Many of the reviews have indicated a very important aspect of American Express cards. They are not your regular kind of plastic money. AMEX requires to be dealt in a mature and thoughtful manner. Let me share my experiences with it....
Circa 2000 had a new ring to it - a new job in a new city! This gave me an opportunity to apply for a new card too :) So there came about American Express. My new salary helped me gain entry into the elite AMEX club. Boy what an achievement it was! The green card, at that time signfied a phoren touch to one’s wallet and therefore bank balance (seriously!). After taking the card, I thought I could flash it at the next available store. But much to my advantage, I was let down. There were hardly any establishments accepting AMEX card :(
For a long time I got no statement because I made no purchases. Then come 2002, and it was my first trip overseas - I was thrilled for many reasons but I got a greater joy after I came back home. I used 2 cards during my trip to USA. One ____ and the other AMEX for my personal expenses in Disneyland etc. I ran into trouble with the other card in terms of wrong amounts being debited etc. But with AMEX it was all fine. The details of where I had billed and the conversion rate everything was shared in a very neat format. By this time a lot of establishments in India started accepting AMEX and I never had a problem of wrong billing, rude customer service folks etc. During my next trip to Europe, I found a lot more stores and airport counters accepting this card. And there was no problem of wrong billing / threat calls etc.
They launched the 0% balance transfer promotion in 2004 I think and I was able to rid of sticky outstanding from __ account and that outstanding got cleared within 6 odd months. My good behaviour got me a Gold Card status and enhanced credit limit. Their customer service is brilliant! Very courteous and I have never had a reason to feel that they slighted me in any manner. I have goofed on payment dates and proved mischevious to them too. But they shared a human face with me and I am glad I bank with them. They have options of cashback or membership rewards as a loyalty program. I get email alerts and I place a lot of my requests on their web site.
I am happy with their service and they have instilled a sense of responsibility in me. They have made me a more responsible credit card holder. American Express has an elitist tinge to it, but trust me when I say, they are downright human.... I have been with them since August 2000 and do not want to leave them in a hurry! Amen!