Opinion of American Express' shopping insurance/benefits

[Magna]

I am intrigued with AmEx shopping insurance/benefits such as price protection, extended warranty, and return protection.
Best Buy and I think Circuit City now have a 14 return policy on certain items and it's good to know that if I paid with AmEx I could return something if I go over 14 days. Also the extended warranty that Best Buy and Circuit City usually tries to sell you is usually over $50. But then again I would have to file a claim and fulfill all of AmEx's requirements under the fine print.
Anybody here have experience with the insurance/benefits under AmEx?

[dmcgibbo]

which card are you looking at? just so you know they recently got rid of a bunch of features on certain cards, especially the ones without annual fees

people used to be able to buy cameras and electronics from a reputable dealer like best buy and then give them an internet site of a shady dealer and they will refund you the price. amex got so ripped off that they limited which cards you could do that to.

i remember when i bought my digital cam, other people would buy it for 499 from best buy and then get it reimbursed 150 bucks from bandhphoto.com or something like that. pretty good deal.

i have bought tons of stuff on my amex blue but i never really tried to use the late return and warranty stuff - i don't really know how and it doesn't seem worth it. i bought an onkyo system from onkyo and it broke, it is still under its year warranty but i guess since it was just under 60 days i could return it b/c of my amex card? but then how do i get another one from onkyo and ship the used stereo back which weighed like 5000 pounds and all that? just not worth it i guess. also, i don't think amex would let u return computer software/dvd or anything like that after the 14 day best buy thing - they also have a lot of exclusions for certain stores - if they have a certain limitation on returns or price matching, amex won't infringe on it.

i'd be really interested to see other's experiences with returns/price matching/etc. with amex. i know my visa check card and platinum card both have price matching but you have to find it in a printed ad and i usually buy stuff w/ my amex card for the membership rewards.

[TiAgM5Miami]

I don't use any of their travel protection but I would highly suggest the purchase and fraud protection. Ive had my card number stolen twice in the last 3 months and with the most recent 2 weeks ago. Who ever did it was able to make a copy of the physical card and made purchases here locally in miami and overseas totaling just over $4600. I called and within 10 minutes my account was credited and a new card sent to me the following morning. With more and more retailers not allowing returns the opportunity to do so through the AmEx is defnitely worthwhile.

[jamesnj]

ETSMOTORSPORTS, you've had your card stolen TWICE in three months, that's weird. Someone made a "copy" of your card and used it overseas. I wouldn't be surprised if Amex is investigating you, especially if you travel overseas and the spending patterns fit your patterns

[TiAgM5Miami]

Yes twice. The first time was when I upgraded my card and never received it. Since it was an upgrade the card number was the same and did not need to be re activated so that was easy for them to take. The time now I have no idea how it happened. I did not use that card overseas and since it was my business account the purchases do not match my past spending habits.

[dmcgibbo]

Hey I saw a thing on CNN today about credit scores and reports and stuff and was wondering if anyone had advice about credit since I only caught the end of it and am a credit newbie as a senior in college...

1) i haven't ever gotten a credit report - should I buy it from equifax for $40 bucks to get the 3-in-1 from equifax and the other 2 major companies or how should I get a credit report/score to look at? There's a site called ConsumerInfo.com that's free but it only shows one company and looks kinda sketch


Here's my situation so if you have advice on how to improve credit or do my finances smarter let me know!

- I'm 21yo, senior in college
- I have a checking account, savings account, and Platinum Visa card all at Bank of America. I never touch my savings, use a checking debit card to buy things but very seldomly, and never use my Platinum Visa although it has a high credit limit it always sits at 0 balance.
- However, I also have an American Express blue credit card which I use all the time - I use the credit card kinda like a debit card - I buy EVERYTHING with it if the place takes Amex and then I pay off the huge balance in full each month. The Blue credit card isn't a pay in full charge card, its a credit card so you can have remaining balance each month but I never do.
- I have little to no income (i'm a student and my jobs are room and board and food and parking type compensation not taxable monetary income) and no car payment or other expenses/mortgages
- I am thinking of selling my '96 Jeep and buying a '98 Jeep but can probably swing it so that I can buy it outright without any financing


1) so should I get rid of the Bank Of America Platinum since I never use it and if a place doesn't take Amex I just use my Visa Check Card? I thought the more cards or credit you had, the worse your score was. Plus I never use it b/c you don't get rewards points like you do w/ Amex. Then again, its a Platinum card and I don't know how if it is actually advantageous at all to hold on to.

2) is using my American Express card as my checking account really hurting my credit score? I mean if they looked at my activity it would show that I use tons of credit and keep a huge balance and not realize that I always pay it off in full each month so if someone looks at my credit score wouldn't it be really low b/c of this?

3) I have received pre-approved cards and somehow been signed up for several other credit cards and think I have called and closed them all but heard that closed accounts don't go away and the more you have the worse. It said on that show to call the credit bureau and notify them that they are closed but how/why do that? It's bad that I had all of those credit card accounts that I never used but they did inquiries on my credit and will always show on my report

4) What else can I do to improve credit or check my credit and consolidate or whatever? Who/where else can I ask for advice?


THANKS!