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Comment by softbuilder | Hacker News Reader

I don't know what the perception is today, but Amex used to be known for outstanding (like, truly outstanding) customer service. I had a regular Amex and then a gold in the mid 2000s and I found that was no longer the case. They also used to stand apart from other credit cards, much more like old-school bankers used to be. When I was using them they started to act more and more like regular credit card companies. There was also an ownership change at some point iirc. I think they just lost their way, and along with it their differentiating value.

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I've had nothing but outstanding experiences with American Express customer service, even in the past few years. Miles ahead of what I've experienced with Chase and other issuers.

I don't doubt it. They always treated me well on the phone, but when I needed them to actually fix a problem they fell on their face and thew up their hands like they were powerless. I ended up having to solve it myself which blew the whole point of using them. I may be an outlier.

Amex CS has gotten a lot weaker in the past few years; it got moved overseas.

Closing the actual physical Amex offices also was a big step down (I've been a member since 97).

I would not want to bet on Amex at this point -- losing Costco, competition from Chase, and now Citi pushing to expand their own cards.

I'm surprised there hasn't been a lower-merchant-fees challenger now that everyone has a mobile phone; you could probably do something which presents at POSes as a credit card, handles a bunch of auth back through the customer's own mobile phone connection (but encrypted/authenticated), presenting a time of use credential which is matched by the POS while appearing as a regular credit card. Building something like that which costs the merchant <1%, and maybe which provides customers with a lot more purchasing/receipt info (for company purchasing cards).

You mean like Apple Pay or Samsung Pay? I don't think those have been all that successful.

There has been no actual benefit to consumers to use Apple Pay.

If Goldman Sachs (or Apple) offered a 5% return to purchases using Apply Pay, I'd use it.

If I could give out purchasing "cards" to all my team which relied on Apple Pay but brought back realtime stats, that'd be a win too (especially if it did things like track capital purchases, warranties, management, etc.)

I think something has changed. I had to do a chargeback recently for a $5 cab ride for which I was charged over $50. In previous years something this small would have been dealt with immediately. Now, I had to speak with someone on the phone and it did not hit final resolution for a few weeks.

It was still an okay experience but not what it used to be.

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