Amex Purchase Protection vs Section 75

[Krispy]

Is American express’ service and protection better than other cards eg the Virgin Atlantic credit cards? Rewards are important but more so for me is the protection afforded by these cards and the ability the solve issues when something goes wrong

[JDB]

Amex credit cards offer s75 whereas their charge cards offer something designed to be broadly similar, but only on a contractual basis rather than the statutory basis of s75. The Purchase Protection you mention in the thread title is an insurance protection offer with various Amex cards with varying terms and conditions.

All UK credit cards come with s75 (provided your purchase meets the conditions) although a chargeback is usually the first line of defence. s75 is very onerous for card providers as, unlike a chargeback, a claim can render them liable for many times the value of the charge. As a result most firms resist claims quite strongly so you need to present a very solid and coherent case for any claim.

I think that the reality is that service from all the big card providers is pretty patchy. It was a big differentiator for Amex to have consistently better service than others, but that’s no longer the case. One can come across very helpful, sensible agents but one is just as likely to fall upon someone quite useless. HSBC makes the paperwork for s75 claims rather complicated.