Good morning everyone, I hope you had a great weekend. I was reviewing my recent American Express statements and saw a few changes that I wanted to bring to your attention. As far as I can tell, none of these changes are major, but if you see anything that stands out to you, please let me know in the comments. There were 3 changes to details regarding cash advances, contactless transactions, and the American Express Business Gold Card. These notices appeared on all of my American Express cards. The first change is regarding cash advances. I wasn’t able to find the current definition of cash advances, but the new definition of cash advances includes “cash equivalents” and I am not sure if that means gift cards or not.
The next change is regarding ExpressPay. It sounds like American Express is renaming ExpressPay into contactless transactions. New cards will be issued with contactless technology, but if you would prefer your new cards not to have contactless technology, you can contact American Express and request cards that do not have contactless technology. To me, swiping a credit card takes just as long as tapping a credit card, so I don’t see the allure of tap and pay transactions.
Lastly, American Express clarifies details of the bonus categories for the American Express Business Gold Card. You will earn bonus categories on your 2 most popular categories, but there are only 6 categories that are eligible. I don’t have the American Express Business Gold Card, but this notice appeared on my American Express Business Platinum Card for some reason.
If you have any questions about any of these changes, please leave a comment below. Have a great day everyone!
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I like how they list “foreign currency” but not domestic — both are obviously “cash” but they specifically mention one.
I think gift cards aren’t included — they would have added that if they meant it and all the other things listed are actual cash equivalents (i.e. easy to liquidate) or gambling/betting focused (something they likely don’t want people doing with their credit cards)
Contactless is 3x faster than chip. Usually instantly approves vs waiting the 5-10 seconds for a chip approval.
No doubt contactless is faster than chip.