American Express Card Holders - acceptance of Am-Express cards in Europe
 

Greetings! Did any of you have any problem in using American Express
card all the time in Europe to pay for food, rail tickets etc ? In one
post I read that American Express cards are not as acceptable as other
credit cards. With thanks.

Re: American Express Card Holders - acceptance of Am-Express cards in Europe
 

"qwert2b" <[email protected]> wrote in
news:[email protected] ups.com:

    > Greetings! Did any of you have any problem in using American Express
    > card all the time in Europe to pay for food, rail tickets etc ? In one
    > post I read that American Express cards are not as acceptable as other
    > credit cards. With thanks.
    >
    >

You will be able to use it a major hotels and many other places, BUT you
will need to have a good back up card either MC or VISA.

--
Joseph Coulter
Cruises and Vacations
http://www.josephcoulter.com/

Re: American Express Card Holders - acceptance of Am-Express cards in Europe
 

"Joseph Coulter" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected] 7.136...
    > "qwert2b" <[email protected]> wrote in
    > news:[email protected] ups.com:
    >> Greetings! Did any of you have any problem in using American
    >> Express
    >> card all the time in Europe to pay for food, rail tickets etc ? In
    >> one
    >> post I read that American Express cards are not as acceptable as
    >> other
    >> credit cards. With thanks.
    > You will be able to use it a major hotels and many other places, BUT
    > you
    > will need to have a good back up card either MC or VISA.

At least in France, VISA is much, much more common than AmEx. I
wouldn't try my AmEx card at some small mom&pop place in deepest
France. VISA would work there.

Re: American Express Card Holders - acceptance of Am-Express cards
 

qwert2b wrote:

    > Greetings! Did any of you have any problem in using American Express
    > card all the time in Europe to pay for food, rail tickets etc ? In one
    > post I read that American Express cards are not as acceptable as other
    > credit cards. With thanks.

I've had no problem with it's being accepted by airlines and
hotels. However, for restaurants you're safer with Visa or
Mastercard, since many of them do not accept Amex. I'm sure
it has to do with the fees the merchant must pay. At one
time, Amex was a problem for small businesses because the
receipts had to be submitted to Amex by mail, and the
merchant's check was then mailed to them by Amex, resulting
in a longer delay than small restaurants found acceptable.
I think that has changed, though, since most other credit
card submissions can be deposited to the merchant's bank
account like cash.

Of course, some restaurants do not accept credit cards at
all - I encountered one in Paris whose posted menu looked so
intriguing I actually hit an ATM machine so I'd have cash to
pay for a meal there. (I needn't have bothered - it may not
be possible to get a BAD meal in France, but theirs came close.)

--
NewsGuy.Com 30Gb $9.95 Carry Forward and On Demand Bandwidth

Re: American Express Card Holders - acceptance of Am-Express cards in Europe
 

On Sat, 29 Apr 2006 17:42:09 -0700, "EvelynVogtGamble(Divamanque)"
<[email protected]> wrote:

    >qwert2b wrote:
    >> Greetings! Did any of you have any problem in using American Express
    >> card all the time in Europe to pay for food, rail tickets etc ? In one
    >> post I read that American Express cards are not as acceptable as other
    >> credit cards. With thanks.
    >I've had no problem with it's being accepted by airlines and
    >hotels. However, for restaurants you're safer with Visa or
    >Mastercard, since many of them do not accept Amex. I'm sure
    >it has to do with the fees the merchant must pay. At one
    >time, Amex was a problem for small businesses because the
    >receipts had to be submitted to Amex by mail, and the
    >merchant's check was then mailed to them by Amex, resulting
    >in a longer delay than small restaurants found acceptable.
    >I think that has changed, though, since most other credit
    >card submissions can be deposited to the merchant's bank
    >account like cash.

In the 1970s they charged the retailer 5.5%
--

Martin

Re: American Express Card Holders - acceptance of Am-Express cards in Europe
 

qwert2b wrote:
    > Greetings! Did any of you have any problem in using American
    > Express card all the time in Europe to pay for food, rail tickets etc
    > ? In one post I read that American Express cards are not as
    > acceptable as other credit cards. With thanks.
I hold an american express credit card.
Most hotels will accept it and ailrines will aceept it.
The most common credit cars is Visa

as far as I know.. amex requires higher fees

Re: American Express Card Holders - acceptance of Am-Express cards in Europe
 

"tile" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:8%%[email protected].. .
    > qwert2b wrote:
    > > Greetings! Did any of you have any problem in using American
    > > Express card all the time in Europe to pay for food, rail tickets etc
    > > ? In one post I read that American Express cards are not as
    > > acceptable as other credit cards. With thanks.
    > I hold an american express credit card.
    > Most hotels will accept it and ailrines will aceept it.
    > The most common credit cars is Visa
    > as far as I know.. amex requires higher fees

American Express is a Charge Card, not credit (except the Ultima.) The bank
charges a certain percentage to vendors (up to 3%) for using
VISA/Mastercard. It is up to 6% for Amex (even the Ultima.) Therefore most
smaller and regular vendors do not take Amex. Only the larger rails,
Airports, etc will except them because they have previously negotiated and
they also have additional fraud prevention over Visa/MC. For example most
merchants who take Amex will check ID, which prevents fraund but is a minor
annoyance...Visa/MC mostly writes low level fraud off.

Lava

Re: American Express Card Holders - acceptance of Am-Express
 

On 30/04/06 12:07, in article 8%%[email protected],
"tile" <[email protected]> wrote:

    > I hold an american express credit card.
    > Most hotels will accept it and ailrines will aceept it.
    > The most common credit cars is Visa
    >
    > as far as I know.. amex requires higher fees


This is what some commercants tell me. The Amex
card use in Europe is associated more with higher price hotels,
restaurants and stores. The big advantage of Amex
is that card replacement if stolen or lost
while traveling is rapid, often within 24 hours.
Visa can be very slow and probably not during
the trip en cours.

Re: American Express Card Holders - acceptance of Am-Express cards in Europe
 

As others have said, VISA and MC are much more accepted than Amex in
Europe, and everywhere. The main reason I have been told by merchants
who do not accept Amex is that it tales much longer to be paid, up to 6
weeks. Most people who carry Amex also carry at least one other card so
the sale is rarely lost. I use my debit cards when Amex is not
accepted. Never rely on only one card when traveling.

Before sitting down to eat make sure that one of your cards is
accepted. I was out with a group in Paris to a top restaurant when one
of the group asked the leader if he had enough money for the evening.
He replied that he had no money but he had his American Express card.
After sitting and studying the menu for a while I noticed at the bottom
that the restaurant does not accept any credit cards.

John Bermont
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