Also a good idea to keep a backup card or two handy... just in case of mishaps like these.

Good advice there above about carrying a backup card. Also, AMEX is accepted in many less places overseas than Visa/Mastercard. They don't put that in their ads,but you should know. NEVER leave home with just and AMEX card.

@azntg: She had one card, it didn't allow her to withdraw cash. She pulled out the AmEx instead, it was canceled.

Sounds like she had two cards.

I think the best advice would be to bring cash with you. You might take a hit on the exchange, but at least you won't be without money.

Rule of thumb these days is check your accounts before you leave the country..

While stationed in Germany with the USAF the only bank available was AMEX. Service was terrible. Our nick name for AMEX was "American Excuse"

@pecan pi: Yeah, I keep getting screwed when I go overseas.

Part of the problem is that a lot of places don't accept credit.

I was first surprised when I went to London and discovered that (along with discoving that Discover card is worthless outside the US).

Then I found that Japan is the same way.

I still try to put as much on credit as possible to limit having to carry a ton of cash. I usually stay in hostels, so leaving cash is not an option.

With all these stories, I will never apply for an AMEX card.

I thought the lesson learned was don't get an AMEX card. Even when I worked retail at a place that accepted AMEX, there was always this tentative look of expected disappointment on the face of everyone who took out an AMEX to pay. "Do you take American Express?" they would ask sheepishly?

I never understood why people continued to get these.

@aguacarbonica: People do that with the Discover card, I've noticed.

@aguacarbonica: Flawless customer service is one reason. I've been able to use it to snag seats at a few good, and busy, restaurants when I travel, which is nice. I know it isn't accepted everywhere, but everywhere I shop around home accepts it and if some random place doesn't, I always have a Visa, MC, or Discover -- depending on which one will give me the most float for a given purchase -- to use instead.

@Snarkysnake:

Hit up Latin America and you'll be glad you had your AMEX.

Lemme just add... good luck calling collect! Seriously, that's quite a scam too.

I had an issue while traveling in Japan and the problem I ran into is that when you try to make a collect call it would fail. What happened was there was a machine answering the phone with a message saying "Yes we accept international collect calls" and on the dialing side you had a machine waiting for that answer. Unforuntately the call wouldn't go through because both sides were talking over each other.

For that reason alone, I recommend 3 different credit cards.

AMEX is overrated. It not taken everywhere.

Get a VISA or MasterCard, never had trouble with them in Europe. VISA is probably more acceptable than MasterCard.

Also, go with a multinational bank, like Citi(if it still exists), Deutsch Bank (not many branches in the USA), or ING.

Also, AMEX has local country numbers which are listed on their site. They will either service you in the local language or in English, at which point you will be transferred internally to the closest speaking English region, in this case the UK(its even listed on their site).
So you really didnt have to pay 0.99 a minute, but the regular, local rate.

@aguacarbonica: Superior customer service and the best cash-back rewards program. I have a backup mastercard, but it would take a lot before I'd go back to my pre-Amex life ... the customer service alone makes it worth it.

90% of places I go take Amex, and about half of the places that don't are cash-only anyway.

@jmndos: Credit cards are overrated. They not taken everywhere.

Anywhere that doesn't accept American Express but does accept MC/VISA is probably not worth doing business with anyway.

Moral of the story #2: AMEX is unreliable. Between that, and shopping at the 'wrong places' that AMEX won't list will get you tagged as an high-risk customer.

Those assholes canceled my card two weeks ago and still haven't sent me any form of notification whatsoever. If Amex's goal is to completely destroy their own reputation they are succeeding admirably.

Back when they liked me the customer service was great, the rewards were good and the fraud protection was second to none. Now that they apparently hate me, I can't even get anyone on the phone. I'm just glad I don't need to get a loan right now because ripping 10k off my total credit has really messed up my credit score.

@SRSco: That's just another reason to carry two different cards. So when you get somewhere you have something that works.

@aguacarbonica: That's also partly because AMEX charges the business a much higher transaction fee than either Visa or MC do. So, for a very long time, many retail places that accepted VISA/MC, didn't accept AMEX. Though in the past 10-15 years, even smaller retailers started to accept it because more and more consumers regularly paid with credit/charge cards.

@mantari: Nothing is stopping any card from being silently canceled. It sounds like we need to pass yet another credit card bill that forces at some kind of minimum notice.

Another good reason for every one to shred their AMEX cards. Screw em. Personally I would be filing a complaint with the US comptroller of the currency over this, being that AMEX is now a bank.

My best advice (a Dave Ramsey-ism), cut those credit cards up and don't look back. I did over three years ago and haven't had problem and no fees, no secret cancellation or other crap brought on by using credit cards.

Allen

@nicemarmot617:

I am still a fan of AmEx even though they have done a couple of screwy things... none of which has left me stranded or call CS because I couldn't make a purchase.

However when you have a government willing to pay for their losses... making customers happy is 2nd priority!

This might be off topic, but here goes: speaking of AmEx, is it true they issue a black card called Centurion with a $1,000 annual fee? What benefits/perks come with it? The APR must be fuckin' mangoes!

That's why I always pack a spare orphan with healthy kidneys in my checked luggage when traveling. If both my credits cards zero out and my a bit short on cash, the exchange rate for a good set of kidneys on the international market is well neigh irresistible!

@Eyebrows McGee: I'm thinking the subject of the OP would dispute that their customer service is "flawless".

@Yossarian: well, i think the cases we've been hearing lately of people stuck on the road with their AMEX card kind of throws that whole "flawless cusomer service" idea out the window...

@FuryOfFirestorm:
[en.wikipedia.org]

@mac-phisto: Well, I'm not any of those people, so "flawless customer service" isn't out the window for me.

Just being on a three-way call and hearing AMEX customer support figuratively pistol whip Sprint customer support on my behalf got AMEX a lot of slack in my book, even if they haven't ever needed it.

Maybe the difference is in the types of cards, I don't know, but AMEX is beyond reproach in my book.

AMEX used to be the travel card - whatever happened on your trip, Amex was there to help. That was their shtick, if you will.

Doesn't seem like they want that reputation anymore. Certainly all these stories about people who relied exclusively on Amex are going to make travelers take more cards and rely on Amex less, which reduces their value.

In other news, the other crime is paying 99 cents a minute to call from Germany. Get a VOIP account, find a wifi signal, and with your computer or a some mobiles, place calls for about two cents a minute. For iphone, fring works well. Gizmo5.com has a client for many other types of phones. Even if your phone doesn't sport wifi, you can do a call-back service from places like gizmo5.

@FuryOfFirestorm: They issue it, but you have to qualify first. And if you qualify, you don't care about the APR when the minimum spending is $250,000.

@humphrmi: Maintaining a reputation is work. Trading on the reputation your predecessors worked so hard to build, while you maximize profits at the expense of customers and then collect millions in bonuses and bailouts on your way out the door is what they're apparently training MBA's to do, these days.

Your parasitic CEO class at work, busy authoring the destruction of American business.

@mythago: I didn't say "flawless," I said "superior." It's not perfect, but it's vastly superior to any other credit card customer service I've ever dealt with. Even the phone tree is less irritating. It's like they had actual customers test it before deploying it!

How many more of these AMEX stories is it going to take before people realize that if you have an American Express card, you are not exempt from this type of thing happening to you.

It doesn't matter how long you've been a member, or how promptly you've paid your bills, they can (and probably will) at the very least slash your limits... and you might not even know until you try to use the card.

If you are a regular reader of the Consumerist, you've been put on notice already. If you are counting on American Express to be there for you, do yourself a favor and get a backup plan.

Ok... if I recall correctly, this is the third story in about a month or two that involves:

1) An AMEX card getting silently canceled.
2) A judicious member that pays month after month (if the user accounts are to be believed).
3) Getting stranded while traveling.

The way AMEX has been treating their customers, I'm never ever going to even consider getting an AMEX card.

@Eyebrows McGee: It seems to be great while they haven't randomly cut you off, but for someone who isn't a customer and may be pondering applying for one, why would I want to put myself in the position of having a credit-card company tell me "Oh, sorry, you touched the GHETTO BUTTON! Lose all Amex permanently and go back two spaces!"

This kind of thing is really concerning. We are planning on spending a few weeks up to a month in Europe in a few years. How the heck are we supposed to pay for those costs if we can't count on some sort of card to make payments with. Even debt cards seem to have issues like the card getting fraud locked even if you call them first.

So you can't count on your credit cards to be there, debit cards can get locked and most accommodations require a card to reserve and pay. I also don't want to be carrying a months worth of vacation cash walking the streets.

@ngoandy:
"along with discoving that Discover card is worthless outside the US"
One exception- China. Places that won't take AmEx or Visa/MC will still take Discover, and even places that say they won't take "international" credit cards will still take Discover. Why? Discover decided to tie into the local interbank network (there's only one) so that it is treated like any other local card instead of having their own network. If they don't take Discover then they only take cash anyway.

And you were in London. Discover ties into a local inter-ATM network there as well as in the rest of the UK. No direct transactions, but cash withdrawals are possible.

The comments are the reason I like this site. @Trai_Dep: Funny
Insightful
Mostly funny
Does anyone reading the comments really need advise like cutup your credit cards or whatever everyduh wisdom you have to impart.
Give me biting social satire any day.
So stop hitting your spouse where the bruises will show.
dont do school
stay on drugs
return ur gold in this envelope for $

@weave: rob a tourist use his phone and steal a rental with his credit card

@crashfrog: I have all kinds of stories - a friend who got caught up in a country's immigration control, and Amex would get a lawyer there before the State Department showed up. Friends who got stuck without funds in a foreign country and Amex set them up with a safe hotel room and some spending cash, with the understanding that everything would get "settled up" after they got back home. Before I went on my first overseas business trip, I was told: if you get into trouble, call Amex first then call the State Department.

Too bad that's gone, it was nice to know someone had your back when you traveled.

@PricklyPete: In the olden days, membership indeed had it's privileges (see above conversation... Amex used to be the first place you called when you had trouble.) "Not being exempt" is a choice that Amex has recently made about its members, and needs to be communicated thoroughly to prevent others from thinking that they have support overseas. Amex has been unforthcoming in this communication, so this blog is helping make that change clear.

Good for AMEX. If half these stories had the whole truth told, you'd more than often find that the customer is not always a in innocent victim. AMEX is the only CC company that monitors how folks spend and how much they can afford to spend and does what is necessary to make sure to pull in the reins.

@PricklyPete: That presumes that the current holders of AMEX cards are similarly situated to those in the articles, or that AMEX is acting completely randomly, doesn't it?

My AMEX doesn't have an explicit limit, for example. In the extremely unlikely event that they cut the amount that they'd approve, it would have zero impact on my credit score, which seems to be one of the main concerns.

If AMEX takes some of these actions toward Platinum card holders, I might need to start reevaluating.

@bohemian:

Traveling overseas is about the one thing Capital One is good for. Seriously. I believe they're the only major issuer that doesn't charge a foreign transaction fee.

Which would be really useful if they'd give me a credit limit that I could actually, y'know, use.

@Yossarian:

I have seen a couple of accounts of them slapping a limit (I mean, a real limit, that they report to the CRAs, not the "exposure limit" that exists on all their charge cards) on Platinum cards, but unsurprisingly, those tales are very few and far between. I guess when there's a $450 annual fee involved, they aren't quite so trigger-happy with the adverse action.

@walterny:
Did you actually read the article? Did AMEX read the OPs mind and know she was going overseas? They silently canceled her card before she even left the states.

You should always call your CC and bank before going overseas so that they're not spooked by sudden purchases in foreign countries. You can imagine that it would be hard for them to contact you about unusual behavior when you're traveling.

When we travel anywhere, my husband carries a Visa, an Amex and cash (a little of both US and foreign currency). I carry a Mastercard, an Amex and cash. I make a copy of the toll free telephone number for each company as well as a list of the account numbers. Then I store it in a safe place in case I need to call customer service for some reason. Also, before leaving, I call each and every card company. I may be going a little overboard but I don't want to get stuck anywhere without money.