AMEX unusable in Europe? Hardly. I payed for my dentist Friday with it, both supermarket and lunch today, and all Amazon, etc. Some vendors dont take it, but in my European country most places
From the other side of the table, I've worked in companies avoiding Amex support as long as they could, and even after actively obfuscating the support to push the user to use another card.
For smaller entities it's a PITA to have to manage a separate additinal contract, and it costs a lot more for the merchant, when virtually nobody only owns an Amex.
If you're in europe there are probably other payment means that don't rely on Visa/Mastercard thay will be much more welcome.
Funny thing to me was the store credit cards that are processed internallu without hitting the network (e.g. Carrefour cards, AlbertHein as well I think ?)
Otoh, companies chasing the highest dollar value customers or differentiating via service may want to take it. Higher ticket prices, more revenue, despite the aggravations.
It’s almost as if a business needs to decide if it’s mass market or high end. I would only buy certain classes of goods with my AmEx due to how confident I am that Amex customer service has my back.
For example, the Amex platinum card will reimburse you for items the merchant won’t accept as a return. I recently bought an electric screwdriver that sucked, but wasn’t able to make a decision until I’d used it for longer than the merchant return window. I paid with amex and just got it refunded.
Yes. This also happens on luxury goods: if you're selling hotel rooms on top of a casino, accepting Amex/Diner etc. is table stakes.
Cheaping out on processing fees or putting friction on the payment part will be a signal that you don't understand your customer and will potentially be nickel and diming the experience all the way down, which is clearly not the image you're trying to convey.
I have an Amex card because my work forces me to take one. But I don't find this a "luxury" experience at all. It's really hard to use the damn thing, for example try to get a taxi at the rank in Paris Charles de Gaulle. 90% of the drivers refuse it and the ones that do accept it often pretend the "machine is broken" later.
In other countries like Romania the taxi drivers just laugh in your face when you try to pay with an amex. I hate that thing but our stupid HR VP from the US forced it on all of us. Probably gets some nice kickbacks in return.
Of course, that value is entirely funded out of your own pocket.
Instead of paying with your Amex for overpriced goods, you could put a bit of money to the side for every normal purchase, and use that pot to 'refund' your electric screwdriver yourself.
I’m not clear what you mean, but I understand the concept of being your own warranty backer. This is different - I would have bought this screwdriver with a visa, if I didn’t have that Amex.
The Amex makes me confident I have recourse. Is your point that I would spend less if I didn’t have that confidence? I suppose so, but I’d actually rather prefer having that confident experience rather than feeling insecure or like I got ripped off.
That’s real value, and I don’t mind if it means I buy an extra tool here and there. Especially if I can get some extra refunds.
> For smaller entities it's a PITA to have to manage a separate additinal contract, and it costs a lot more for the merchant, when virtually nobody only owns an Amex.
I completely agree on the cost part for AMEX, but how do you mean it's a PITA to accept those cards? It's usually as simple as enabling an option with your card payment service, not very complicated at all.
