CPH-Flyer

If you look at AMEX as an issuer of cards, it is slightly different as the other networks are split in far more issuers of cards. But if you look in total number of cards, transactional volume, or value of spend AMEX is not dominant in the market.

nacho

AMEX has a high fee compared to visa/master. In Hong Kong some small shops take a fee for taking credit cards, 3% for visa/master and 5% for AMEX.
DK has NETs which is like a cartel of cards. They used to control THE ONLY PAYMENT CARD called Dankort and it was like EC karte in Germany. Now they entered some deal with Visa/Master so that our debit cards are no longer Dankort (which means we can use it outside DK). Now the credit card markets in Germany is better than DK and I think DK is the worst about credit cards offerings.

Even an ICA in Sweden (where I used to live) has stopped taking AMEX 3 years ago - their reasoning was "not many people use it so we don't offer it".

Banks like Nordea will give you a free credit card if you have a big mortgage with them (more than 2,5M DKK), otherwise a card without benefits would cost you DKK 325 a year.

Mr worked/works in relatively large Danish companies and they all have their visa/master company card which you can use it to pay for business meals.

intuition

The high amex fees may or may not be a reality. I am sure the "truth" we all know about high fees depends on market segment (like industry, region and total charge volume). I added Amex to the payment solutions of a company I worked for. The Amex fees were marginally higher than Mastercard and Visa. MC was around 0,86% and Amex around 1,0%. For the typical transactions we had, MC/Visa/Amex were in the same league and Klarna the worst, being 5x as expensive (ie around 5% fee).

Knowing the profile of Amex users it was a no-brainer for me to add them to the mix. It was a small revenue stream that came via Amex but no sane person would say no to revenue for such a small difference in merchant fees. The "No one uses it" argument makes no sense to me. Once added to the payment options it literally costs nothing to keep it. Even if only one customer chooses to buy here instead of at the competition it is new revenue with minimal costs.

nacho

Exactly, I think it was a total BS especially when we are talking about ICA, not Willys or some cheap corner shop or something. I think it's that franchise which wants to cut corners. I guess there aren't many in that town has AMEX but I don't think it costs them a fortune to have AMEX as payment option.

dark_phoenix

Volume is the point because it heavily influences what rates AmEx charges retailers. Where I have seen it equalised is when a shop uses a solution like Square or Stripe. I run a few websites where our use of Stripe just gives us a flat fee regardless of credit card.

However, totally agree that a shop like ICA has no business not accepting AmEx. I would imagine that even if the supermarkets operate on a franchise model that HQ can negotiate volume rates.

Realistically, few people walk around with only AmEx. The overwhelming majoirty also have a Mastercard or Visa in their pocket. Even corporate travellers.

I also suspect that even the most austere companies who insist that all charges must go on the corporate AmEx (if that is their brand) also understand that there are times when AmEx is not accepted and you have to use another solution. At least that was the case for every single Fortune 25 company I worked or consulted for. I can't recount one instance of a €3 coffee receipt not being reimbursed because I used my personal card when AmEx wasn't possible to use.

dodgeflyer

Anecdotally, I use the premium gym in Oslo, and used to pay my bills with Amex, however they stopped accepting it as no one paid (well, me and one other person). Granted, most go on direct debit, but I imagine it was cut because it has some transaction costs for the business. And I guess only one other person used it because it isn't that common in Norway. I originally got the Amex due to the 60,000 sign-up bonus and that I fluctuate in how many SK miles I earn (corp travel inter-EU, cheapest booking class only) and we just aren't doing that much long-haul post covid so the 20,000 annual miles are useful. But it is fairly useless as a card in the region...

dark_phoenix

Just got the email yesterday from SAS EB Mastercard that they are making another significant price hike for the Premium Mastercard.

What was interesting in the email was their comments around Fly Premium. Specifically, while the website mentions that the Fly Premium offer can be used to book award travel in SAS Business for SAS Go point costs, the email only mentions SAS Plus.





Are they increasing the price and stripping away a benefit?

The travel in business for the points of go perk was the only reason I was interested in the card. If they are taking that away, I guess I can shift my attention to another rewards card 😶🙃

intuition

There have been communication, in the app e.g., clearly saying "no changes in FlyPremium, business will remain in Flypremium" so I don't think you need to worry. Unless you really want to of course

dark_phoenix

i didn't see any notifications or info in the app. But based on your comment, I went to the website and saw it there.

Thanks for answering. I guess I just need to check multiple locations before I post something 🙃

intuition

People (and I guess I'm one of them) tend to expect the worst then it comes to enhancements. In this case though I was decently sure it was just generic wording, written to fit all cases (everyone with the card has plus fly premium, but business requires more that just paying the fee). I saw the clearer wording somewhere and I would have linked the reassuring message in my earlier post but I actually couldn't find it!

dark_phoenix

It's not about expecting the worst. It is more that companies usually write more clearly than this. Sometimes an omission is just an omission, but it's also common that an omission is intentional for something buried in the fine print which is why we need to check.

I am an auditor by training. "Trust, but verify" is my mantra to ensure that there are no misunderstandings. 🙃

Alec84

Hi, rookie SAS flyer here. Does SK leave an empty seat next to a Gold member when possible? AY does this for Platinum members (and has done for me as Gold well).

vanillabean

Such a policy makes it harder for couples to sit together.

dark_phoenix

This is only a benefit for EuroBonus Diamond and above. And they will selll the empty seat at the first opportunity.

Amexpat

I'm only EBG and I've had very good experience with getting an empty seat next to me when flying in GO, even when the plane is up to 90% capacity. I usually choose an aisle seat somewhere near the middle and not too close to the Plus ection as they can sometime expand the Plus rows and change the reservations for the rows near Plus. I also double check right before the flight and change my seat if someone is next to me. The only time this doesn't work is if the flight is completely full.