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.
> 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.
makeitdouble|2 years ago
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 ?)
edmundsauto|2 years ago
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.
As a consumer that has real value.
carlosjobim|2 years ago
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.