My stores here have quit taking AX due to their much higher rates. It seems to me that in the UK at least, Visa & Mastercard are accepted more often than AX but I'm not sure if it's for the same reason.

Also, AX is starting to use a form of plastic that's like a CC instead of traveler's checks, This is so they can charge their fee to the merchant. We don't take those either for that reason.

If you read the fine print carefully, Amex starts out by saying there is no fixed credit limit (unlike bank cards so to speak) and then goes on to say something to the effect (I don't have the exact wording in front of me) that authorizatons will be approved based on a variety of factors including past experience and whatever...in other words there really is a credit limit but they don't tell you what it is and publish it on statements (although cards such as the Delta card do indeed have a credit limit listed)...

Remember you have to differentiate between a charge card and a credit card; as originally conceived American Express was to be a charge card that is bills are due at the end of the month period...the bank credit cards were established on the premise they were extending credit hopefully suckers would not pay in full at the end of each month but rather pay the small minimum payments so they could be charged exhorbitant rates of interest...they used to call smart people such as myself (my modesty knows no bounds) who use their bank cards as charge cards namely I pay off the bill each month and incur no interest charge free loaders...they attempted every which way, no matter how bad the publicity, to find ways to charge freeloaders and of course that is one of the reasons behind the foreign transaction charges. Meanwhile American Express moved in the direction first with the Optima card to start extending credit and getting income from people using revolving credit...it is a credit limit that is established...my credit limit on one of my mastercards is over $20,000...I certainly can't conceive, unless I use it as payment for a car or as downpayment for a house, ever approaching that limit.....

Now with the increase in fraud, all credit cards have tried to have their computer systems watch for supsicious transactions that are not in the pattern of your usual transactions...thus on my last trip to Europe, I ran into a problem when I got to London...I had been on an escorted tour and had a few charges here and there but for the most part other than the optonal tour expense not all that many charges.

But when I hit london for six days, I would use the credit card maybe 4 or 5 or more times a day...transportation on the tube, in grocerty stores for sodas, in Boots for odds and ends, at some of the Pret a Mangers for lunch, in the grocerty stores again for stuff to bring back to the hotel at night (soda, ice cream) for theatre tickets, for dinners....after about the third day, when trying to charge £2.24 or thereabouts at a convenience store they rejected the card...they didn't call me or anything..they sent a letter. Thank goodness I know how to use the phone system and immediately called them and they simply asked (although I had told them I would be in the UK) that there were lots of charges (most of them under $10 US when converted BTW) and whether they were mine..I said yes and they immediately took the block off the card..now none of the charges were particularly large yes they were numerous but they were still making sure since this was not my usual pattern of transactions. All credit cards do it no matter whether you notify them or not; that's just the way it is today.

But as far as Amex cards allowing unlimited charges, no that's not true. When your outstanding balance reaches a certain amount, based on what the computer says you are capable of repaying, they will block the card.

Amex credit cards have a hard limit. Amex charge cards have what I'd call a soft limit. If you call Amex, you can get an idea of what it is at the moment (but this limit can go up or down based on history).

I did order a USAA AMEX card, and they did give me a limit. It was a high limit, but it was a limit. ((b))

<Unfortunately, I have had my AMEX card turned down many times, mostly in restaurants>

rkkwan - I mean to say that some restaurants do not accept AMEX at all. My VISA and MC cards have always been accepted. ((*))

Jed - Everybody knows that AE cards are not as widely accepted as Visa/MC. No need to state the obvious. The discussion above was about getting a card denied at a business that takes the card.

Amex cards issued by USAA, Citi, BofA, etc. will be credit cards and thus will have a credit limit that's determined by the issuing bank, not Amex.