American Express

[SCARFACE]

Does AE exist in the U.k? if so, is it widely used there? and how about the Discover card?

[stevie21]

yes, yes and no idea.

[Babette]

Amex operates in over sixty different countries and has been in the UK since the 1960's. Discover is a domestic USA card and unknown here.

[tim2969]

AMEX are the biggest employer in my home town Brighton. Approx 3000 plus a further 1500 in a small town 15 miles away towards London.

[Dudley]

American Express send me literature from time to time. I think the last time I heard from them, the annual fee was about �80. Why would anyone pay for a credit card these days?

[SCARFACE]

that's high for an annual fee! Does american Express offer the unlimited spending limit in the U.K. also?

[AllYourBase]

AMEX is not as widely accepted in the UK as you might think. They have the highest merchant charge of all credit cards and hence most retailers don't accept them. The charge is twice that levied by visa/swicth/mastercard etc. I could be wrong, but I recall the figure of 2% of the transaction value has to be paid as a merchant charge. Most shops would would face losing their margin and hence many places take the risk based on the knowledge that many people have a visa or switch or mastercard.

[Pinotage]

AllYour Base (great name) is correct. I used to carry an Amex business card. Its accepted by intrenational hotels chains, airlines and expensive restaurants but it (& Diners Club) are nowhere as widely accepted as Visa & Mastercard. You couldn't survive in the UK on Amex alone, you'd need Visa/MasterCard.

  Amex advertises no pre-set spending limit.

[Pinotage]

Also because of their high service fee few merchants want to accept Amex and I was several times asked if I'd use another card rather than Amex; you'd see their smile fade when you took out your Amex card