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After Hours: Visa With a Monster Quarter, Amazon Shows Profit and Soars 17%
I was in the dry cleaners today. There was a folded card on the table with a hand printed message. It said "We no longer accept AmEx cards".
I paid a bill at a cemetery for my mom's memorial plaque. They took charge cards. But not American Express. VISA maybe the beneficiary.
I'm very sorry to hear about your mom's passing.
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There was a ruling this year that stores could now direct buyers to other cards that the store preferred and that Amex's "anti-steering" rule was in violation of antitrust.
"American Express Co. rules barring businesses from asking customers to use lower-cost credit cards violate U.S. antitrust law, a federal judge said in the first definitive decision on practices that allow card firms to collect about $50 billion a year in merchant fees."
AXP did not have a great quarter yesterday and ultimately I think they have to take steps to come up with a defined plan going forward. They lost the Costco business - while they can say that it "didn't make economic sense", it was a pretty significant amount of their business. Visa/Citibank picked up Costco US and Mastercard/Capital One picked up Costco Canada. Amex also lost JetBlue.
Investment-wise, I think people are moving money towards V and MA, which continue to not only take share, but I think the pure toll road model of V and MA appeals vs taking on the credit risk of AXP.
I get 2% cash back across the board from my Fidelity Amex card. I haven't seen any Visa, MasterCard or Discover cards that can match the 2% cash back across the board. Because of this, I probably use my Amex card for about 80% of my spending. I use some of the other cards when they have selected 5% cash back for specific purchases for a limited time, or in the rare cases where AMEX is not accepted.
@MOZART325- I can easily understand your motivation to use the Amex card for the extra 1%, but it's unlikely that Amex is actually giving you that: more than likely it is being financed by higher processing charges to the retailers. That would go a long way towards understanding why Amex tried so hard to shut them up, and why Amex is now fading.
Agree. I have American Express card from private firms I work for. The is no spending limit on AmEx card whereas Visa and Master do. They are useful in long oversea business trips. Still prefer Visa/Master for personal use since they are more widely accepted. Recently new Visa card arrived with a smart chip on it for added security. Only several years behind the Europeans.
@MFO Members: There is no such thing as a free lunch, and althought I have the usual plastic, I pay for thing 99% of the time with cash or check. Regards, Ted
Comments
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There was a ruling this year that stores could now direct buyers to other cards that the store preferred and that Amex's "anti-steering" rule was in violation of antitrust.
"American Express Co. rules barring businesses from asking customers to use lower-cost credit cards violate U.S. antitrust law, a federal judge said in the first definitive decision on practices that allow card firms to collect about $50 billion a year in merchant fees."
http://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2015-02-19/american-express-loses-antitrust-suit-over-merchant-card-rules
AXP did not have a great quarter yesterday and ultimately I think they have to take steps to come up with a defined plan going forward. They lost the Costco business - while they can say that it "didn't make economic sense", it was a pretty significant amount of their business. Visa/Citibank picked up Costco US and Mastercard/Capital One picked up Costco Canada. Amex also lost JetBlue.
Investment-wise, I think people are moving money towards V and MA, which continue to not only take share, but I think the pure toll road model of V and MA appeals vs taking on the credit risk of AXP.
Capital One also missed.
Regards,
Ted