I sort of have one of each. My AMEX is a Department Store National Bank spokesmodel wearing an AMEX original ball gown exclusively for Macy's but it's accepted as if it were the real deal, same as any AMEX. Really, for me, getting each has been mainly about increasing my chances of having at least one card that will save the day any emergency arises. I don't want a merchant's devotion to one card translate into a full body cavity search on the car and whatever deliverance a quarter, dime and an old French fry wearing a winter coat offers. I haven't had that emergency yet but I still got the fear. And getting one of each has also been about milestones-- pride in getting each, silly as it may sound. In the meantime, I'm noting which card(s) should stay on when being older means downsizing and not keeping an array of plastic just to buy the weekly bottle of Maalox and the 3590th and latest dead cert winning lottery ticket. If pressed to say what the biggest difference between the brands is, all things being somewhat equal, it really comes down to nothing more than good old-fashioned customer service. Working endless years as a phone palace CS rep, in a former soul sucking existence, means I have very exacting standards when the roles are reversed. Discover reps, hands down, rock it out way more often than the others and, no, I haven't been compensated, in any manner, for my opinion.
"We were just a band that made it very, very big-- that's all." --John Lennon
The degree of one's emotions varies inversely with one's knowledge of the facts: the less you know the hotter you get.
--Bertrand Russell
