[Roman_War_Criminal]

I’ve noticed A LOT of places that used to accept AMEX don’t anymore.

I know a business owner who can’t stand them and refuses to do business with them. Guess they pulled the same trick on Costco as they did him.

[Allen In Texas Hill Country]

On the other hand in the little town I live in many small stores now do accept AEX. They didn’t when I first moved here in ‘06.

[justlurking]

I know a business owner who can’t stand them and refuses to do business with them.

It comes down to a couple of issues:

1. American Express charges a higher merchant fee. The difference depends on your agreement with your processor, but it can be significant.

2. American Express is more likely to side with the cardholder in a dispute. Your friend may have experienced this, and feels like he was wronged. Note that I'm not saying it was his fault -- just that Amex decided against him.

To explain the latter point, I had Amex decide in my favor when I don't think any other card issuer would have done so. I had pre-paid for a year of service from an ISP, with the promise they would refund the unused portion if I cancelled.

The ISP was bought up by another one with abysmal service. After I was off-line for nearly a week because THEY screwed up, I switched to another ISP and cancelled. They refused to refund the unused portion, claiming their policy was no refund -- regardless of the acquired ISP's policy.

I told them upfront that I was going to dispute it, because I knew that repeated chargebacks will actually INCREASE their merchant fee (because they are considered a higher risk). But, they didn't care.

I filed the dispute with Amex, explaining the above. Amex sided with me because the ISP couldn't produce a signed contract/agreement that confirmed my acceptance of their no-refund policy.

[JimRed]

I’ve noticed A LOT of places that used to accept AMEX don’t anymore.

Simple fix. They don't take my card, I don't buy their stuff.