I love my AMEX

Ever since I got my Costco TrueEarnings American Express my credit worthiness has climed up. What’s best with this card is all the perks and cash back. I already had costco membership so my AMEX doesn’t cost me anything extra on the contrary it pays for my costco membership and I get discounts and a nice cash back bonus in February.

I’ve paired my card with my Facebook and Foursquare accounts so I get all sorts of deals on restaurants and other activities that I would already doing. When ever I go anywhere to eat I checkin in Foursqare and my times get $10 to $25 refunded to my account when I pay with my AMEX. I also check Facebook for any interesting deals and load them to my card just incase I happen to use them. That’s a nice added bonus to the cash back I get on all my purchases and I pay everything with my AMEX card. I don’t do that just for the cash back but also for the extended warranty and purchase protection I get on things I buy. You also get travel accident insurance, car rental loss and damage insurance just to name few things.

Amex also differs to other credit cards that you are a member and not just a customer. If you ever have to dispute a charge they are on your side and not the merchants side. There’s a lot of horror stories where you get charged a recurring fee and there’s no way for you to get rid of. Some banks like Chase will go to the extreme of allowing the merchant to charge you even after you close the credit card. Check out Michael Arringtons post: My Evil Undead Credit Card.

Amex also allows you to increase your credit limit once every 6 months and it’s totally automated system. Just call the customer service number and select you want to increase your credit. I’ve been able to double it every time so now I have a credit limit that finally is starting to fit my income and monthly spending. To compare my Capital One card is still after 2 years stuck at $400 and they denied my last credit limit increase even though I have six figures yearly salary and credit score 730+. I would close that card if it didn’t hurt my credit score but since it’s my oldest card I can’t do it.

My only negative thing to say about this card is the foreign transaction fees. Without those this card would definately get A+ rating now it’s just A-. For foreign transactions which I do have some monthly recurring charges I use my Charles Schwab Debit card.