Hi teach,

No one *needs* an AMEX card, but they do help in an emergency.

Cancelled my AMEX card after many years a client. Did find on several occasions on travels thru europe that the card was not accepted, whereas my VISA card (issued by MBNA , no annual fee)always was!
Also the AMEX card turned out to be more expensive than the VISA due to the additional 1% "hidden" in the exchange rate used to calculate dollars.

Totally agree with rhkkmk re. American Express being the best card if there is a problem with car rental. We had a nightmare with Hertz and they refused to give us any compensation, but we had charged the rental on AMEX and AMEX gave us a substantial reimbursement. So glad we put it on AMEX. Also, I believe the provide extra insurance, but am not entirely sure about this.

Another advantage we found was when we couldn't get our Visa to work at any ATM machine in Nice and went to the AMEX office and got the cash we needed from them.

We use Visa too, but am glad we also have the AMEX.

Other than being able to cash a personal check at an American Express office, wherever you happen to be, IF there is one, and that's not very likely to be necessaary, with a Mastercard and/or Visa and your ATM card along, I cannot think of any reason whatsoever.

And, I cannot imagine what having one would have anything whatsoever to do with "the world being unsettled". The "world" is ALWAYS "unsettled".

All depending upon where you're going, but regardless, American Express cards are accepted at very few, if any, hotels/restaurants/shops and so forth.

When we go to Europe, we take one Mastercard, one Visa, and an ATM card. We leave the the rest, along with the AmExp at home.

djkbooks and I must go to different areas of Europe. While admittedly Visa and MasterCard are more widely accepted, I've rarely been refused when I wanted to use my Amex card. (And, I have plenty of Amex bills to prove that!)
To say that "American Express cards are accepted at very few, if any, hotels/restaurants/shops and so forth" is a bit of hyperbole....and does not accurately describe the situation in Europe toda, at least not the Europe I;ve experienced.

We carry every credit card known to man or woman for that matter and my favorite card in Europe is Diners Club. It is now issued by Citibank and gives exceptional service. You can use it alomost every where in the world and the perks are just as good as Amex Platinum ( black card is what we have ) with diners. I always feel more secure witht hat in France then with Amex. As i find with amex their service is only as good as the person working in their office that day.

I refuse to pay the high fee for Diner's.I have a AMEX blue-no annual fee. I don't want the credit card co. making any $$$ off me.
Might be handy to have an AMEX and a M/C or VISA. Cover all your bases.

One thing to note with Diners Club you can pay your membership fee with acculmulated points, so we have yet to ever actually pay the fee with cash. Unlike Amex Diners gives you a 2 stsement grace period to pay your bill with no interest, so 62 days interest free versus 25 with Amex. Also new customers are given 12,000 bonus points and double points for life.
Also offers same concierge service as Amex etc. The 2 statement grace period is what seperates it from Amex hands down, also a feature many people don't seemt o know about

Delta has a "no annual fee" American Express Card. This is a great deal: You get half the frequent flyer miles than with the regular Delta AMEX card, but the card is free, and its suprising how quickly the miles add up.

This AMEX card is great for mileage, but many places do not accept it (even in the USA), so I have to also always carry a MC or Visa with me. I would never bring the AMEX to Europe. It gets refused often enough in the USA. I do not want to also deal with card refusals in Europe, where AMEX is less accepted than in the USA.

Travelerone: You mentioned AMEX's 1% charge on foriegn transactions. That's actually not bad compared to some VISA and MC's issuers (Citi and Chase most notably) charging 2 to 3%.

You don't have to have one, but I travel with a Platinum and love it. I plan my trips and have PTS book everything for me. I know if I get in trouble in Europe, health (emer. evac) or problem with room reservation, etc. all I do is call AX. While I have never had to call them in an emergency, I have had them book restaurant reservations in Tuscany. The features that kees me paying the annual dues are the departure magazine and the hotel upgrades. I choose hotels where I will be upgraded. I was upgraded at several hotels on my last trip and to a sea view room at Villa D'Este which made up for the yearly fees. I pay for hotels on AX and purchases on VISA. I also take a few checks to cash at AX office for emergencies and use an ATM card for cash.

According to bankrate.com, there is a 1% fee charged by the Visa & Mastercard associations. This fee is hidden in the conversion rate used to convert euros to dollars, for example.
The credit card issuing banks can add from 0% to 2% additional fee. You should check with the issuer to confirm their add-on.
The total fee used by AMEX in the conversion rate is 2%.

Amex is much more expensive. A friend and I went on vacation and charged the same things at the same times ie hotels and meals and my costs were more thatn 1% higher. NEver again!

I have had two incidences in Europe where they would NOT take Visa or Mastercard, but the ONLY card they took was American Express. I know one place was a very upscale restauarant in Stockholm, but I've forgotten where the other one was. I felt at the time that I must be in one of those ads "only takes the American Express card".

>A friend and I went on vacation and charged the same things at the same times ie hotels and meals and my costs were more thatn 1% higher. NEver again!<

On a $5000 trip it cost you an additional $50. Are you sure that this was such a high price to pay for the various benefits that you do get from AMEX?

Ira The las time I used my AMex card in Europe was in January 2002. THe rate on AMex was consitantly .90 or higher onmy MC it ranged from .86 to .88 for the same time period. Same day rates had big swings. So if you spent 5000 Euros it could be a $200 swing. WOuld it be worth it on a big item for better protection I dont know.

I use a Hilton (no fee) Amex blue card in the US for travel. Elsewhere I prefer to use Diners, especially for renting cars (just using it covers you with insurance) and for extended travel benefits. Customer service has always been first rate. We carry our debit card and a Visa as well.