How much do you pay amex for your discount rate?

[ecommerceprofit]

We pay 3.5%. Amex claims that for MOTO/Internet merchants, restaurants, etc. the rate does not go down until you process 500K/year with them. Does anyone know if this is true? How much does everyone else pay? We have been with Amex for 7 years and the rate has never changed even though our volume keeps rising.

[Essex_boy]

I dont use AMex online however I have used them in a reail outlet.

3.5% is a good deal I think I paid nearer to 5%.

[ecommerceprofit]

5% is way too high. I think 3.5% is too high - I may just drop them

[Rugles]

Yes, amex is a rip-off. I have no idea how they get away with it. You have to figure that your typical amex cardholder also has other cards. So I do not believe it is very detrimental to not offer amex as a payment option.

[derekwong28]

3.5% is not too high considering that as a cardholder, I get up to 2% cash rebate for every purchase. Of course, I am also secure in the knowledge that I can easily chargeback against any merchant.

[ytswy]

I'm very much with the don't take AmEx unless you have to viewpoint. Certainly in my sector everyone who wants to use AmEx has another card to pull out if you say no, so there is no incentive at all to take it. Hopefully one day they'll either get the message or go out of business.

[CernyM]

My data is that Amex purchasers spend more and return less than VISA/MC purchasers.

They may very well have other cards, but going on the assumption that they use Amex because they want to, carrying the card is cost effective to me.

[Rugles]

>>or go out of business

Don't hold your breath. That company is very profitable. The cardholders consider it a status symbol to have one. If you use it in a bar it impresses young woman. So it will never go away.
In certain industries it is an absolute must to accept it. I am thinking of fine dining, hotels and high end merchants.

[mcguffin]

A lot of companies use AMEX as their corporate expense card.

So, if you have B2B sales and don't want to go through hassle of sending an invoice to their AP department and waiting for payment, it's often easier to let people pay via their corporate AMEX.

The purchaser gets the product (or service) they want, the merchant gets the money, and the purchaser has the joy of filling out the expense report and waiting for reimbursement.

For smaller purchases, we actually save money by collecting payment through AMEX. It's far less expensive than producing a physical invoice for each small purchase.

[phantombookman]

I pay 2.69% and no monthly fees etc.
I am in the UK if that means anything

The rates mentioned above do seem high
Regards
Rod

[digitalv]

Since Amex merchant accounts are with American Express directly, there are no middle-men marking up the percentage. Different people will pay different percentages with Amex because it's based on the following criteria ordered by priority.

- Your personal credit score
- Your personal credit score & D&B rating if in business for more than two years
- Percentage of Chargeback requests(regardless of whether you or the cardholder won the dispute)
- Your transaction volume

A person with a great credit score, established business, little to no charge-back requests, and a 100k+ transaction volume will get a better rate than everyone else.

Also keep in mind that transaction volume when referring to Amex means the transaction volume that goes THROUGH Amex, not your total transaction volume. You might be processing $100,000 a month in credit cards but if only $10,000 of that is American Express then your rate is based on a $10k transaction volume, not 100k.

[ecommerceprofit]

The good thing about Amex is I get 1.5% back on my purchases. Each year, I go to the local Costco where the card was issued to me - Costco then gives me cash back (strange because they won't issue me a check). Anyway, once a year I go up there and get 4K back - this year it will be more like 8K - the manager does not know what to do - they have to scramble to come up with that much cash. Amex rips off the merchants big time but at least I get them on the other end :-)

[ecommerceprofit]

When a merchant does 20K in volume, 50K in volume, 80K in volume, 100K in volume does anyone have any figures of what they charge for this volume. These numbers will help us all re-negotiate. Sharing info. helps us all

[digitalv]

When a merchant does 20K in volume, 50K in volume, 80K in volume, 100K in volume does anyone have any figures of what they charge for this volume. These numbers will help us all re-negotiate

Again, your personal credit score is the most important factor in your discount rate - as well as all of the other factors I mentioned. Transaction volume is the least important factor. But don't tell them you know that - just negotiate as best as you can anyway. Having information about what other merchants are paying doesn't mean that you will qualify for that rate.

[ecommerceprofit]

Interesting...my credit score is in the high 700s - this does not make sense because mine is so high...but I'll try your advice!

[Compworld]

I pay about 3.15$ plus .25 per transaction. Accepting the AMEX has increased our sales overall approx. 32%. Plus, people who have an American Express card usually are able to spend more than someone with a Visa or MasterCard. I for one, love my AMEX card. I use it more often than any of my Visa or MasterCards. I usually only use the Visa or MasterCard on purchases that I do not want to pay off at the end of the statement period; as AMEX makes you pay in full each month. The rewards are great, the status is great, and the service is great. Most merchants and partners that we deal with also accept the AMEX cards. I wouldn't get rid of it so fast. Just switch your provider. The one that I use gives me access to Visa, MasterCard, Discover, AMEX, Mastro, Carde Blance, and DinersClub. If you want, I can sticky you the merchant provider that we use.

CompWorld

[Essex_boy]

Thats intersting Compworld:

I have an Amex blue card and I really dont see any diffrence between them and say Barclaycard and MBNA both of which are Platinum.

each to their own.

The only thing I will say is that I get called Sir when I use the AMex.

[Compworld]

LOL. Yes, I agree, they also treat you better when you call their customer service. :) I am mainly talking about the charge card, not the credit card.

CompWorld