From: THAHARA@YaleVM.YCC.Yale.Edu
Subject: Re: DON'T DO BUSINESS WITH AMERICAN "EXPRESS" (Re: AMEX coupons???)
Organization: Yale University
Date: Fri, 10 Apr 92 20:14:44 EDT

In article <1992Apr10.171505.11128@midway.uchicago.edu>
gjw1@ellis.uchicago.edu (Gregory J. Watson) writes:
 
>	I disagree about AMEX.  I have been very pleased with AMEX,
>and have not had any problems with them.  I do not believe that Amex
>treats their student members (like me) any differently than of any
>other members.
>
>	Whenever I have had a need to call Amex, I have been able to
>just call the customer service on the back of the card and talk to a
>person who has always been able to help me.
 
That is usually true of most of the better visa/master cards also.
 
>	Since this is rec.travel.air and not something related to
>consumers, I'll relate a story about them which is one of the reasons
>why I am renewing my Amex card.
>
>	I was one of those people affected by the closure of Midway
>Airlines.  I had used the first half of the ticket to come out here to
>Chicago, and I had the return trip to go back to Washington.  [Midway
>unfortunately shut down in November, a sad day here in Chicago.]  The
>ticket had been purchased using the Card.  So, I call Amex to ask what
>I should do (i.e. get a refund, try to transfer it to another airline,
>etc.)  The first person I talked to answered all of the questions I
>had, without any run around.  The answer was that I should 1) see if
>any of the other airlines would honor the ticket (the ticket had been
>bought with a student discount so other airlines might be more
>hesitant to honor it); if that didn't work 2) call Amex back and THEY
>would see if they could get another airline to honor it, and if that
>didn't work, then 3) Amex would refund the unused portion of the
>ticket (so I wouldn't be a creditor of Midway).
>
(del)
>honor the ticket, so I didn't have to go to the next steps.  Amex gave
>a perfectly reasonable response.  I had not been expecting to hear
>possibility number 2), but I also thought that it was reasonable for
>me to check first.  The competant response, and also how helpful they
>were, is why I use them.
>
>	It is possible that one of my other credit cards would have
>done the same thing, but it would be a bit of a crap shoot figuring
>out which ones would go to that length.
 
It is not just possible, it is most probable that any credit card issuer with a
24 hour customer service number would have been able to give you the
assurance that the money would be refunded for the unused portion.  Also,
I bet the customer service center knew that most other airlines were
honoring the Midway tickets.  That has been a common policy in cases of
recent bankruptcies. (Gurus correct me if I'm wrong).
 
I have two plain visa cards, one visa gold, and one master card, NONE of which
charge ANY annual fee.  The best one I think,is the AT&T Universal card, which
will not charge an annual fee for life.  Their service is excellent, and I
never feel a need for an Amex card.  IMO, the Amex card is a rip off.  It is a
relic of the outrageous eighties when insecure yuppies and yuppy-hopefuls
wanted to carry status symbols like it.  If you look at the cold facts, Amex
cards have no real advantages over other credit cards for most of the people.
It is possible that for certain people who have unique situations, or who
frequently travel to certain foreign countries, the Amex cards are beneficial.
But not so for the overwhelming number of people who would be better off
cutting those green plastic cards in half and saving fifty green pieces of
paper every year!
 
Harsh Thaker
Newsgroups: rec.travel.air