AmEx Offer - Dudded Because They Didn't Accept AmEx

Niko123456 on 26/11/2021 - 12:54

I have a $10 credit if I spend $60 at Amex.

On the Amex website, next to the offer, it says "NEARBY LOCATIONS" and lists the petrol station I went to. On the Amex website. Next to the offer.

Of course, what happened is that after I filled up, they didn't accept Amex. The offer terms says that you're only eligible if they accept Amex.. but WHY is Amex listing a location that doesn't even accept Amex??

Anything else I could have just gone, oh well, cancel that I'll go someplace else, but of course with petrol it was already in my car.

Sucks to be me or not?

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Comments

  • toomuchdogfur on 26/11/2021 - 13:02
    +4

    Was it a branded petrol station? (Ampol, BP, Shell, etc)

    It could be that the brand accepts AMEX, but the station owner is a tightarse and went hurr durr im not paying those transaction fees.

    Good hint would be if there's a handwritten or typed out sheet of A4 paper saying NO AMEX!!!! stuck haphazardly onto a window.

    • meowsers on 26/11/2021 - 13:29
      +1

      Yeah, a good way to figure this out is just to tap and try paying. Sometimes it's configured and they dont know they accept it.

      Alternatively at a restaurant I've had them tell me after the fact that there is a surcharge for Amex, and then expected me to pay the surchage after the fact. I shrugged and said where is the sign?

      I mean not much they could do at that point. Some places program it in to their EFTPOS terminals to automatically apply a a surcharge but they didn't.

      • o53djz7qTPY4der on 26/11/2021 - 14:25
        +1

        Whenever I see "No Amex" signs, I just try. Worst case scenario, it'll decline and I'll use my Visa. Best case, it goes through.

        Only once have I had a staff member complain and say "we don't accept Amex". My response: "Yes you do; you just accepted it".

        • kyle on 26/11/2021 - 21:30

          That's the way to go. There's this Thai cafe in Melbourne cbd that takes amex but has signs everywhere saying no amex.

          • silo on 27/11/2021 - 08:19

            @kyle: The merchant has every right to refuse to accept amex even if they are configured to accept it technically. They're the ones that have to pay the merchant service fee to the card scheme and it is in fact much steeper to accept Amex.

            • kyle on 27/11/2021 - 11:53
              +2

              @silo: Yeah but then they shouldn't be using the free Amex stationery. They can't sign up, have the free stuff and then decide not to accept it

            • [Deactivated] on 23/12/2021 - 15:45
              +1

              @silo: It's actually not "much steeper". For a small business, Amex charges 1.5% which is about on par with what Visa and MasterCard blended rates are with most major merchant service providers (and in fact cheaper than some - Live Eftpos, Tyro, Windcave, and Square charge as much as 1.8-2.2% blended)

  • Niko123456 on 26/11/2021 - 13:04
    +2

    It was a branded Ampol (not a Woolies Caltex).

    Good hint would be if there's a handwritten or typed out sheet of A4 paper saying NO AMEX!!!! stuck haphazardly onto a window.

    Yes, but why would Amex put this on their website?

    • toomuchdogfur on 26/11/2021 - 13:39

      Because the Ampol brand said they accept AMEX.

      But then the owner of the particular station lowkey doesn't want to pay AMEX transaction fees, so they tell their employees not to accept AMEX.

      AMEX themselves would not know this was happening, as of course the station owner isn't going to tell Ampol/AMEX this.

      • Niko123456 on 26/11/2021 - 13:41

        In this case, the terminal refused my Amex, not the employee.

        • eek on 26/11/2021 - 15:53

          I'm guessing the franchisee/owner chose not to pay to accept amex transactions on their eftpos terminal?

        • WookieMonster on 27/11/2021 - 10:07
          +2

          Hello, it’s Mr Prim-and-Proper here again.

          I assumed you were stopped from using your AMEX, because you were told by staff or saw a No AMEX sign. However, let’s take a step back, since you said the terminal returned an error.

          Are you sure the terminal rejected your AMEX card, specifically because it was an AMEX card? Ampol / Caltex is the one merchant where I have tried to use my AMEX and have encountered strange errors every time, even though there have been signs at the location that say they accept AMEX with a 0% surcharge. All the following problems I’ve encountered were at Ampol Retail Pty Ltd or Calstores Pty Ltd (i.e. non-franchise) locations:

          • At one Caltex, I went to use my AMEX via Google Pay, but as soon as I tried to tap my phone on the terminal, it returned a strange error. I tapped a couple more times, but I still got the error. The attendant remarked that Google Pay works for other customers, so they had no idea why it didn’t work for me. I tried again 10 minutes later using my AMEX via Samsung Pay, and it worked fine.

          • At an Ampol a couple of weeks ago, I went to use my AMEX via Samsung Pay, but as soon as I tried to tap my phone on the terminal, it returned another strange error on the terminal. I used contactless on my physical AMEX card and it worked fine.

          • At another Ampol the next day, I went to tap my physical AMEX card, but the terminal did nothing, even after multiple attempts at tapping my card. I inserted the physical card and it worked fine.

          I’ve had no problems using my AMEX card or AMEX via Samsung Pay at other merchants (e.g. Coles, Woolworths), so I find that Ampol / Caltex is very picky for some reason, and that could be the reason you were unable to use your AMEX.

  • herbo on 26/11/2021 - 13:11
    +4

    I had similar during the shop small promotion one year. A business on the Amex list wouldn't accept it when I went to pay. I paid with another card then contacted Amex via online chat, the Amex chat person then manually credited the $10 to my account.

  • jason101 on 26/11/2021 - 13:12
    +1

    I get annoyed by this too. In my experience it was a United that was listed to accept the United membership card, attendant wouldn't honour it on the basis that "the owner changed their mind and wont accept it anymore", I said I would short pay in cash - attendant threatened to call the police….in my case it was so much stress over $1.75 or so, for $10 I probably would have gone into cardiac arrest.

    I'd lodge a complaint on the amex website about the merchant, at the very least they should get a slap from amex.

  • Niko123456 on 26/11/2021 - 13:13
    +5

    OK this was a surprisingly quick resolution (fingers crossed), but the Amex chat person says they've put in a credit request for $10.

  • WookieMonster on 26/11/2021 - 13:15
    +5

    I assuming you are referring to the ongoing Ampol/Caltex AMEX offer. If so, did you read the first dot point of the offer’s terms and conditions?

    Offer valid in-person at Ampol & Caltex locations where American Express is accepted. Prior to refueling your vehicle, you must ensure that the location accepts American Express.

    It sounds like you went to an Ampol/Caltex location owned by a franchisee. Franchisees can basically set their own rules, so if they don’t want to accept AMEX, you’re out of luck.

    I wouldn’t rely on AMEX’s list of nearby locations, as they would have no way of filtering out Ampol/Caltex stations that do not accept AMEX, and Ampol/Caltex probably don’t maintain a database of such locations either.

    Next time, I suggest you call the location to see whether they accept AMEX.

      • dtxau on 26/11/2021 - 13:35
        +4

        OMG imagine being you, not reading the T&Cs and crying about it afterwards

        • Niko123456 on 26/11/2021 - 13:39
          -6

          No, imagine being the guy who goes and logs into the website and then posts it onto this site with all the pretty formatting instead of reading this part of my original post:

          The offer terms says that you're only eligible if they accept Amex..

          Anyway, as I mentioned, having a cry about it afterwards made me $10 so, sucks not to be me I guess.

          • CrowReally on 26/11/2021 - 13:50
            +1

            @Niko123456: $10 seems a rather low price for one's dignity, but you do you.

            • Niko123456 on 26/11/2021 - 13:53
              -4

              @CrowReally: You know your post history is public? You pay the ukelele man and you're talking about dignity.

              • lolz112 on 26/11/2021 - 14:17
                +1

                @Niko123456: Dude just stop. Calling someone out for playing a ukelele? Comeon. You got your money back no need to bite back…

                • Niko123456 on 26/11/2021 - 14:21

                  @lolz112: Just banter I think?

                  Ukelele players are used to it anyway.

      • Member 0230 on 28/11/2021 - 23:16

        I get the sense WookieMonster was trying to be genuinely helpful, so your snarky response was not really called for.

        FYI I didn't neg you.

    • sitdowndisco on 26/11/2021 - 13:25

      You could call, but what if they say they do, but they don’t. Just like the website.

      • WookieMonster on 26/11/2021 - 13:40

        I would get mildly annoyed about it, because I would reasonably expect that the staff at the counter to know whether they accept AMEX.

        If I put fuel in my car, I’d still pay for it, but never go back there again.

  • pharkurnell on 26/11/2021 - 13:16
    +1

    I see plenty of business' that say Amex not accepted- been that way for years.

    • Soluble on 26/11/2021 - 15:20
      -1

      Because they charge the business 3 - 4x what master/visa do!

      • [Deactivated] on 23/12/2021 - 15:47
        -1

        They really don't. For a small business, it's 1.5%. Most banks charge a very similar amount. The days of 3% and up are long gone.

        • Soluble on 23/12/2021 - 17:32
          -1

          They really do… 1.5% is literally 3.25x what I pay for visa and Mastercard.

          Thanks for the neg by the way, I assume you run a business and know the exact surcharges?

          • [Deactivated] on 23/12/2021 - 17:38
            -1

            @Soluble: You're paying 0.5%? That's highly unlikely given that would barely cover the interchange for most cards, let alone the acquirer's margin. No small business has the bargaining power to obtain a rate that low, that's strategic merchant level.

            • Soluble on 23/12/2021 - 17:39
              -1

              @[Deactivated]: .358% actually and I can chuck a photo up just for you to stop negging me. Been on it for over a year.

              • [Deactivated] on 23/12/2021 - 17:40
                -1

                @Soluble: 0.358% blended? Yeah, not believing that. That has absolutely no margin for the acquirer.

                • Soluble on 23/12/2021 - 17:41
                  -1

                  @[Deactivated]: Yes .358. Pm me your email address, get a photo of my last statement and remove my negs. Also get a cashout rebate.

  • SmiTTy on 26/11/2021 - 13:42

    Used to happen to me quite a few a times. Only thing u can do really is feed back to amex so they can remove it from their list

  • Transient on 26/11/2021 - 13:53

    Has happened to me before. So now I double check that they take Amex. Sometimes the map has not been updated for awhile.

  • Drakesy on 26/11/2021 - 14:05
    +1

    It is a bit dodgy to put a blanket offer in exclusive of the location accepting Amex or not, i mean who really goes in to check prior to filling up.

    • Soluble on 26/11/2021 - 15:20

      Usually has at the pump or on the doors what they accept I've found.

  • TheMindsetTraveller on 26/11/2021 - 14:13
    +2

    If it is listed on the website, but the shop does not accept it, I would raise an online complaint on the Amex website and explain what happened. Amex is generally quite good and will award you the points etc in that instance.

  • eek on 26/11/2021 - 15:53

    Had a few Small Shop locations on the website not accept amex, even though they have small shop stickers on the counter and on the floor, entrance window etc. Terminal didn't accept card either.

  • Tee Rex Arms on 26/11/2021 - 18:32
    -3

    Amex…lol

  • OzHunterNSW on 27/11/2021 - 14:01
    -2

    you spend $60, to get $10…. does that sound normal, to you?

  • blueyez on 03/12/2021 - 17:47

    I've been screwed over by something similar during shop small. Literally told the store owner I can't pay unless they take Amex. What an awkward situation they put me in when Amex didn't work!

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