Why do so many people have American Express cards?

[killer_queen229]

I see those as traveling cards mainly. I wouldn't even get their charge cards, they all seem to have fees. And I think the only card I'd possibly ever be interested in one day would be Blue Cash Everyday. But then again it might never be of use to me. 

[enharu]

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@killer_queen229 wrote:

I see those as traveling cards mainly. I wouldn't even get their charge cards, they all seem to have fees. And I think the only card I'd possibly ever be interested in one day would be Blue Cash Everyday. But then again it might never be of use to me. 

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Well it all depends on the individual. If their products don't seem to be attractive to you, then you probably have no need for it anyways. I personally like Amex for their level of service, especially when it comes to claims.

[killer_queen229]

Good answer.  

[awp317]

IMO the fees come with the territory. I love my platinum, but Its a glorified debit card really (and thats exactly how I use it) , with perks, someone there to help me and fight for me should the need arise. I would never NOT have an amex in my wallet. But take my last vehicle purchase. I put 25k down on it, Instead of writing a check, I put it on my platinum card. Money that I was going to spend anyway, just by running it through the peice of plastic, just earned me a nice chunk of points to use towards getting stuff. Then when I decided to pay the car off, I ran 9k a month through the card and got the car paid off. Again money that I was going to spend anyway, except this way, it worked a whole lot harder for me. 

[myjourney]

Amex has some great features 

Warranty

Backdating 

3X CLI

Fraud Protection which I think is unmatched 

The other day I made 2 online purchases out of my spending pattern.

They jumped into action sent me an email and 3 calls to verify I made the purchases.

While 3 calls maybe a lot I'll take that for my financial security

[Gunnar419]

The BCE (Blue Cash Everyday) has no fees and is far from being a travel card, unless you consider extra reward points for gas being a travel card. The Costco True Earnings Amex also has no fee and isn't a travel card.

If you don't like Amex then don't get an Amex card, but they have more variety than you think.

[tony46231]

I have no first hand knowledge of this, but an executive of a previous employer of mine told me that they don't accept AMEX from customers, because AMEX doesn't pay their bills.  Is this because of the high level of customer service they give to cardholders who file disputes?

[vanillabean]

6.5% of issued cards are Amex vs 7.2% for Discover, MC 27%, Visa 36% and other 23.3%.

[Haroon]

@tony yes Amex takes the side of the customer by default and puts the burden of proof on the merchant. Also their interchange fees are the highest of any network and if the customer is issued a refund by the merchant Amex keeps the interchange fee. This is why a lot of merchants don't take Amex.

[GaTech]

'CauseAMEX is amazing, duh!