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AMEX feeling the heat

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Anonymous
Not applicable

Re: AMEX feeling the heat

BronzeTrader essentially they are saying between losing Costco, C-Suite shortcomings, and various other things here and there, AMEX is consistently falling short on expectations financially. Despite massive marketing campaigns they are still down 8-10%, while other lenders (Chase in travel, Discover in customer service, etc) are not just creeping in on what used to be an AMEX market, they've taken it over. Part of it is being exacerbated because they make no money on APR for a large portion of the cards (Green/PRG/Plat) so between new/old customers going elsewhere and not making the kind of money other companies are on APRs from people that do use the charge cards, they are falling behind.
Message 11 of 59
Anonymous
Not applicable

Re: AMEX feeling the heat

I am a little bit older than the OP and have not read a newspaper since probably 1995 or so...  Too much wasted paper, and I only follow a select few types of news so internet on computer = win.

Anyhow, I am quite sure Amex is feeling pressure from other lenders to update their products to stay competitive. 

As mentioned, the 5x on travel for Platinum was an indication, as well as the 50% refund on pay-with-points on the business Platinum. Those combined are huge for regular travelers.

 

Amex also seems to be more lenient by far on who it approves - as my experience with them has shown. They don't seem to care about recent inquiries, new cards, etc as long as you have clean reports. Most other lenders are a lot more conservative it seems.

Message 12 of 59
redpat
Senior Contributor

Re: AMEX feeling the heat


@ndjim75 wrote:

Redpast,

What is this new alliance with AA? When you state you cant get the reduced airfare through "their" website, are you referring to AA website? Do you book the flight through Amex travel with the Platinum card to take advantage of this new alliance? what are all the benefits of this new alliance?

Thanks in advance for any info!


You have to go through Amex concierge offering preferred pricing.  I found this from The Points Guy back in Sept or October.

 

The preferred pricing is on selected fights not everything but it's worth the call to see what your options are before booking.  

 

I did one first class booking from coast to coast saved about $375 but some of my flights I booked were the same as AA online.  

 

So do your homework before booking!

Personal Cards: Amex Plat | Amex Delta Res | CSR | Citi AA Exec Business Cards: Ink+ | Amex BGR
Message 13 of 59
Anonymous
Not applicable

Re: AMEX feeling the heat

To my mind there are two different things here and are interrelated, but not so signficantly to change my view of this issuer.  The stock apparently is not a good buy compared to Discover:  http://seekingalpha.com/article/4038366-american-express-proves-unworthy-money

 

Also they've taken a bit hit with the lost Costco business.  But that being said, I still treat Amex as one of my preferred banks and scout their cards for my next one.  I'm not heavily invested in stock, so that's not my angle on it.

 

To the extent that their valuation begins to affect how their cards work and the bonuses then I'll take notice.

Message 14 of 59
Anonymous
Not applicable

Re: AMEX feeling the heat

The C$R was a game changer. It gained so much momentum and attention that 'regular' non credit card people were getting hyped up on it.

Amex is great and it's my go to card (PRG) but they really need a change in upper management/CEO. Someone external, not just another internal promotion of people who think exactly the same. I think they're still the most profitable per transaction CC company, but if they don't change they will go away.
Message 15 of 59
ndjim75
Valued Member

Re: AMEX feeling the heat

Thanks Redpat! good to know and i appreciate you responding to my question.

Message 16 of 59
BronzeTrader
Valued Contributor

Re: AMEX feeling the heat

The bonus game has to stop or at least slow down. Chase CSR is a good example. Now Chase comes out swinging the Chase Amazon Prime and will certainly take over from SyncB. This is very big and comes with minimal cost. 

 

We know the CCC can't survive by giving out 3% to 5% on a consistent basis. Of course some of us pay 20% interest, but there is some limit.

 

Message 17 of 59
awp317
Frequent Contributor

Re: AMEX feeling the heat


I used to be an ultra heavy user of both my personal and business platinum cards (talking 75k a month and up some months) and to an extent my old citi prestige because of the free hotel night and lounge access. 

 

Now I pretty much only use my reserve card since the perks are IMO way better than the platnium, and I canceled my prestige card when they cut all the perks from it. Amex would have to come up with something pretty fantastic to get me to going back to using them again. I still use my amex Cash card for groceries and gas though. Rest of my cards are just part of my churning cycle (and my optima becuase its one of my oldest tradelines and the fact that they dont offer it anymore I think its kind of cool, some people confuse it with the "Oasis" though ), But I will hang on to the reserve until something better comes along. 

Amex Platinum NPSL I Chase Sapphire Reserve 78K I Chase Freedom U 55k I JP Morgan Ritz 50k I B OF A Cash Rewards 50k I Barclay Black Luxury 43,750 I Capital One QuickSilver 40K I Amex BCP 34k I Amex Optima Platinum 30k I Barclays Arrival+ World E 29k I Merril+ 27,800 I Lowes 25k I Pen Fed PR Visa Sig 20K I Home Depot 17k I NFCU Cash Rewards 8k

Amex Biz Platinum NPSL I Lowes Business 42k I Amex Simply Cash + $22,500 I Chase Ink 21K I B of A World Points $20,500 I B of A Bus MasterCard 16k I Amex SPG 3K.
Message 18 of 59
Anonymous
Not applicable

Re: AMEX feeling the heat

AWP ... I feel like a lot of customers feel like you do which is where the original post comes from ("the heat") .. Like I said in a previous reply, I'm not a huge reward chaser. I really only have my QS because it was a PC'd plat that was my first card (I used debit for a decade) and the only reason I have the Green is because occasionally I have a purchase for work, that gets reimbursed, where it was just more convenient to have a NPSL and not worry about my Utl. Or a really high annual fee I couldn't justify... now that I am married/family my spending has changed so an ED/EDP or even a PRG makes more sense, sorta playing the wait and see game for now to see if there's a large offer (I missed the last round of 50k PRG). I have no desire to start trying to split points among several creditors, so I am hoping AMEX wakes up a bit
Message 19 of 59
Anonymous
Not applicable

Re: AMEX feeling the heat


@BronzeTrader wrote:

The bonus game has to stop or at least slow down. Chase CSR is a good example. Now Chase comes out swinging the Chase Amazon Prime and will certainly take over from SyncB. This is very big and comes with minimal cost. 

 

We know the CCC can't survive by giving out 3% to 5% on a consistent basis. Of course some of us pay 20% interest, but there is some limit.

 


They know exactly what they're doing.

 

A) A large amount of credit card holders carry debt which means they're paying interest.

B) 3 and 5 percent are on very specific categories. For the average person, they will use that card on EVERYTHING meaning many transactions Chase is only paying back 1%, not 3/5. 

Message 20 of 59
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