When Costco announced it was ditching its exclusive co-branded American Express card in favor of a Citibank-issued Visa card, customers worried about the various ways this switch could affect their finances and credit, but one family says the change in card networks resulted in them losing an insurance policy. [More]
AMEX
Sam’s Club Forgot To Tell Some Employees About Their Clever Costco Promotion
By 6.29.16
Last Monday was an important day in retail history, and we’re not being sarcastic: it was the day that Costco switched its credit card acceptance policy from only accepting American Express to only accepting Visa. The transition didn’t go smoothly for some members, and national competitor Sam’s Club decided to take advantage of the confusion and try to win over some of those members. Unfortunately, some employees didn’t know about this. [More]
Citi Will Send Members’ New Costco Visa Cards In May
By 3.25.16
This June, things will change at Costco: the warehouse retailer will change its official, store-endorsed credit card from a Costco-branded American Express card to a Costco-branded Visa card from Citi. We now know that the new cards will start being mailed out in May, and what kinds of rewards users will be able to expect. [More]
AmEx Signs Deal With Boxed, Which Is Kind Of Like An Online Costco
By 3.23.16
Last year, Costco announced the end of its longtime exclusive relationship with American Express. The end of the deal wasn’t as great for AmEx, since the captive audience was good for its business, and shareholders were unhappy. As the official breakup date approaches in June, AmEx is looking for a new bulk-selling credit card buddy, and has perhaps found one in Boxed. [More]
All You Have To Do To Fly Free Forever Is Put A $170M Purchase On Your American Express Card
By 11.23.15
Are you sick and tired of shelling out money every time you want to fly somewhere? If you’ve got the right credit card and an urge to spend some millions, you’ll be set: a billionaire who won a rare painting at auction for $170 million will never have to pay for a flight again when the sale goes through on the American Express card he plunked down to buy the artwork. [More]
AmEx Introduces Prepaid Debit Card With Rewards For Spending
By 8.19.15
Now that its retail partner Costco has moved on to different credit cards, AmEx is apparently looking for some new customers who are a little downmarket from their old ones. Like its pal Bluebird, the card is reloadable and can even accept direct deposits from your employer. It offers one extra thing as an incentive to go prepaid: cash-back rewards like a credit card. [More]
New Plenti Rewards Card Not As Rewarding As It Looks
By 6.1.15
I carry a lot of store loyalty cards around. I have a separate wallet for them. I have five different cards just for different pet stores. “Another loyalty card” is not something that America seems to need. Yet last month, American Express introduced a loyalty program called Plenti, which promises to let you accumulate points on purchases at different retailers and other businesses. The problem is that the rewards aren’t as flexible as the card’s ad campaigns imply. [More]
Costco Announces New Credit Card Partnership With Citi, Visa
By 3.2.15
It seems Costco is not one to sit around pining for old flames very long, as the shopping club announced today that it’s rebounding from the end of its relationship with American Express with a new partnership with Citigroup and Visa. [More]
Now You Can Buy Stuff With A Tweet: Amex’s Twitter Sync Turns Hashtags Into Cashtags
By 2.12.13
Last year American Express launched its “Amex Sync” integration, where customers could link up their credit cards to Twitter and get discounts on certain items by way of special offers sent out on the social network. And now the two companies are turning hashtags into dollar signs with a joint venture that allows users to buy certain items simply by hashtagging tweets. [More]
American Express Payment Plans Won't Do Your Credit Any Favors
By 8.8.12
Ryan was in a tight spot, and late with the payment on his American Express account. The problem didn’t seem as scary as it could have been, though. The company’s Web interface offered him the opportunity to sign up for a payment plan, so he could pay down the outstanding balance over a period of as long as twelve months. Neat! But the plan didn’t quite have the credit-saving effects that he expected. He was reported to credit bureaus as delinquent during the entire repayment period. That’s how the plan works. [More]
Zynga-Branded AmEx Prepaid Card Lets You Earn FarmVille Cash In The Real World
By 5.22.12
This site does not, in general, approve of Zynga’s freemium addiction-based gaming model or fee-laden prepaid debit cards. So we are amused and slightly dismayed to bring you the news that AmEx and Zynga have teamed up to bring a Farmville points rewards card into the world. Fill up your card, spend the money, earn points to buy in-game stuff. How could this product possibly go wrong? [More]
American Express Amazes Family After Cardholder's Death Abroad
By 7.15.11
Let’s travel back in consumer history to 1989, a time before widespread Internet access, when she shopping and financial landscape was recognizable, but still different from what we deal with today. One thing that doesn’t change is that true “Above and Beyond” service leads to customer loyalty, and reader Margaret remains loyal to AmEx because of how they came through for her family in a time of crisis and grief. [More]
AMEX Unveils Low-Cost Prepaid Card Without Hidden Fees
By 6.14.11
The prepaid card industry is notorious for preying on poorer consumers with hidden fees for just about every thing you use it for. There’s even fees for not using them, in the form of inactivity fees. So it’s an unexpected breath of fresh air that American Express is rolling out a new prepaid card with very few fees and a pretty straightforward approach, at least for consumers. [More]
Amex Settles Case Alleging They Advertised BOGO, But Charged Double
By 5.23.11
How’s this for a bad deal? American Express Publishing Corp. had an offer for a “free” airline ticket when you bought a companion ticket and a subscription to Skyguide magazine. But a lawsuit brought by five Californian counties says that when consumers went to the website to buy their ticket, they were often charged double what the ticket would have cost them if they bought the ticket straight from the airline. Get it? [More]
Amex's Platinum Business Card Promises Are Less Than Golden
By 2.15.11
Lois is a longtime American Express customer. She’s had an AmEx card in her wallet for longer than most Consumerist readers have been alive. When she received a mailing offering 50,000 bonus reward points and extra privileges for upgrading her account to a Platinum Business card, she went for it. Except she never received the reward points. Or the airport lounge privileges. Or, apparently, the upgrade to a Platinum Business card. [More]
American Express Offers Credit Card To 3-Year-Old
By 1.13.11
If you needed any more evidence that credit card offers are on the rise, you need look no further than this story over at CNNMoney, in which the writer’s 3-year-old daughter received a credit card application from American Express. [More]
Add Discover To The List Of Credit Cards That Allow Minimum Purchase Requirements
By 9.2.10
Yesterday, we told you how Visa and AMEX now allow merchants to require customers up to a $10 minimum for credit card payments and how MasterCard will soon be changing their policy to allow for the same. We’d naively hoped that Discover — who hadn’t yet replied to our query — would be the lone holdout, but… not so much. [More]
Help, Expedia Sold My Chargeback To A Collection Agency!
By 8.23.10
Ed and his wife successfully filed a chargeback against Expedia for a canceled trip earlier this year. Now he’s being dunned by a collection agency for the amount that Amex refunded him. [More]
