American Express Worth Getting?

[Vale46Rossi]

Originally Posted by Hehe

It's actually quite a good card considering the benefits it offers. Miles ahead from our regular cards.

Things like premium membership at several airlines and hotel chains. And a free companion air ticket when you book it through the dedicate line. (I think benefits vary country to country, but this was the case from my parents, and it was good for them as they always travel together)

The magazine that comes with it is also pretty entertaining/informative to read.

But then again, there are other cards out there with similar benefits while cost much lower than the Centurion. My families actually switched to another card offered by their wealth management bank and it had similar benefits. I think they opted out of Centurion after that.

Yup, the one in Asia gives buy one get one free flight tickets on dedicated airlines which is a really good thing if you fly often. Also the customer service is tailored to you and they will go out of the way to help you search for something even if you're not using their card for that single thing. It turns in to a personal assistant that is pretty good at what they do.

In Asia they have great reward and rebate programs for restaurants that are affiliated with them. If you use this card to pay at restaurants that are in the program you will get half priced meals off your bill.

There are many other perks but these are the commonly used ones.

[tool001]

i have been using amex over last year...good for points etc (aeroplan) and if u travel..
however half of the places in the city /canada (us and rest of the world not so) dont accept amex due to high rate they charge merchants.

i will be handing it in at the end of this year.

[parm104]

Skippy: If you get a Canadian American Express, you can migrate your account to the U.S. and get a separate US Account when charges your card in US currency. Hence, no ridiculous exchange rates.

Also, AMEX has more benefits and rewards in their cards than most other carriers. Visa is #1 because it is the most universally accepted credit card. Mastercard is shit in my opinion, weak benefits, low acceptance. However said only Costco accepts AMEX in Canada does not know what they're talking about. Yes, AMEX isn't as accepted as other cards, but it's still rather popular amongst merchants in Canada.

As for the "Black Card," it's more of a status symbol than anything else. The card itself costs $5,000 to activate and initiate and $2500/year to keep active. At the end of the day, you do get benefits that would usually cost a lot of money, but I don't think it equates to what you pay for the card. You can easily buy an extra airline ticket and have someone shop for you at your favourite clothing and electronic stores for a fraction of the price. Again, it's a symbol of status.

If you are looking for a no-annual fee American Express card, the BLUE is a great card. I'm not a fan of BLUE SKY but the BLUE CASH or the plain BLUE card is great. The card that I use is an American one but I receive:

Get 3% cash back at supermarkets, 2% cash back at gas stations and department stores, and 1% cash back on all other purchases Redeem the Reward Dollars you earn for cash back in the form of a statement credit. The usual perks like extended warranty and roadside assistance are included in this card.

Major Retailers that Accept AMEX (not exhaustive list, just a sample)

Costco
Wal-mart
Shoppers Drugmart (double points with Amex Gold Card) (also collect Shoppers Optimum points)
Sobeys (can convert Club Sobeys points to amex points)
Metro
Canadian Tire (also collect canadian tire money)
407 ETR
CinePlex
NCIX.com
The Keg
TTC (metro pass)
Go Transit (passes)
Amazon
Chapters & Chapters.ca (also take aeroplan on chapters.ca)
Starbucks
McDonalds (only certain locations)
Canadian Government/Passport Offices
eBay (also takes aeropan)
The Bay
Sears
Save-On
Home Depot
London Drugs