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Comment by tristor | Hacker News Reader

I've got both cards and have traveled all over the world with them. I'm not giving up my Amex ever. They've saved my ass in big and small ways so many times and I just don't trust Chase to do the same.

I do love the way the CSR looks and feels though, and it's essential to have a Visa or MasterCard when traveling as so many places only accept those two.

Chase is doing great, I will keep both for the foreseeable future. It's going to take time to completely steal me from Amex though, they've been doing right by me for more than 10 years.

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This reminds me of my friends who met an elderly retired couple on a cruise. They were Amex black card holders, and said that the biggest reason they carried it was that if something happened to them medically (the husband was a retired physician to boot), Amex would come through and get them to the best hospital in whatever part of the world they'd be in.

That kind of support and service can be a huge difference maker to people who have experienced or can perceive such niche cases.

Super interesting, sure, but the Centurion card ("black card") is much more elite - minimum spend, $7,500 just to get the card, etc. Great offering from Amex but a different league than the middle class cards like Chase Sapphire, Amex Platinum, etc.

They absolutely will. I have more than one service I can lean on for finding the doctor and getting help translating. Only Amex does all that and will also convince the hospital to accept my card as payment security instead of me needing to bring 20x the cost of service in cash as a deposit. I've visited hospitals in several countries for different reasons, and Amex has consistently been there for me.

In Thailand I can't seem to use my Amex card to get money from ATM's, but my MasterCard works fine.

Isn't it generally best get get money from an ATM using a debit card? (Money withdrawal being charged as an immediate cash advance with a high interest rate)

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