American Express

...sort of mystique around the American Express brand. You are supposed to think that AMEX card "Members" are well off, have a concierge at their beck and call and get recognition and privileges granted to them at posh restaurants. In reality, it means nothing. Don't think that the "exclusive" Black Centurion card is only for millionaires, movie stars and Tiger Woods either. I know and work with people who have these cards and they have modest houses ...
...aren't worth millions. They are definitely snobs though. :-) Now the bad points: 1. AMEX is NOT widely accepted, even in America. I live in the UK and travel a lot, although not often to the USA. Earlier this year I was in the USA and I was shocked to see how few places actually took AMEX. I had always assumed that it would be far more widely accepted in the USA, but it was actually accepted in FEWER places than other parts of the world. This ...

Mike_kiwi 29.08.2002 · Read full review
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Review of American Express

I've been a customer of American Useless through work (we received Corporate Credit Cards). My experience of them is not at all positive. I'll describe the Blue card. USABILITY The Amex card can't be used everywhere as they seem to charge retailers high prices for the pleasure of receiving them. However, given that most people use their cards with the weekly shopping, Tesco (for instance) do accept this as a method of shopping. CASHBACK Without ...
...the moment (with the exception of Morethan which offers 0.8%, and double that for the next 6 months). CUSTOMER SERVICE Their customer service department is, well I can't say 'on a family show'!! Firstly, you dial the number, and then you must put in your number. This takes you to a further list of things to do automatically before you can speak to an operator. The only way I know of to speak to one is not to put in your number in the first place ...

hthomas018 03.12.2002 · Read full review
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Review of American Express

Having a corporate Amex card, I obtained a "companion" gold card for personal use when the company stopped allowing us to use it privately. I signed up for the membership rewards programme as I do a fair amount of business travel and so a few thousand pounds passes through the card each year. The personal spend on the Gold Card contributes to the same account. This is all right. The points can be used for flights on big airlines, or for meals in ...
...be a member. I am sure there are other schemes with other cards which are more worthwhile. If I wasn't tied to Amex through work I wouldn't look at it twice. It is not anything like as widely accepted as Visa or Mastercard, it carries higher surcharges on occasion (EasyJet charge customers £5 to use it compared with £3 for Visa and the customer service is iffy. There have been a number of cases at work where fraudulent purchases have appeared on ...

fbowles 09.09.2001 · Read full review
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Review of American Express

...I have found The American Express Centurion card to be one of the most useful and most rewarding card to use. I have had the Centurion card for about ten years now. I was invited to Join the exclusive club after having a platinum charge card and regularly using it (at times spending more than £10,000 per month) I always ways make a point of paying off my balances on all my cards every month, (it's the only thing which allows me to sleep at night!!) ...
...per year for this card, which i feel far out weighs the benefits of this card. (besides the best things in life don't come cheap) Free upgrades at the Hilton and the Plaza are particularly useful. Upgrades on airlines and getting tables in a number of Michelin star restaurants is very easy, recently had no trouble booking at the Ivy or Le manoir aux saisons (my French isn't great! it's Raymond Blanc's restaurant in Oxfordshire) The concierge service ...

redpen 28.04.2003 · Read full review
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Review of American Express

The American Express Platinum charge card is no longer "invitation only", but is it worth the £275 a year annual fee? When i was first upgraded from a gold card, the platinum fee was just under £200 a year. If you travel a few times a year and take at least one family holiday, then this fee was worth the cards unique travel benefits. Along with the usual consumer protection benefits the cardholder receives: 1. Free worldwide travel insurance for ...
...good will gesture. When american express raised the platinum fee to £245 a few years ago i threatened to cancel the card and they discounted the fee to the previous years level. Finally, when i was adamant that i was cancelling the card this year the offered me a complimentary gold card account again. 4. The Amex award points that you gain from spending on your card can get you some excellent gifts, but you are required to spend a considerable amount. ...

Dive_Master 28.12.2004 · Read full review
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Review of American Express

The administration team of American Express do not seem to know what day it is! Twice my company have attempted to use their cards and both times we have had exactly the same problem. Even though when we tried the second time they assured us that the earlier problems had been resolved and could not happen a second time. What is the problem? They do not send out statements. If they do they dont have complete addresses - so they dont arrive. The first ...
...powers if you carry an American Express card so that you know how much to pay. I have now spoken to numerous staff who all apologise for the mistakes but unfortunately cant do anything about it because the computer wont let them. Is the company run by people or computers. Either way - they could not run a proverbial in a brewery. Give them a wide berth if you do not want to incur uneccesary costs and inconvenience. ...

patgilbert 17.07.2001 · Read full review
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Review of American Express

...carries prestige then carry the American Express card. The American Express card is charge card not a credit card. This means you have to repay the balance in full each month, so if you use it, make sure you do not spend more than your monthly salary or bank balance, whichever is greater. However, they do now offer credit cards, but they’re just not the same. Being a charge card and coming with a high annual membership fee is what will always impress ...
...a hat. Whilst American Express offer excellent service, unless you're likely to use those services more than once in a blue moon, then they are just unnecessary frills. Unless you are a collector or need to impress potential client at a business lunch, go for their credit card instead. ...

ICerva 09.12.2000 · Read full review
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Review of American Express

I carry a corporate AMEX card because I have to for buisiness expenses otherwise I would not bother. There is no rewards program with our sceme which is one big disadvantage as I used to get cash back on my credit card. You can not pay your bill online nor can you pay it off with a switch or delta card, how primitive! The customer service is terible and unfriendly. The suggestion when I left it to late to pay off my balance by cheque last month was ...
...hardly an ideal solution. Also I have found that many places in Europe such as restaurants still do not take AMEX, therefore if you must have one always carry another card to aviod embarasing situations. My recomendation would be to get a cash back credit card such as egg because not only do you get cash back for using it but you can totally managge your account online. ...

julianw 17.12.2000 · Read full review
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Review of American Express

Let's get things straight here. This is the charge card, not the credit card, so you have to pay the bill in full every month. (APR doesn't apply.) And normally I wouldn't touch a card with an annual fee with the proverbial bargepole, but this card is worth it. The card itself is useful. It's chipped, so more secure when using it in person, and accepted in most major stores. (The only exception I can think of right now is my local Scotmid, which ...
...host of guarantees and extras, some of which I'll detail below. And you don't need a huge income - over £8000 is fine. Even better, if you're emigrating you can take the credit record from a charge card with you to the USA (you can't do this with a credit card for legal reasons). * No pre-set spending limit, except for the first month. * Cardholder discounts and exclusive entertainment ticket deals * Online fraud guarantee * Refund protection ...

licon 09.04.2003 (10.04.2003) · Read full review
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Review of American Express

...the proud owner of an American Express card. Why do I say proud? I suppose that since I was younger I have always regarded American Express cards as being a little more exclusive than the average credit card. Perhaps with the introduction of gold and platinum cards that is no longer true. Here are the key facts… · My American Express card was issued through the British Airways Executive Club. It was issued free for the first year (in fact, I was ...
...main drawback is that an American Express card is not widely accepted. I would not recommend that you have one as your only credit card – I use mine mainly as a back-up to my other cards, and as a way of saving BA miles. I would dare to say that there are no places that accept American Express cards, but don’t accept either Visa or Mastercard. ...

mandyhaley 13.11.2001 · Read full review
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Review of American Express

...back when I got an American Express card in the mail that I hadn't even applied for and all I had to do was call to activate it. It was my first charge card mind you and I didn't even read the details that came with it. I knew there were several different types of these cards but wasn't sure which was which and it was my own fault that I didn't check. They do have one that is like a revolving charge or a regular credit card and I thought that was ...
...my first card and it's American Express no less and off I went. I needed all kinds of things for the house and so on and I actually went out and charged over twenty thousand dollars worth in a month. They kept letting it go through so I was thinking how great this was and the world was mine so to speak. Until I got the bill and found out the total was then due. Oh NO, now what? I got on the telephone and called them and asked them to switch it ...

Rosie6349 13.11.2001 · Read full review
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Review of American Express

...many shops still don't accept American Express. ( As my only other card was a Solo, it meant I had to walk out of the shop to get cash, most of the time being too lazy to do so) However, in the shops and restaurants that did welcome it, I seriously went to town. It became impossible to resist the tiniest urge to buy things. Good wine, perfume, outings, clothes...By the time my pay packet reached my account each month, I already owed hundreds of ...
...can also comment on the American Express debt collecting technique...I only owed about £30.00 when I left the company, and it was two weeks before I got a letter-not threatening, just polite, asking me to pay off my account. A month after that, I got a message on my voicemail, a young woman whose tone of voice showed she'd been leaving many such messages all day and was not personnally wound up about my debt. Accordingly, I didn't call back. About ...

londonner 11.03.2004 · Read full review
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Review of American Express

...IS the ultimate. Many consider American Express’s Centurion Card to be unbeatable in terms of exclusivity, prestige and benefits. I was offered the Centurion about 5 years ago, and at the time found it to be quite amazing. However, since having had the World Signia it has become second best. There is absolutely no doubt in my mind that the World Signia is a far better card, for example Amex Centurion may arrange a gift to be purchased for a loved ...
...do it yourself. When one approaches World Signia Assistance with the same, this too is offered. I was, however, asked whether another time would be more convenient if I was to buy the gift myself, but I explained that unless the store concerned was open in the middle of the night it would be impossible. Ten minutes later I received a call from World Signia explaining that I need only choose the day and the time and they would do the rest. I chose ...

daniels-mike 04.09.2003 · Read full review
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Review of American Express

...to be a lot of American Express Products under this category so I'll clarify which one I am reviewing: The Platinum Credit Card with Cashback. It's a very nice-looking card with a kind of hologram type effect over the whole of the front. There's not really an image as such, just a rainbow effect if the light catches it at the right angle. For any physicist-types out there, I'd say it's probably just a diffraction grating :) Pluses: Customer Services ...
...the direct debit and wouldn't help - meant I could still afford the finer things in life - like food, shelter etc. The Cashback bonus made me £79 over the last 12 months - money for nothing. The more you spend the higher the payback is - 0.5% if you spend up to £3,500; 1% if you spend up to £10k; 1.5% if you spend more than £10k. Don't go mad though :) Automatic repayment of the entire balance means it works like a charge card (no interest) without ...

badshopper 21.03.2009 · Read full review
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Review of American Express

I'd recommend American Express as a brand fully and completely. I recently had a problem where I was a virus protection company incorrect billed my AmEx. I could not get hold of the company and was fuming, I fell overdue on payment and was called by the over due Team. I spoke with a manager 'Emma' THERE AND THEN!!! and she was brilliant - tirelessly chasing contact numbers for the anti-virus, e-mailing me the details, disputing the charges her end ...

BIGBYCOLLINS 07.06.2008 · Read full review
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Review of American Express