Where is American Express accepted?

American Express is accepted at 10.6 million merchant locations in the U.S. and in 200+ countries and territories abroad. But you’ll find some stores that have exclusive deals with the more popular networks, Visa and Mastercard. For example, Costco only accepts Visa cards now, having switched from exclusively accepting Amex cards in 2016. Plus, despite the good number of foreign countries where you can use American Express cards, acceptance is on a merchant-by-merchant basis. So, coverage in a lot of countries is hit or miss.

American Express Cards: Acceptance Details

• Where American Express is Accepted in the U.S.: 10.6 million merchants
• Where American Express is Accepted Internationally: 200+ countries and territories, and by 160 million merchants worldwide.
• Countries Where American Express is Accepted Most: Canada, Australia, UK, India, Singapore, and Germany, among others.
• Places Where American Express is Not Accepted: Cuba, Sudan, South Sudan, Iran, Syria
• Major Retailers That Accept American Express: Amazon, IKEA, Sears, Target, Walmart, Lowe’s, Apple, Best Buy, Staples, CVS, and more.
• Major Retailers That Don’t Accept American Express: Costco, small non-chain stores/restaurants

So, an American Express card is enough for your shopping within the United States. Though you may find some stores that don’t take it, the majority will. But you’ll probably want to have a no foreign transaction fee Visa or Mastercard when you go abroad. Those networks guarantee you worldwide coverage, with acceptance in over 200 countries and territories. Plus, Mastercard and Visa cards are accepted just about universally within those regions. Amex cards still have hit-or-miss acceptance in many.

It's not great, really. You've got very good coverage in the US, but overseas it can get pretty tricky trying to find a place that takes them. Visa and Mastercard are the best overall. In any case, I think Discover cards are even worse in this aspect.

If you are staying abroad in an American hotel (Hilton group; Marriot, etc) American Express is accepted. Many American Express cards have no foreign transaction fee (Hilton, Marriot, and Delta branded Amex for example) The Amex cards that do charge a foreign transaction fee  charge 2.7%..less than VisaMC at 3%. Of course many MC/Visa have no foreign transaction fee as well. AMEX does not allow dynamic currency conversion which is always bad for consumer (this is when  they convert foreign currency to dollars at the merchant ) Always better to have that calculated on your statement. Just calculate the currency you are using by exchange rate and you can keep track on your own of dollars spent without fees of dynamic currency conversion.