paid by other cards. (and by the way, who are those oddballs with Discover cards?)

If I know in advance that a restaurant doesn't take Amex, I will usually choose somewhere else unless I MUST dine there - it creates an appearance of cheapness by the proprietor (what else besides CC fees are they trying to scrimp on? Food quality/freshness? Staff?) - and/or the inconvenience of having to use a card other than Amex, which is the place I put all my business expenses. Yeah, I have other cards, but Amex gives me a LOT of bennies for using theirs (plus the ability, if I want it, to charge virtually unlimited amounts without ever incurring interest charges - sorry they extract this from merchants.)

Frankly, unless your establishment is good/popular/under-the-counter enough to command 'cash only,' you need to take Amex. Not taking it turns away corporate business (from those who have corporate-issues AXs and must use them for all business meals) and casual/personal dining from many frequent diners/travellers.

I have, on the other hand, paid cash to retail merchants (not restaurants) in exchange for NOT using Amex, in a deal where we split the avoided fees and negotiated a good price (e.g. on $x,xxx electronics). That would be kind of tough to implement in a restaurat environment.

Bottom line, accepting Amex probably helps your gross at the cost of a small hit to your net on the Amex tickets; that's why they get away with their fees.

As for Discover... :rolleyes: Don't have one. Never will.

My corporate card is an Amex. I would never ever go through the hassle of paying with a personal card and then being reimbursed by our accounting department (they are in another country, have strange hours and are horrible unresponsive, so there's no guarantee I'll ever see that $ again). Therefore, if I am entertaining, I make sure in advance that the restaurant accepts Amex.

I would bet a ton of the restaurants out there that do not take Amex and are doing quite will will argue with you on this one.

The fees add up, and they make a decision to keep my prices down by not having to cover the higher fee you force them to pay with an Amex, so to me that is a good business mind.

So many restaurants I frequent don't take Amex, that I am pretty much used to it. I don't think any more or any less of a restaurant that does not take Amex.

If I eat at a restaurant, I'll eat there because I like the food, not because Amex isn't accepted.

That being said - I only have an Amex because it's my corp charge card. It's pretty easy to get re-imbursed for meals not charged on the Amex in that I don't have to send in any receipts for meals less than $75. IF I did have to send in receipts, I might choose to eat at another restaurant.

Hope this helps in making a decision.

I agree. I don't understand avoiding restaurants because the owners seem to look cheap by not accepting the card. I think it looks quite practical. Just make it clear which credit cards you do accept for payment.

I am not lucky enough to have an Amex Coporate card , but if i did I still think I would go to the restaurant that has the food I like at prices that seem reasonable to me.
I have never chosen restaurants based on the cards the take,

Well, I prefer to use AMEX, but if a vendor doesn't accept it, I pull out the MC which gathers AA miles. Little by little I am acruing miles there.

But I also believe that the restaurants have (or should have) folded the fees into the price of the meals already. So I do feel it's cheap.
Rita

Wouldnt' affect my dining choice. I prefer to use my Amex, but as a business owner, I hate to take it.

We also own a business and have just recently (within the last month)stopped offering our online customers the option of using their AMEX. We have yet to see any difference in our sales. I do want to point out that if they call and inquire about using a corporate AMEX, we will take it...our walk in customers and long time account still have the option. Mostly we are trying to get away from the online customers who buy 20 dollars here, 50 dollars there from using their card that costs us, the company, more in the long run from all their silly fees.


As for restraunts, I see no reason why I would pick one place over another because they take my AMEX. I love the card for various reasons, but I have no problem paying with our corporate MC if they prefer not to deal with AMEX. I will always look to see if they take it but if not...no big deal.

I won't not patronize a restaurant that doesn't take AMEX, but I won't become a regular at that restaurant because of it.

I eat out almost every night. AMEX is the first card out of my wallet. I am real whore when it comes to points. I am also obsessed with iDINE. Between both I have earned many, many, many points/miles. Enough to fly quite a few people to my wedding (first class) in a couple of months. In South America. Those points add up.

I ate last week at a restaurant called Les Enfants Terrible on Canal Street in NYC. Good French/African food.

ANd how did I pay? AMEX. Why? That's the ONLY card they take. :)

I agree with others above my love for points/miles but I usually simply use a backup card to pay for food/services at businesses that don't accept Amex. Recently, I ate at a restaurant that took everything under the sun, Dining club, personal checks, etc...so I assumed amex was no problem, to my surprise the owner complained that she was small business and amex took 5% of charges, she went on for at least 20minutes. So instead of whining also, I just took out another rewards card by visa. Case closed.

I tend to avoid restaurants that don't take Amex.

Little by little?... What about the 1111 miles you just earned? A few more trips to the dentist and you'll have enough for a MileSAAver award. :p :D

Count me among those who will avoid an establishment that doesn't take Amex. Unless that establishment has some unique quality that can't be had elsewhere, I'll always patronize a place that takes Amex over one that doesn't.