Are American Express cards considered the most Elite?

[Anonymous]

I agree that class is not about plastic - but by defination  it is about your level of education.  not mannerism!

I love American Express for their customer service local or international , and yes FR is very important it minimize their loss and reminds us to live within our means

use credit wisely!

[Anonymous]

Once upon a time, Amex cards could do things that bank cards couldn't do. While in Vienna in the mid-80s, I ran low on cash. No problem - I went to the local Amex office, presented my gold card & passport, & cashed a personal check. But the advent of global ATM networks in the 1990s made it much easier for travelers to access cash & reduced the usefulness of Amex cards. Today, almost any debit or ATM card will work in most European cash machines. 

Until the early 90s, many major department stores (Macy's & Bloomingdales come to mind) wouldn't accept Visa or MC - only their own cards & Amex. That's no longer true, though.

Really, I can't think of a compelling reason to carry a general purpose Amex card. (We do have & use a Costco Amex card, but that's a somewhat different beast.) 

[Anonymous]

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@Anonymous wrote:

Really, I can't think of a compelling reason to carry a general purpose Amex card. (We do have & use a Costco Amex card, but that's a somewhat different beast.) 

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Jim, do you think the same about Discover because of acceptance?

[Anonymous]

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@Anonymous wrote:
Jim, do you think the same about Discover because of acceptance?

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I have a special reason for liking Discover: my town accepts it for payment of property taxes. Although the town charges me a convenience fee for doing this, my taxes are high enough so that the cash back rebate that I earn on this transaction more than covers the fee. (If I want to use any other card for property tax payment, I have to go through a 3rd party payer, which would cost me far more.)

Apart from this, I'd say that the PenFed Visa is a better card overall; there are no acceptance issues & the rewards are higher.

The point that I was trying to make in my previous post was that 20 or 30 years ago, you needed an Amex card for overseas cash access or for department store purchases (unless you had that store's card). Those were good reasons to carry Amex. But now your ATM or debit card will get you cash anywhere in the civilized world, & you can use your Visa or MasterCard in major department stores. 

[jackg]

DI,

AMEX ran a very succesful marketing campaign back in the 60's & 70's. to distinguish themselves from Diners Club, their main competitor.The reason  they succeeded was that  they created a certain cache' such as Cadillac  was able to do back before the luxury imports like Mercedes and BMW.

AMEX and Diners Club were charge cards not credit cards. The balance was due in full within 30 days of the statement date. For me at the time they were both useful because I was a salesman and did a lot of travel and entertaining (they actually were called T&E cards). Most salespeople, back in the day had to creat a float for the cash they needed to operate. AMEX and Diners Club supplied the float. As AMEX succeeded and expanded Diners Club chose not to leave their comfort zone of the T&E card history they had and eventually lost touch with their customer base who were moving forward withe first "credit card" called BankAmericard. I got one right away because it widened the time float. AMEX went on to the credit business following the BankAmericard business model. But they kept their charge card and created the "Corporate Car" as a supplement.

All the time these things were evolving AMEX was the most successful at growing their image of superiority and the Cache' around their products. In the past decade or so they have begun to cater to the "Celebrity" segment and to market the fact that they do it thus further enhancing the Cache'. 

The reason for their success, in my opinion, is they play on the psyches and egos of people. A lot of people, with low self-esteem, will think better of themselves if they can have the same credit card as Ellen Degenares, for example. They know people and how fragile their psyches & egos are and play them along to their benefit.

[DI]

Jackg-  Thanks for the history of the AMEX card.

[creditwherecreditisdue]

Meanwhile Diners just keeps on keepin' on...

[Watchmann]

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@jackg wrote:

The reason for their success, in my opinion, is they play on the psyches and egos of people. A lot of people, with low self-esteem, will think better of themselves if they can have the same credit card as Ellen Degenares, for example. They know people and how fragile their psyches & egos are and play them along to their benefit.

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Agree with this, but on the other hand the degradation of their image in this latest recession was they overexpanded over the last 5 or 6 years, taking on customers and pushing programs that were not in the original DNA of AMEX.  ALL of the cards use image to sell themselves which is why you have gold, platinum, titanium, clear, whatever flavors of plastic.  But in the end it is a tool to manage YOUR credit.  If you get hung up on the image aspect, and there are many who do, you'll get fleeced.  Keep your eye on the bottom line.  Sometimes AMEX is the best deal, and sometimes a plain old vanilla Visa card is the best.

[Anonymous]

It really depends on your definition of 'elite.'

If by elite you mean hard to get, then AMEX is a conservative, prime CCC.

When you consider that a Platinum Card carries a $450 annual fee, that makes it fairly elite, because your average Joe won't want to pay that type of fee, and most likely will not be in a position to take advantage of the various perks that the Platinum card provides (mostly travel related).

Then, as others mention, there is the Centurion Black card.  This card is by invitation and carries a very heavy annual fee.  Therefore, it is elite for those reasons.

But as in all things, beauty (or elite) is in the eye of the beholder.

If the hope in elite is to impress others, then there isn't many things more elite than the AMEX Black.

But then again, slap down your BoA or other card and charge $20 or $30k and have it clear, then that will impress too. 

Most of the "class envy" terms such as GOLD and PLATINUM have been so diluted with every card issuer titling their card as such, that they have lost their original meanings.

[Anonymous]

well said jackg!