Amex Corporate (American Express)

Member Name: fashionplate

Product:	American Express
Date:	12/03/04 (2218 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Nice statements

Disadvantages: easy to get into debt

First of all, I admit I'm totally against credit cards, as I suffer from over-spending at the best of times.

So the reason I briefly owned an Amex is that I got a job with a corporation for a few months; they were closing most of their call centres in Europe, so I had to travel to them to learn more about the job. By the way, believe me, business travel is REALLY boring...All it involved was overtime, stays in anonymous hotels in the periphery of cities, with no where to go out at night. The one good thing was the paid expenses, meaning lots of good food..That's where the Amex comes in: I was given a shiny corporate Amex for my expenses.
This I was allowed to use for my own expenses as well, provided I paid the bill each month.

I will mostly comment about the card and customer service, as my circumstances meant I didn't worry about APR and all that.

The card is an addictive light mint green , a deceptively soothing shade

I admit to feeling rather proud of owning a corporate Amex, while another part of me knew it spelt vulgarity and ostentation, especially as I am not at all weatlthy...

.As previous reviewers say, many shops still don't accept American Express. ( As my only other card was a Solo, it meant I had to walk out of the shop to get cash, most of the time being too lazy to do so)

However, in the shops and restaurants that did welcome it, I seriously went to town. It became impossible to resist the tiniest urge to buy things. Good wine, perfume, outings, clothes...By the time my pay packet reached my account each month, I already owed hundreds of pounds of the horrible Amex.

I know this has not much to do with Amex personnally, but I wouldn't advise anyone to apply for a credit card. It isn't worth it and is not enjoyable to spend money you don't have.
In fact yes, I do feel the fact it was Amex pushed me to take it out more often-even to pay for kebabs for me
and my brother! Just for the hell of it...

One thing I loved with Amex were the statements. They come on a lovely thickish and soft paper, not unlike a payslip in shape.
The layout appears amazingly clear, with every store marked in detail.

Lastly, I can also comment on the American Express debt collecting technique...I only owed about £30.00 when I left the company, and it was two weeks before I got a letter-not threatening, just polite, asking me to pay off my account.
A month after that, I got a message on my voicemail, a young woman whose tone of voice showed she'd been leaving many such messages all day and was not personnally wound up about my debt.
Accordingly, I didn't call back. About two weeks after that, a new message from a flegmatic young man. I phoned, vaguely promised a cheque was on its way, which made him happy. I didn't send the cheque for another two weeks, and got another mild voicemail.
I thought this was extremely pleasant debt collecting, especially coming from such a powerful corporation...

Summary: