Quote:
Originally Posted by Navy_guy
I'm not yet a resident of the Villages, but my wife and I hope to move here soon. We've spent a couple of weekends, and thoroughly enjoyed ourselves, and we're sure this is where we want to retire. I've only found one thing that irritates me: most of the merchants in The Villages WON'T take American Express. May not seem like a big deal, but my Amex Card is the only one I use for credit purchases. As a consumer, I've found American Express to be extremely accommodating when it comes to questionable charges, and when I need to call them, I always get to talk to a person - not a (*&^^$!! machine.
I understand that Amex charges the merchant a bit more than other cards, but it's not enough to send any of 'em into bankruptcy. It's also not "corporate policy", because the Villages takes American Express when we pay up front for our lodging costs. My wife's American Express gives us a 2% rebate on purchases, and mine is a frequent flyer card, and I've gotten several free flights with it. We'd both hate to give those 'perks' up.
If more people would insist that merchants take American Express, and start buying from someone who does, the merchants would take Amex in one heckuva hurry. Anyone with me on this, or am I a 'majority' of 1? :dontknow:
Let me just say, though, that that's a small thing. We LOVE The Villages, and all the really great people we've met.
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It's not just in TV but also throughout FL. Merchants feel that AMEX is an expensive co to deal with.
I've been told by people in the know that AMEX is accepted by the Developer and any entities that he owns. Restaurants under the Developer now accept AMEX such as Cane Garden, Nancy Lopez, and Palmer. But privately owned Malory restaurant does not. You can pay for priority golf , tennis, and pool with AMEX.
It is the district government and its entities thar do not accept AMEX. Since the rec centers are under the individual CDD's, AMEX is not accepted as payment there. Also, the executive golf courses are under the District so you can't pay your trail fee or regional rec center gym membership using AMEX.
The situation is confusing at best.
It's a crazy world. Sams Club doesn't take VISA. Now who would have thought.