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@JSS3 wrote:
I'd like to see American Express fall. They need to be humbled.I can think of many banks/lenders other than Amex that should be humbled and alot of them are in my signature.. Just need to add Citi and BofA and a few others. Amex has some of the lowest default rates if not the lowest. Reason they didn't take near as much of a handout in 2008.
@Anonymous wrote:Interesting thread discussion. I burned them in my Chapter 13 so I don't and won't have another card with them, but always interested in what is happening with them. I really enjoyed having their cards.
Folks have got in the door with Amex after Bk them.
@JSS3 wrote:
Banks are all mob with blood on their hands. I vouch for none of them. Amex is too intrusive and acts like their stuff is golden. That once popular/pretty/handsome kid who hasn't come to terms with the fact that their stock has dropped and they're no longer that TODAY.
I saw your post once I posted.. But in response to the above, no one is vouching for the banks you know. Although they can be painful to deal with sometimes, banks play a huge role in our economy and for the economy to thrive, they need to exist as there is a method to their madness.
Without them, the thing we know as credit today wouldn't exist and we wouldn't be having this same discussion. If they didn't exist, there would be no place to store capital, no way to move capital, no way to match debtors and other important things.
If all the banks cease to exist, can you imagine what will happen? Just think about your day to day activities for example...
@JSS3 wrote:
My apologies for not clarifying "fall". I meant a fall from grace so they're not seen as the alpha and omega. The "prestigious" American Express. If you have one, you've made it into this exclusive club. An uppity society. That was their air back in the day and now. I even bought into that once upon a time. Again, I meant for them to lose their prestige. That's why I said I'd like to see them humbled and not out of business.
Yes, I agree these blood banks are a necessary evil. If for nothing else, for us to obsess over getting approved by them. HA!
Aaah Ok.. Thanks for the clarification-
@Anonymous wrote:AmEx cardholder base is growing, in US and global. They are getting hurt by FX rates because a larger share of their revs are global and those revs are less valuable when the dollar is strengthening.
Losing CostCo hurt, but the rumored swipe fee CostCo wanted was awful. The one Citi accepted means every swipe will be around breakeven. It was a horrible offer and AmEx was right not to take it.
They'll be fine when the dust clears. Competitors are making bad deals to take market share but those deals look unsustainsble, at least to me. AmEx had to eat some one time costs to keep up but I'm glad they aren't chopping off limbs to lose weight, so to speak.
They've basically renewed all of their remaining partner deals at today's rates, which looks bad upfront but will prove valuable as the market gets more competitive and other banks have to take even worse deals to keep pace in a year or two.
I disagree with your post, but I'm not looking for a fight.
IMO, AmEx is holding on to their image of status over substance and their way is right. This attitude has failed in business many times over and AmEx is losing partners left and right. I'm sure they are making some income on network fees since the courts forced them to open their network, that that won't be enough. Adapt and change or die in business, and AmEx is not paying attention IMO.
@Anonymous wrote:We're credit geeks. Most people don't understand all the details of major reward programs. Most people don't know that URs are generally better than MRs. Most people just see Amex as a status symbol and don't dig too deeply into the perks and rewards.
WEMC and VSP can have fees nearly as high as Amex, and banks are flooding wallets with those.
Also, Amex has a huge, highly profitable corporate customer base.
@CreditCuriousity wrote:They aren't going anywhere.. Business segment alone on CC is HUGE and I would venture to guess dwarfs others card issuers for corporate cards. Now I am going to have to find facts aren't I
+1 to both of the above; folks are quick to forget that American Express 'wrote the book' on corporate cards, a very lucrative market that isn't going anywhere anytime soon. Unlike regular spenders, folks with a corporate card usually don't watch every penny and they place value on convenience over cost, which makes them very lucrative customers.
That being said, if I could be CEO for a day over at Amex, the one thing I would do is offer a no-frills charge product with a low annual fee - basically I would 'resurrrect' the Zync but redesign it to be profitable (that's assuming it wasn't before since it was discontinued).
Currently, their personal charge products just don't make sense unless you travel (in which case the PRG or Platinum can be a good value); for a casual spender who would otherwise be a 'fit' for the Green card the annual fee is prohibitive and the MR points earned are low-value relative to other programs or cash rewards.
"...AXP’s disappointing 2016-2017 EPS guidance confirms our long-standing concerns about its ability to compete in today’s intensely competitive card market. While we applaud the decision to finally shutdown Enterprise Growth and refocus on cost cutting, we are disappointed with the inability to re-inspire confidence in the top-line turnaround in such a tough environment. Although several of these headwinds are unfortunate timing, we struggle to find a easy answers and instead see AXP facing years of below average growth. Combined with the macro sell-off and rock-bottom valuations at its closest card-issuing peers, we continue to await better visibility."