American Express Reviews 67

Would not recommend. The only reason I have a bank account with AMEX is because of the miles. However there are far better creditcard companies out there to sign up with. For starters, half the businesses don't accept AMEX because the fees are so high. However most businesses accept Mastercard and VISA without issues. AMEX lives in the year 2000 where payments still take a minimum of 3 days to process. Which means that if you make a payment towards your account, you have to sometimes plan it 5-6 days in advance because of the weekend in between. Other creditcards have a payment function on their app or website where the payment immediately is received. On top of that your balance is not counted per month. So if you've exceeded a certain amount for one month, the next month starts, you make a payment towards your account, for the next 3 days you will be unable to use your account for reaching the limit in the previous month. Meanwhile they are still taking days to process your payment. It's crazy how other creditcard companies have much better technology and AMEX is stuck in time.

Absolutely atrocious. For a 'premium' product, the service is nonexistent. Enrolling in benefits has now taken over four months due to internal errors. Instead of a quick fix, I was subjected to lengthy 'investigations' while being unable to use the features I was paying for.

The benefits are nearly worthless in practice. Lounges are perpetually at capacity, and international cardholders are relegated to separate waitlists in the U.S. The customer service is robotic and powerless to resolve issues. It’s clear Amex NL prioritizes aggressive new customer acquisition over retaining their existing base.

Absolutely disgraceful service.
In the middle of my holiday they stopped all of my cards after being a member for many years. I obviously thought that it must be a mistake so I called the Amsterdam office and was told it wasn't a mistake and my cards were blocked. I have never missed a payment ever and use my cards a lot when travelling, so I'm totally clueless what possible infringement I have done. When I asked for a reason they said that they couldn't discuss it on the phone and would write to me. Then the very officious lady was even rude to me, it's not often that I'm lost for words but even I was shocked. Totally unfriendly and unprofessional and they wouldn't know customer service if it was shoved in their face. Now I'm a disabled person on holiday with my Amex cards blocked and had to get money wired to me.

Waardeloos . De klantenservice stuurt je van het kastje naar de muur met allerlei onzin verhalen en smoesjes . Ik raad ze niet aan .

Worthless. Customer service sends you from pillar to post with all sorts of nonsense and excuses. I don't recommend them.

Customer Service is fast to answer in chat, i’ll give them that.

HOWEVER, they are completely incompetent.

I’ve had this agent literally tell me that a charge on my invoice, which i’ve paid for - isn’t really a charge.

I’ve calculated the total amount about 15 times manually to be absolutely sure before I waste hours with their support. I’m sure of my matter.

It’s absolutely astonishing how incompetent their agents are, and when you’ve been wrongfully debited they do nothing at all to help you.

Will stop using AMEX and find another credit card provider. From a luxury service to absolute trash.

The decline of a brand - shame.

I live in Amsterdam and I downloaded the app. There is no english version for the Netherlands, considering a huge amount of people living in Amsterdam are not dutch and don't speak dutch, it would be nice to have a english version. I suggested to them via app message, and they said they will not implement that.

No way to expedite a new application. 10 working days. The ID upload broke. I guess you can keep your card.

America express never helps you when a merchant posts fraudulent transactions. They can't even tell you who the merchant is. They just ask more and more evidence, only to conclude that it's all just a matter of taste or confusion or human error in your part. Merchants can get away with anything.

Scam promotion and worst customer service ever.

They had a promotion on their platinum card to receive extra pints. I submit my application a month before the promotion end date, but never received a response.

Their answer is to submit a new application, they refuse to give an answer why my previous application was not approved and of course the promotion no longer applies… this is a pure scam

Waiting for a close trip to end my membership with platinum.

- The extra card was free, now comes with an extra fee.
- The Privium Service at the airport is not useless if you don’t hold an EU passport, same for the lounge. They don’t even bother making arrangements for the lounge.
-The Dinner benefits was extra nice to use in NL and abroad when travelling, now upon invitation (😂) and from Jan to March you are paying without having access to the service or know the terms of it.
- Purchase protection used to be good but if the Company can prove that they send the item and it shows as delivered, there is no way you can prove that is not in your hands.

Seriously bad, and customer service team doesn’t know how to talk to people.

When I read the previous reviews, sounds familiar.
Customer for approx 8 years with a gold card
A few weeks ago, got a reimbursement and it took 3 weeks or so to get the money back to my account, under the pretence of administration paperwork, they were just waiting to make sure I would not make any operation so that they could settle the reimbursement against, finally money got back
Last episode is that they illegally back dated a purchase I made to be able to include it in the current statement, I always paid without any issue so very irregular, raised the complaint to their claim dpt and answer within 5 working days, working day 6 and nothing. Their customer service even went to the extend to pretend that it was the vendor that modified the date of the purchase, then when shared the confirmation provided by the vendor, they came then with the time zone excuse: purchase done in NL at 8:00 to a website in UK so at best 1 hour still not making the purchase fall the day before.
Just downgraded my card and will give a thought about cancelling it

After 27 years as a loyal Amex NL customer with a “significant” spending profile and multiple cards, I found myself dedicating around 5 hours just to get a replacement card before mine expired. Twice, they sent cards that never arrived. When one finally did, they canceled it? To make matters worse, a new card would take another 5 days to deliver.

Me: “If you offer the card for free next year as compensation for the unnecessary time I’ve wasted, I’ll stay.” Their response? A clear, unapologetic “No, we don’t do that.”

Their idea of compensation? Offering to expedite delivery with DHL for FREE—reducing delivery time from 5 days to 4. How generous!

Even after speaking to a manager, I was told, “We value you as a customer, but you’re not worth €70.”

They should just have compensated me for their mistakes and I would remain a good and loyal customer.

Amex has shifted from being a customer-friendly innovator to a bloated enterprise where no one seems to care and nobody has the power to do what’s right.

I don't like to write bad reviews. But in this case it's a public service.

Their people are incompetent and badly trained. Though sweetly polite, they cannot solve a problem. They throw the customer back and forth from "credit" to "customer service" and back to "credit" again.

They keep bankers' hours, Monday to Friday only, closing at 5 pm, and are unreachable when you need them.

Their computer systems are shabby. Do not make the mistake of clicking the "upgrade" button on their website. It will make your life a misery.

When I upgraded after 20 years from Gold to Platinum, they told me that my old Gold card was cancelled and any charges on that card would automatically transfer to the new card. Completely wrong information. Two months later, without notice or warning, they blocked the new Platinum card because a few charges for newspaper subscriptions totalling EUR 68 had erroneously accumulated on the old card. No invoice. No warning. After 20 years holding a card, with NEVER a late payment, they just blocked me while I was travelling and demanded immediate payment for EUR 68 in charges they had never invoiced. Just as I was checking out of a hotel. Very embarrassing.

Hopeless amateurs! These are children pretending to run a grownup company.

Honestly, Amex in NL has no idea of what they are doing. Amex International should take away their franchise. It only disappoints.

Are you sure you are AMEX? How does this company survive in this country? The customer service is horrible. The woman I spoke to today was the epitome of carelessness. They have one job, and they don't want to do it. They tricked me in to upgrading with hidden terms and conditions and made me waste a lot of my time.

No Option to transfer AMEX points to Emirates (only within the Netherlands) and very very poor customer support. Dont put people on CS when they dont know how to calculate a credit balance.

Used to be a great bank for business, things changed...

Very bad service. They too the membership fees without any reason. The would not even cancel my membership.

Their customer service is absolutely ridiculous. Promising and not delivering. Making mistakes themselves and let the customer then wait 150 days, and then still you need to follow up yourself.
When you call and select Dutch you are anyway transferred to the English customer service. And when you want to terminate, they suddenly pretend to care, but don’t deliver on their promises.
The fact they don’t react to any reviews here also says enough…

Amex's handling of my issues has left me utterly furious. I've been dealing with multiple problems that have persisted for far too long.

First, the Partner Privium service has been non-functional for three months, despite numerous complaints, and the lack of response paints a disturbing pattern of dishonesty.

What's more, my Amex card stopped working, affecting my ability to pay for essentials like rentals and subscriptions. This negligence on Amex's part has damaged my credit score with Grover Rental Company, leading to a five-year restriction on renting any products. It's imperative that Amex addresses and resolves this issue with Grover.

My attempts to resolve these matters have been met with utter futility. Every entity involved has rejected my submissions, claiming a lack of understanding in handling them, and refusing to entertain such claims. Despite my warnings about the futility of this approach, I was forced to borrow money. As if this weren't enough, I ended up with a staggering €180 phone bill due to international calls from Amex, even though I repeatedly emphasized the exorbitant costs. It's mind-boggling how little regard Amex has shown for both minor and major issues.

During this nightmare, I experienced a severe medical condition, and Amex continued to call me in the hospital, despite my pleas for them to stop. This resulted in a €180 phone bill, and yet, Amex's actions have failed to resolve even the tiniest of problems. Dealing with Amex has become a deeply unsettling experience, primarily due to their refusal to acknowledge any issues. It's not just unacceptable; it's unprofessional.

What's truly unbelievable is that these issues have persisted for over 95 days. I've had enough, and I intend to share this horrendous experience publicly to warn others away from becoming Amex customers. When compared to Mastercard and Visa, Amex's customer service is abysmal, and they clearly lack respect for their clientele.

To add insult to injury, I've already received my medical claims from my standard insurance without any calls, highlighting the utter lack of value Amex has offered in this situation. Ignoring the facts and refusing to acknowledge them makes Amex feel like an unsafe business to deal with. I'm out of words to describe just how awful Amex has been. It's a disgrace.

An Existing Amex Client.

The "World class service" as advertised on their website can be taken with a lake of salt.

I'll split this review up in personal cards and business cards and I'll try to write it objectively and with a bit of humor to calm my nerves.

Personal cards:

If you purchase their top-tier 700-euro platinum metal card, I will wish you good luck with your quest to activate all the benefits ¡manually! on their buggy website. I'm a tech nerd who designs complex websites for a living... It took me a few hours and 2 customer service phone calls (who had to call me back the next day because they also couldn't find it).

They don't seem to understand or acknowledge this hassle:
"Sir, we found the page where you can activate your benefits: click here, then there, then scroll halfway, click again, pray to the gods, click twice, spin your mouse around, click again and if the sun and moon are aligned, you can start activating your benefits... Anything else we can help you with?"

So after you activated.. everything.. manually.. it appears that the dining credit benefit had to be activated on a different page. Don't ask me or their customer service why. I've done that for you, and you'll read later how that went.

Of course, you'll only find out about this after dining somewhere for 150 euros. Logically, customer service can't reimburse the money. Customer service has no ability to help you in any way. (this is "World Class").

However, they can gaslight you by saying "I'm sorry that you feel that way" after you gave your feedback.

If, somehow, you're crazy enough to purchase the platinum flying blue and platinum metal card together, you can't use them both in the same app. I guess AMEX is not used to anyone purchasing more than one of their inferior services.

About the flying blue card (which costs 600 euros per year): it's plastic. The coating will rub off after a year.

Don't worry though, you won't use it that much because AMEX isn't supported by the majority of stores in The Netherlands Except for the Aldi. Yea, flex your 600 - 700 euro card at the Aldi!
(love the Aldi though)

Anyhow, you'll probably cancel everything within a year, before your 600 euro plastic can fully deteriorate in your wallet.

Business cards:

If you want to sign up for a business card with a business partner, it takes a lengthy and unclear process (even if you're already a customer) to complete the process. We've waited more than 2 months for a business gold card.

If you have multiple business credit cards, you won't see in the app which ones are for which company.

We once changed our bank account with the business card and called them to make sure everything was changed well. Then the card got blocked and we had to call back and forth 6x to get it fixed. They were friendly though.

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But Max, is there nothing positive about AMEX? Well, you'll reach your desired flying blue status a bit quicker with their KLM card. The air miles could be a nice bonus sometimes but don't set your expectations high.

Look at the other reviews and decide for yourself.

The music on their customer service line is quite groovy. I hope you like it, you'll hear it a lot.

They have better perks compared to other countries for the gold card, but the system is not totally efficient:
- They changed the list of affiliated restaurants for the dining voucher before the end of the year and with no notifications, which was honestly quite dodgy as one doesn't check the list everyday.
- The antifraud system is very efficient but if you're abroad and your card get stolen/lost you're completely screwed. They merely offer to ship your card overseas, which takes several working days during which you cannot withdraw any money nor make online payments. As they have a global presence, it would make much more sense to get the card from one of the local Amex offices.
- The gold card is not accepted in several shops and countries, making the card usable mostly in luxury shops and some restaurants, but not for everyday expenses.
- Really unclear policy regarding the welcome bonus.
- More expensive lately but without bigger perks.
- The flights booked on their website with the travel voucher are more expensive and it's unclear whether they allow you to select specific flights perks e.g. insurance, extra luggages and so on that cannot be added at a later stage.
- The local promotions with Dutch shops are not really convenient and are always the same.

I'm considering to switch to Mastercard black.