I have read reviews on Amex Cards and am surprized at the ratings. Trust me fellas this is a good card. The confusion with most of the fellas is that they fail to understand which card they have got
A Charge Card or a Credit Card
In a charge card you have to pay back all outstanding at the end of month or you pay heavy interest and chances are your card will be blocked if you dont pay in full.
Their credit card is like any other card with revolving credit facility where you can pay 5% of your outstanding every month with 2.9% interest per month on a daily reducing balance.
This is where most people get confused they have a charge card and they treat it like a credit card.
Amex need to increase awareness level for the differences.
Worldwide and in India also majority of people use Charge card for business transaction when they pay their bill at the end of the month as the money is reimbursed by the company. While keeping their Master/Visa for their personal expenses and paying as per convinience. Unfortunatley this differentiation is not being used by many in India.
I personaly have Amex Gold Charge since 99, an Amex Gold Credit Card since 00, and a Stan Chart Gold Master since 95 (started as a classic then got it upgraded)
Although earlier acceptence of Amex was less earlier now it is as good as Visa/Master atleast in Metros and Tourist places.
The website is friendly and loads easily compared to Stanchart and when you call their Customer Support center you don’t have to go through a 15 minute long menu straight away you speak to a Human being( that a great +++ compared to juggling with buttons on phone trying to go to the right menu)
Their Point system is really good 1 point for every Rs 40 spent compared to 100-125 for other cards.
Another good thing about amex is their excellent balance transfer facility although now offered by everybody. You can pay a lower interest for 6 month on your outstanding on the other cards.
Here is the strategy I have been following: Whenever I make a big purchase on my StanChart I transfer the balance to Amex and take advantage of their balance transfer facility and pay less interest as compared to my mastercard. But remember this facility is only for a few month.
But the good thing is in the statement the comapany explains clearly how much interest you will pay for each service.
The reason Amex is frowned upon by merchant establishment is because they charge them a higher commission compared to Master/Visa... but this is offset by higher value on an Amex compared to a Master/Visa.
If you are really looking for a world class card and your company is paying for it this is the card to go for specially the Gold Card. I am sure all of you would remember the Amex ... NRI ... Holi in London Advt. Trust me friends that ad is true this card has that upmarket image not only in India but also around the world.