Englishmum

Somehow yesterday lunchtime I managed to either lose my purse (for some reason called a wallet instead in the USA) or it was stolen.

Obviously I had to call the bank and credit card companies to get my cards cancelled. We have Visa and ATM banking cards with JP Morgan Chase and it will take a week to 10 days for a replacement card to be issued. My husband has had to have his Visa card cancelled too as it has the same account number.

American Express came up trumps yet again. They issued a new card immediately and said it would arrive by 10.30am the following morning. I arrived home from aerobics at 10.40am and there was the UPS envelope with my new Amex card in it. Also, although I'm the secondary card holder on the account, we have seperate numbers so my husband doesn't need to have his card cancelled.

Amex were great when we relocated to the States too; we were able to transfer our existing Amex accounts to new ones in the US immediately, whereas without a credit rating my husband had to battle with Chase to get a Visa card issued with a very low credit limit.

The best thing ever which made me truly appreciate Amex though was when we were still living in England in the early 90s. My husband was off on a 3-week business trip to Hong Kong, Tokyo and Singapore. He left his wallet in his jacket at home with all his cash, bank and credit cards inside it. After fruitlessly driving to Heathrow to hand over the wallet (and arriving just as his plane was taxiing down the runway), I phoned Barclaycard who couldn't or wouldn't issue a replacement card as a matter of urgency and I was getting quite concerned. I phoned Amex in Brighton and they were really helpful. They just told me to cut up the card and said that my husband just needed to take his passport to their travel centre in Hong Kong where a new card would be waiting for him. He was 30,000 ft in the air and it was sorted! He was able to check in at his hotel and get a cash advance from Amex too and was able to 'make do' until he arrived back in the UK.

I just can't fault their efficient service.

Big Vern

Yep, I'll agree with you - I love 'em too. I've had my amex for ten years, both in the UK and here in the US, and they've come up trumps for me every time.

James Box

You get what you pay for. Barclaycard Visa is free. Amex isn't.

TexasPenguin

Agreed. But to have a card in my wallet with no limit on what I can buy on it (in an emergency), was transferred with that no limit from the UK with absolutely zero hassle and has the best customer support on earth is.... to use the words from the "other" card's commercial... "priceless"!.

Andy.

justboy

I used to work for Merrill Lynch, who are probably the biggest competetor of AMEX. I know from my experiences that AMEX are a far better financial establishment.

I just wish that my lack of Credit History didn't hamper me from getting an AMEX card. I've been here for just over 1 yr. Managed to get a MASTERCARD, with a $1,500 limit, so i just need to be good and pay extra each month, along with other things, and hopefully AMEX will not be too far off!!

CaliforniaBride

Couldn't agree more. Had my handbag stolen while on a visit back to UK with hubby. Visa were a pain in the posterior. Admittedly it took ages on the phone being transferred and hooked up with three way dialling, it was eventually sorted out. By the time we got back to our hotel in London our cards were waiting for us at reception.