This is actually a misconception.
Amex has been competitive with Visa/Master for the past couple years, but haven't been able to shake off the stigma that the processing fees are more expensive, since it is up to the actual business to accept Amex.
> But in 2018, Mastercard and Visa credit had a swipe fee weighted average of 2.26%, while AmEx had 2.3%, additional data from The Nilson Report found. [0]
[0] https://www.retaildive.com/news/american-express-catches-up-...
In the past Amex has been prohibitively expensive to accept, and relied on their status as a luxury brand to get people to accept them. I think the playing field is starting to reach an equilibrium across payment network providers.
They give you a lot of value back compared to other cards I've tried in Europe. I don't know it's something as flippant as 'luxurious image' - people use them because when they are accepted and you're buying something expensive like corporate flights and hotels, you can earn an a significant amount of value back. I flew transatlantic first-class a few times completely free on my AmEx. My Visas give me so little I don't even bother checking what the current total is.
It's free money to you (the actual cost is amortised across all consumers and it's there if you use you card or not) so might as well take as much as they'll give you.
Merchants don't accept them because of their high merchant fees, but AmEx don't have high merchant fees for some flippant reason like to create a 'luxurious image' - they do it to create value for their card holders.
It’s also arguably regressive, since the beneficiaries of those rewards tend to be overwhelmingly rich, while the inflated prices are paid for by everybody else.
Traditional cash back cards are arguably less regressive since it isn’t just the wealthy that have cash back cards. In theory, a broader set of people are beneficiaries of a system that a broad set of consumers pay into via higher prices.
AmEx cards OTOH are expensive enough to process that there still exists a broad set of merchants who refuse to process them. For those that do process them, it’s harder to say to what degree the costs are passed on to all buyers. And unlike cashback cards, Amex rewards beneficiaries heavily skew rich.
I understand that this works but I think it is a form of corruption. Buying your customers loyalty rsp spending...
From the perspective in NL, with its ubiquitous PIN and iDeal system ( online PIN ), it seems like a totally unnecessary tax on economic transactions. The rates are not comparable ( a couple to maybe 20 cents per transaction ).
Right I get that with my (European) AmEx almost all the time... plus free (amortised) first-class flights. Why would a rational person turn that down?
I already need to carry a backup card for emergencies so it’s no extra burden.
If I had a physical shop, I would probably decline AmEx purchases. In the shops which do accept them, expect them to hate you for it.
I happen to travel very little and know almost all shopkeepers who I buy groceries from / shop with ( including at my supermarket ).
I get more value from being loved.
edit: Now I think about it, a history with severe inflation might have to do something with the EU attitude too.
Personally I do not like the hyper-individualist, credit-laden neoliberal economic system which is slowly creeping into the EU. Targetting the individual with ever more convenience and more-for-less.
Finally, cash is untraceable and therefore of vital importance to me and free societies.
As in, the same distribution of restaurants accept them, or more obviously the same distribution of places that told me they didn't accept it.
Its not a quantitative analysis, but one user experience. I am aware AMEX did a big push for more acceptance, my point is that I think it worked, and public perception is just lagging behind.
Now that Chase offers an equivalent high annual fee, high rewards luxury card as Amex but it's on the Visa network, I don't see why anyone still uses Amex.