Inability to buy supplies

[Sawdust King]

Boss decided he liked my work and gave me a gift card. Great me thinks. I can get some blades, a couple patterns, maybe a back issue CD or two. Every where I go I get the same result. 'Sorry, we don't take American Express." ARRGHH.

For the record this was observed here, Mikes Workshop and scrolleronline.

Sigh.

[gfleenor]

You will find that a lot of stores don't tak AMEX because their fees are higher than Visa and Mastercard. They want to be a premium card and charge a premium price.
Gary

[DukeNukem]

And they say never leave home without it, or try to buy anything from home with it sorry.Jerry

[NC Scroller]

AMEX charges merchants higher fees and takes longer to pay the merchants. A double reason. It does not pay for the little guys to even mess around.

[Keith Fenton]

AMEX charges merchants higher fees and takes longer to pay the merchants. A double reason. It does not pay for the little guys to even mess around.

And on top of that, I believe it's an extra monthly charge for merchants for a card that not a lot of people use.

Creative Woodworks and Crafts magazine accepts American Express. You could subscribe or buy some of the patterns they sell on their website. Creative Woodworks & Crafts Pattern Collection

I hope I don't get in trouble linking to the competition. I just figured it would be ok since they are the only place I could find that accepts that credit card.

[Wood Dog]

Go to CVS or someplace where they sell those pre paid cards, see if they will take your American Express to buy a pre paid Visa or MasterCard for the same value.......you will have to pay a small fee to initialize the card, but it would be a work around for ya.

[JimSawyer]

Well thems thinkin' for ya...
Good idea WD....

[Janette]

I don't take American Express of Discover because of the excessive fees. On a similar note - something I discovered recently and now watch for. At shows - if you have to run the card off line then authorize later - it's best not to ever accept gift cards period. You have no way of knowing how much, if anything is left on the card. Also note when using your card - if you try to buy something and even if you're one cent over - the card will decline - so make sure you don't go over the limit of the card. Too bad he just didn't give you cash- it would have been much simpler.

[3_M]

I belong to the SD Retail association. They have a contract with Element payment service and that company does not take AMEX.
It has to do with a higher fee.
FD Mike

[Sawdust King]

I believe AmEx charges 4% while VISA/MC charge 3%. I understand the reasoning why businesses don't and accept it. But that doesn't need to stop me from venting frustration. I can appreciate the small business owners who end up taking the loss of revenue due to the merchant fee. I've know a couple shops that offered that 3% discount if paid in cash. I might try the gift card to purchase gift card that WD mentioned above.

[NC Scroller]

Plan B could be to take the wife or girl friend (not both at the same time) to a nice restaurant for dinner. Call it date night. The points should be priceless.