AMEX Merchant Fees - Opinions?

What do AMEX users feel about surcharges

  • I pay the surcharge and shop at the store again.

    Votes: 1 3.2%

  • I pay with another card.

    Votes: 27 87.1%

  • I decide not to purchase.

    Votes: 2 6.5%

  • I purchase this time, but in future will seek another store where an AMEX fee is not applied.

    Votes: 1 3.2%
  • Total voters
    31
  • Poll closed .
I have had various amex cards over 30 plus years and apart from the merchants who will not accept them I would " not leave home without one".

Protection from merchant fraud , dodgy practice and non delivery have been sorted by amex for me in a quick and fair manner.

About ten years ago over the xmas period 7 purchases for over $25K were transacted on my amex card in upmarket city stores by persons unknown.

One purchase was a fur coat that maybe a guy in Sydney could get get away with wearing but not Melbourne.

On report amex froze the transactions and card and investigated.

To say the merchants were unhelpful would be an understatement even considering a female using a males card with a signature merely a slash of the pen.

This sort of thing has happened to me over a long period and apart from some inconvenience I have not lost a dollar.

If merchants ask me for an amex surcharge I am happy to pay it if reasonable.
As far as I am concerned its just insurance.
 
jaycee said:
Most corporates seem to use Am ex / Diners don' they ? Have you got the "personal corporate card" Ziggy ?
Click to expand...

If by personal you mean if it is in my name, then yes it is but it is provided by my employer. I sometimes have to use my own Visa card for work related expenses if there is no other choice, but I try to avoid this and I always ask in restaurants if they accept it.

I think it's mostly a store/business policy issue rather than
an eftpos machine issue that stops them from processing AMEX cards because I once went to Clark rubber to buy some foam and they wouldn't accept AMEX. However, when I told them that I was happy to pay a surcharge they flexed their company rule and accepted it.

It's a stupid policy in my opinion, all they have to do is to disclose their surcharge and most people will be happy to pay it.
 
s_t said:
I'd think that all cc companies would respond in the same way montana.
Click to expand...


Yeah, they do. I'm just in the middle of getting stuck with a charge back now.
First time in 5 years.
I checked the signature but as he was walking out the door I knew something was dodgey and that it was gunna come back and bite me in the ar$e and it has.
Lucky its only $38. I remember tha face and I remember tha prduct he bought.
Very weak signature on the CC and easy to forge.
I bet you this guy bought the CC down the pub and was going to every second shop racking up as much as he could before the card was cancelled.
 
I wouldn't have thought many would have/know/use a pin for there CC? I have a debit card and didn't realise I could use that same pin on the CC (same company) till they recently sent a thing out about being able to use the pin. You might annoy a lot of people and get a lot of false "that's stolen" if you insist on them entering a pin!
 
s_t said:
I wouldn't have thought many would have/know/use a pin for there CC? I have a debit card and didn't realise I could use that same pin on the CC (same company) till they recently sent a thing out about being able to use the pin. You might annoy a lot of people and get a lot of false "that's stolen" if you insist on them entering a pin!
Click to expand...

The pin system has only just come in and it's the customers choice as to whether they use pin or sign - not the merchant.
 
I knew nothing about the pin system on a CC until a customer told me that its credit and I use a pin number. I said sorry but credit you sign and savings you put your pin in. He told me to try and see what happens, low and behold it worked. Nice of M/C and Visa to keep their merchants up to date.
 
The Y-man said:
So I have unfortunately had to walk out of quite a few places that don't take AMEX on business trips. Always fun trying to get a bite to eat in an airport terminal when your flight is delayed! :( Of course in this case, I wouldn't give a rats about paying the extra merchants fee!

Cheers,

The Y-man
Click to expand...

What!!!! Your company doesn't give you lounge membership? What a rip off.
 
steveadl said:
The pin system has only just come in and it's the customers choice as to whether they use pin or sign - not the merchant.
Click to expand...
As a merchant, I have been notified of this ("pin or pen").

As a consumer I have not. It may only apply to new cards.
 
My AMEX card was lost last week, so I had to call to organise a new one. On the waiting msg, it says that AMEX are not going to introduce pins for purchases, and that you will still need to use your signature......
There was a website mentioned, but I didnt get it down in time!
Pen
 
I will pay using another card but I will not go back to that shop again.

I am probably bias here because I used to work with Amex many year ago.

Aside from that, I find Amex has the best Reward Program. I like the fact that reward points do not expire.

From experience I also find shops (those that do not charge extra fee) that accepts Amex, easier to deal with.

But I avoid shops that accept Amex but charges extra fee. I find it unfair business practice. If these shops wants to benefits from Amex , they should be prepared to absorb the cost.

For merchant who charges extra fee, it is easy to assume that customer will use other card anyway. However, there may be many amex cardholders who will never come back to your shop.

I believe Amex cardmembers are a bit different, in a sense that they are more loyal to Amex.

Jocker10
 
Why would AMEX holders be more loyal? I have one as it came part of a package but it is the one I use least as I can't reply on it being accepted. My husband has one he has had for years and he rarely ever uses it.

It seems like AMEX pushes their cards like no other cards do. I am always being approached at the airport.
 
It's true, people do seem to be more loyal to the Amex card if they have one. Everyone who has one chooses to pull that out first despite having 2-4 other cards in there.

As for my problem, it's sorted out. Negotiated with Amex to bring my fee down so I won't put the surcharge in place. Last time I tried they wouldn't budge, so my guess is they have lost a few merchants due to this and reconsidered their position on fees. Same thing the banks did with Visa/MC a few years back.
 
GoAnna! said:
I am always being approached at the airport.
Click to expand...

At which point I hold up the platinum card of whichever card type sales person is approaching me.... :D .....or I ask for another doubling of my credit limit and a low interest for life of loan rollover of outstanding credit....

Cheers,

The Y-man
 
Well I must be the only one that clicked the i will pay the surcharge and return button on the poll. The only time I use my MC is if the amex is not accepted. Last time I checked I had over 600,000 Qantas frequent flier points which was aout 6 months ago, so as you can imagine i haven't had to pay for an airfare (except for the trip to Bali which i just got back from as there were no ff seats available). I have flown to Europe and the US plenty of times and have never had a problem getting a seat and booking a month in advance also.

Can't wait till we get a company CC for our business. In the building industry unfortunately 90% of places do not take amex, however my truss roof manufacturer took amex as well as other major companies such as tradelink etc.
 
I do the same with my business expenses. I use Visa which all my suppliers accept, so it's easy.

Haven't actually used the frequent flyer points yet, they just keep building up! Nice to see though. :)
 
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