@jenrette wrote:
The basic green card has an annual fee of $95.
On average how much would one have to spend annually to justify or make it worth having this card? $20,000? 30k, 40k?
Are the benefits really that great?
Can you use it at Costco or Sam's or do they have their own card for that?
What is the point for American Express to have these charge cards? They make most of their money from these cards by expensive late fees for those who don't PIF?
If you have this card, tell me what makes this card different from others.
Today, the main difference is that some places don't take AMEX but do take VISA and MC (I've never seen a place that took one of VISA/MC but not the other; there are some places that don't take Discover). Once upon a time AMEX was very different from most other credit cards. I believe AMEX does charge merchants somewhat more than VISA/MC, so I am a little selective about where I use my AMEX card: at a local small business I'll use VISA or MC instead of AMEX, while I use my AMEX for Southwest Airlines and for big chains who have the clout small business don't when negotiating CC transaction fees.
Once upon a time, AMEX was known for being much more selective than they are today about who could get their cards. So my AMEX Gold with "Member Since 82" printed on it is actually a pretty significant credential for those who know that history: it demonstrates that I was an excellent credit risk 28 years ago. It also happens to be my oldest tradeline, so I plan on keeping it forever.
There was also a time when AMEX customer service was extremely good; today it's still quite good but not as dramatically better than everybody else as it once was.
Finally, another difference that does not mean what it once did: before international ATM networks the most convenient way for me to access my US bank account when I was outside the US was to cash a check at the local AMEX office; I did that a number of times back in the 1980s.
TU 791 02/11/2013, EQ 800 1/29/2011 , EX Plus FAKO 812, EX Vantage Score 955 3/19/2010 wife's EQ 9/23/2009 803
EX always was my highest when we could pull all three
Always remember: big print giveth, small print taketh away
If you dunno what tanstaafl means you must Google it
Starting Score: TU 737 EQ 721