Amex - My Insurance Policy Just Got Renewed and They No Longer Accept Amex

Joe on 19/12/2024 - 11:56
Last edited 19/12/2024 - 11:56

Someone else mistakenly paid all my insurance policies, likely using the wrong customer number. The insurance company has since refunded them, leaving all my policies overdue.

To make matters worse, I spent an hour sorting out my payments, but now they're overdue again, and I've received an email warning of cancellation if I don't pay. This is especially frustrating as I've been a customer for 10 years!

I provided my AMEX credit card details again, only to be told that the payments became overdue because they no longer accept AMEX due to a systems upgrade.
Are you guys finding more retailers not accepting Amex?

General Discussion

Comments

  • AhhNo on 19/12/2024 - 13:30

    I have always found amex being accepted for services and bill payments a little iffy, who is your insurance provider?

    • Joe on 19/12/2024 - 13:31

      AMI

      • AhhNo on 19/12/2024 - 13:34
        +1

        I am with AA. They take Amex, slightly more expensive than State and with an AA card there is a couple of extra discounts. This doesnt help with you issue. But I hope you can get to sorted soon, last thing you need this time of year.

    • kyogui on 21/12/2024 - 13:15

      And the bill payments don't have a surcharge?

  • gcnz on 20/12/2024 - 08:14

    Sounds like very crap service from AMI and maybe a crap system if it takes you an hour to sort out payment, maybe time for a change. I'm finding more and more are accepting amex, or maybe just haven't noticed any changes. The only main places we shop with that don't accept it are Pak n Sav Dunedin (not often), lenses online and Southern Cross Pet. It would be nice if Afterpay or Zip could use Amex.

  • Superpower21 on 20/12/2024 - 10:38

    AA and State take Amex if you pay annually.

  • BB-Lauren on 20/12/2024 - 12:08

    I just shifted away from AMI this month after being with them for years. Moved to Tower, better price and they accepted AMEX.

  • monkey on 21/12/2024 - 07:19

    Use RewardPay perhaps?

    Need an NZBN, but they are easy enough to set up

  • Muzzakiwi on 21/12/2024 - 08:33

    You could use your Amex at the supermarket and buy prezzie cards/Bonfire in $1000 increments and pay with those. I do this every year with my platinum edge to get 3/pts per $.

    This year AMI over the phone were hopeless. Previously a kiwi answered the phone and ran the cards no problem. Now it is an off shore call centre and the staff member just could not figure out how to make the payment. I had to have a supervisor call me take ALL the cr card data name/exp/CVC which you would never do on a personal card as their system now relies on you inputting the data via your phone entering the numbers onto your phone pad and mine (oppo phone) would not work.

    The supervisor was great but she had to hang up each time to enter the data then call me back for the next one. Next year I will take the cards to the post office and do it there.

    The online payments system only allows paying the whole amount not split payments, e.g $1000 at a time. My insurance is 6k so it’s worth earning the 18,000 AmEx points @ $5/card x 6 $1000 bonfire cards.

    • Joe on 21/12/2024 - 16:30

      I agree, it was really painful. I thought I would just input the card number when prompted, but after all that, I was advised that they need to ask the underwriters for the threshold change. So, I asked a New Zealand-based representative why we can't keep all the details the same as the old policy and just transfer them over to the new system. They couldn't provide an answer, saying they need to go through all the waivers as if I were taking out new policies.

  • kyogui on 21/12/2024 - 13:13

    More and more businesses will stop accepting Amex because of its higher fees, I heard it's over 3% and between 1.1% to 1.8% for Visa and Master Card. If ComCom go thought it's limit on Credit card surcharges next year then Amex will have to drop it's merchant fees and rewards at the same time making it way less attractive. Without the rewards there's no real benefit of getting an Amex.

    https://comcom.govt.nz/__data/assets/pdf_file/0032/363848/Re…

  • saxasianguy on 21/12/2024 - 13:47

    I got a call October re AMI not taking Amex payments from November - but I was still able to pay until late November. Payment using AMEX is just cashflow for me otherwise I'd need a liquidity event to have cash to pay insurance policy. Now it's always overdue due to needing to transfer tenant rent payments to Westpac Airpoints then paying AMI.

    I think some retailers (not just insurance) moving away from AMEX also due to customer chargebacks and not just the surcharges.

    Will be ringing up a insurance broker when holiday ends to see if a broker can move my 4 policies to another company that takes AMEX

    • Joe on 21/12/2024 - 16:30

      I might switch to Initio Insurance - they seem to be very competitive

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