@longtimelurker wrote:
Wonder if this is going to be a trend, after Amex.
From my perspective, unlike Chase who outsources the UR Mall to Cartera, it may not be profitable for an issuer to run their own program. I suspect that's why Amex eventually decided to abandon it. Since people were using their Amex cards at the UR Mall and shopdiscover anyway, there was little reason for them to keep it.
These days with evreward and the likes of topcashback, the proprietary shopping portals rarely have the best deals. Eventually people who use these portals, who are by nature "smart" and "thrifty" shoppers, will eventually only "use" a proprietary sites highest return category (such as shopdiscover when they were offering 15% for Groupon), while opting for the non-proprietary portals offering higher rewards using the card of their choice, such as an Amex.
