How many see merchants asking not to use Amex?

[Anonymous]

My Amex cards are my first choice and I have not once run into a merchant that accepts credit cards and doesnt accept amex.

0 issues here in Maine. 

[Anonymous]

Only two places I've come across that didn't accept AMEX so far were my local optometry center and progressive insurance.

[Anonymous]

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@Anonymous wrote:

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@Anonymous wrote:
Amex is the official card of small businesses everywhere they even have an endorsed holiday in a November every year "Small Business Saturday".

I would say 95% of merchants accept Amex. You'll run into a few here and there that don't but they cover most businesses.

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The official number is around 66% I believe. 

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Quoting this to reference Matt4200. I only say American Express says it's the official card of small businesses so more people can use Amex cards at small businesses so they can collect more merchant/interchange fees. 

[RicHowe]

Getting back to the original OP question about merchants ASKING not to use AMEX - not the tangential discussion about acceptance - I have never had a merchant ask me to use another card if they also take AMEX. I have merchant friends who used to complain about AMEX fees, but that has been ameliorated over the past 10 years. I say, adjust your retail prices like any smart business person would do so that your revenues cover your costs.

The real culprit now and the biggest complaint i've heard is all the varying interchange fees based on tier of rewards card used. Not all cards, including Visa/MC/Discover charge the merchant the same interchange fee based on rewards program. In many cases, my AMEX card might actually be the less costly payment method for the merchant.