AMEX Needs to Think Local

[Gunnar419]

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@BarryNTexas wrote:

Interesting gripe session...  are we talking about choice of carrying their card or investing in their stock?

Funny that no one complains about the backdating practice or the fact that when rebuilding the AMEX approval is a golden star.  And have only seen one member mention that Discover is not 100% accepted as well and in my experience is "hit or miss" as much as AMEX.

Love the freedom of choice and would expect those that hate Amex to cancel them pronto? 

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If you're including my posts as being among the "gripes," they're not. I'm just OBSERVING the relationship between local merchants and Amex. And frankly I'm not seeing much real griping in this thread. I'm just seeing people talking about some well-known drawbacks to Amex. That doesn't mean nobody sees any positives. And if we're not talking about Discover, maybe it's because this thread is about Amex.

As to "those that hate Amex" nobody here has said they do. You're making some giant leaps to faulty conclusions. Criticism + observations =/= "hate."

[Anonymous]

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@BarryNTexas wrote:

Interesting gripe session...  are we talking about choice of carrying their card or investing in their stock?

Funny that no one complains about the backdating practice or the fact that when rebuilding the AMEX approval is a golden star.  And have only seen one member mention that Discover is not 100% accepted as well and in my experience is "hit or miss" as much as AMEX.

Love the freedom of choice and would expect those that hate Amex to cancel them pronto? 

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I may be in the minority here, but I see backdating as being nothing more than a parlor trick. Under manual review any trained credit analyst can see through it. It's the initial application that it's useful for.

I love my Discover, but it's slowly losing its importance to me because I don't like having to check and see if somewhere accepts it. I know all major brands will accept it, but there are some that don't, so I always default to my Double Cash Mastercard.

[Anonymous]

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@Anonymous wrote:

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@BarryNTexas wrote:

Interesting gripe session...  are we talking about choice of carrying their card or investing in their stock?

Funny that no one complains about the backdating practice or the fact that when rebuilding the AMEX approval is a golden star.  And have only seen one member mention that Discover is not 100% accepted as well and in my experience is "hit or miss" as much as AMEX.

Love the freedom of choice and would expect those that hate Amex to cancel them pronto? 

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I may be in the minority here, but I see backdating as being nothing more than a parlor trick. Under manual review any trained credit analyst can see through it. It's the initial application that it's useful for.

I love my Discover, but it's slowly losing its importance to me because I don't like having to check and see if somewhere accepts it. I know all major brands will accept it, but there are some that don't, so I always default to my Double Cash Mastercard.

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Backdating certainly is a trick which doesn't make a whole lot of sense, but as it is allowed, it it useful in making auto-approvals more likely.   This matters to various segments to different extents: for rebuilders a long back date can push the score enough to get an auto-approval that would otherwise be denied, and for "professional" bonus seekers, adding a backdated Amex once a year or so, keeps AAoA in an acceptable range, again for auto-approvals.

[Gunnar419]

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@Anonymous wrote:

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@Anonymous wrote:

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@BarryNTexas wrote:

Interesting gripe session...  are we talking about choice of carrying their card or investing in their stock?

Funny that no one complains about the backdating practice or the fact that when rebuilding the AMEX approval is a golden star.  And have only seen one member mention that Discover is not 100% accepted as well and in my experience is "hit or miss" as much as AMEX.

Love the freedom of choice and would expect those that hate Amex to cancel them pronto? 

---

I may be in the minority here, but I see backdating as being nothing more than a parlor trick. Under manual review any trained credit analyst can see through it. It's the initial application that it's useful for.

I love my Discover, but it's slowly losing its importance to me because I don't like having to check and see if somewhere accepts it. I know all major brands will accept it, but there are some that don't, so I always default to my Double Cash Mastercard.

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Backdating certainly is a trick which doesn't make a whole lot of sense, but as it is allowed, it it useful in making auto-approvals more likely.   This matters to various segments to different extents: for rebuilders a long back date can push the score enough to get an auto-approval that would otherwise be denied, and for "professional" bonus seekers, adding a backdated Amex once a year or so, keeps AAoA in an acceptable range, again for auto-approvals.

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Backdating definitely does whopping good things for FICO scoring, parlor trick or no!

[Anonymous]

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@Gunnar419 wrote:

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@Anonymous wrote:

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@Anonymous wrote:

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@BarryNTexas wrote:

Interesting gripe session...  are we talking about choice of carrying their card or investing in their stock?

Funny that no one complains about the backdating practice or the fact that when rebuilding the AMEX approval is a golden star.  And have only seen one member mention that Discover is not 100% accepted as well and in my experience is "hit or miss" as much as AMEX.

Love the freedom of choice and would expect those that hate Amex to cancel them pronto? 

---

I may be in the minority here, but I see backdating as being nothing more than a parlor trick. Under manual review any trained credit analyst can see through it. It's the initial application that it's useful for.

I love my Discover, but it's slowly losing its importance to me because I don't like having to check and see if somewhere accepts it. I know all major brands will accept it, but there are some that don't, so I always default to my Double Cash Mastercard.

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Backdating certainly is a trick which doesn't make a whole lot of sense, but as it is allowed, it it useful in making auto-approvals more likely.   This matters to various segments to different extents: for rebuilders a long back date can push the score enough to get an auto-approval that would otherwise be denied, and for "professional" bonus seekers, adding a backdated Amex once a year or so, keeps AAoA in an acceptable range, again for auto-approvals.

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Backdating definitely does whopping good things for FICO scoring, parlor trick or no!

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My point is it does good things in some cases.   If you have a lot of  (open and closed) cards with a good score, a backdate may not impact your score at all.   With few cards, and a long backdate yes.

[Open123]

Amex backdating offers a couple of unique benefits.

1.  An old (20 years, for instnace) backdate allows a person to apply for many cards per year and suffer very little reduction in AAOA, which stabilizers one's Fico score increasing the likelihod of auto approvals.  As Lurker observed, this is of great benefit for those who apply for multiple sign-up bonuses per year.

2.  When applying for Amex cards for bonuses, while an HP is incurred, there is no new account/aaoa ding.  This means literally every Jan, one can apply for an Amex sign-up bonus of choice and suffer only an HP on Ex.

Both are extremely beneficial benefits, in my view.  No other issuer has benefits similar to those mentioned above.

[peaceonearth]

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@atd1970 wrote:

Day from hell with Amex. I have had my ED for 2 months, and never had an acceptance issue. Admittedly, I have have always used the CC at "chain" stores.

Today was a nightmare. I tried to use my Amex at "local" stores and restaurants, and was informed 9/10 times that Amex was not accepted.

This is not an issue because I have other CC, but why should I even have to ask?

Amex can never be the "only card that you need in your wallet"

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If you're not happy, and American Express Card is not the right card for you then, cancel it,

AMEX is not putting the gung on your head to carry their card.

[Anonymous]

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@atd1970 wrote:

Day from hell with Amex. I have had my ED for 2 months, and never had an acceptance issue. Admittedly, I have have always used the CC at "chain" stores.

Today was a nightmare. I tried to use my Amex at "local" stores and restaurants, and was informed 9/10 times that Amex was not accepted.

This is not an issue because I have other CC, but why should I even have to ask?

Amex can never be the "only card that you need in your wallet"

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#smallbusinesssaturday

[Gunnar419]

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@Anonymous wrote:

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@atd1970 wrote:

Day from hell with Amex. I have had my ED for 2 months, and never had an acceptance issue. Admittedly, I have have always used the CC at "chain" stores.

Today was a nightmare. I tried to use my Amex at "local" stores and restaurants, and was informed 9/10 times that Amex was not accepted.

This is not an issue because I have other CC, but why should I even have to ask?

Amex can never be the "only card that you need in your wallet"

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#smallbusinesssaturday

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Ha! I don't know where OP is located, but when I check Amex's Small Business Saturday or Shop Local listings, the nearest businesses are about 45 miles away.

Amex is good when it's good, but there are vast empty places it simply doesn't penetrate.