<i>&quot;W/ travelers checks they make most of their profit not from merchant's fees&quot;<i>

They make NO profit from merchants with paper travelers checks, as I said before.


<i>&quot;Much more profit than from the small amount from any potential one time merchant's fee.&quot;&lt;/&gt;

Then WHY are they charging their ridiculous fees to the merchant with the use of the traveler check CARD???
This is yet ANOTHER reason fewer merchants are taking Amex, including their TC card. It's also ANOTHER way to rip off the merchants.

</i></i></i>

There's not a significant number of unused TCs (yes, there are very few &quot;stupid&quot; ones that held on to these), plus there's not a long enough duration during the float of TCs, in order to be substantial to the profitability this product for American Express.

It's mostly in the fees from the consumer buyers of the TCs , as well as the ones from the accepting merchants, commonly referred to as &quot;interchange&quot; in the credit card profitability equation, that make up the profitability of this product.

Additional profitability comes in being able to cross-sell other American Express products, including the real Amex cards, to those who buy the TCs.

However, and contrary to an earlier erroneous allegation that the &quot;travellers check busines has been reduced to nothing&quot;, American Express travel-related products are still the only money-making travel-related credit business out there.

Just a quick disclaimer - I am not from or with American Express.

By this time I suspect Cookie has left for recess.