American Express's main direct credit card competitors are Mastercard, Visa, and Discover. While Mastercard and Visa have a different business model than American Express, they all compete in the credit card space. Financial institutions that issue credit cards also compete with American Express for consumer business.
American Express competitors include Mastercard, Discover, Visa, Capital One and PayPal. American Express ranks 3rd in Customer Net Promoter Score on Comparably vs its competitors.
Similarly, while many card issuers offer credit cards to people of all credit levels, American Express only accepts applicants that have good or excellent credit scores. Also unlike most major credit card companies, Amex issues charge cards, which must be paid in full each month.
American Express is one of the leading card issuers in the United States. It's known for its top-notch customer service and some of the best rewards available. From ultra-elite business travel cards to everyday rewards, American Express has credit cards that are a good choice for many different types of cardholders.
American Express does issue its cards directly. This difference plays a role in their product offerings and fees. Another key difference is that Amex cards are generally geared towards people with higher credit scores and incomes while Mastercard offers cards at all levels include student and credit builder cards.
Yes, the American Express Platinum card is a luxury card, as it offers hundreds of dollars per year in statement credits for various purchases and a bonus offer of 80,000 points for spending $6,000 in the first 6 months. The card also gives luxury benefits like airport lounge access and gold status at certain hotels.
Winner: Visa
More merchants accept Visa than American Express. In fact, Visa is one of the most accepted payment networks in the world. American Express is accepted by 99% of the merchants that accept credit cards, but it's still not as widely accepted as Visa.
Things That Make Amex Cards Special
Amex allows other banks and credit unions to issue cards on the Amex network as well. The cards often have rewards. American Express is known for having a large selection of rewards cards, from travel to cash back to cards that are co-branded with merchants.
The different fees often make or break a deal for a merchant. This is why many merchants, especially small businesses, don't accept American Express. American Express' interchange fee is just too high. Providers like Visa and Mastercard charge between 1.15% and 2.5%, while Amex charges merchants between 1.43% and 3.3%.
Places Where American Express is Not Accepted: Cuba, Sudan, South Sudan, Iran, Syria. Major Retailers That Accept American Express: Amazon, IKEA, Sears, Target, Walmart, Lowe's, Apple, Best Buy, Staples, CVS. Major Retailers That Don't Accept American Express: Costco, small non-chain stores/restaurants.
American Express has a “spend-centric” business model that makes money primarily by driving spending on its cards and secondarily through finance charges and fees.
Competitive Analysis
Additionally, Amex boasts the lowest charge off rates and the best credit in the industry due to the premium nature of their customers. On top of that, American Express customers spend 5x as much per account compared to the industry account average.
“According to an American Express representative, 99% of U.S. merchants who accept credit cards also now accept AmEx.”
The four major credit card networks are American Express, Discover, Mastercard and Visa.
Most people are familiar with the four major card networks — Mastercard, Visa, Discover, and American Express.
State Bank of India (SBI) Cards
The State Bank of India (SBI) is one of the largest public sector banks of India which issues cards and other payment services under SBI Card.
In a series of moves last year, the Reserve Bank of India indefinitely barred Mastercard, American Express and Diners Club from issuing new debit, credit or prepaid cards to customers over noncompliance with local data storage rules (PDF).
Amex is not accepted everywhere in India because American Express imposes a slightly higher interchange fee on transactions than most of its major competitors. However, Amex has reported that over 523,000 merchants across India joined the network in 2021.
View and manage your account anywhere in the world by using your Online Card Account, or the American Express App. Your American Express Card offers the additional benefit of contactless payments; a secure and smart way to pay for all purchases below INR 5,000.
Disadvantages of AmEx cards
Since they do not rely on financial companies, such as Rupay, Mastercard or Visa, and have their own payment network, they charge additional fees on the transactions. This is one of the primary reasons, small businesses generally do not accept these cards.
The target audience of American Express (Amex) is typically affluent individuals and businesses. It is known for its high-end credit cards and premium travel services geared towards individuals and companies with high incomes and excellent credit scores.
The result was that a new company called the American Railway Express Agency formed in July 1918.
The Platinum Card® from American Express is another popular luxury card worth considering. Paying the card's $695 annual fee is worth it for high-spending frequent travelers who earn its initial bonus (80,000 points for spending $6,000 in the first 6 months) and take advantage of its assorted benefits.
Amazon Pay accepts credit and debit cards. Credit cards currently accepted include Visa, Mastercard, Discover, American Express, Diners Club, and JCB. The Amazon.com store card is available for use with selected merchants.