I lost my Amex Blue card at JFK last weekend, and when I called to report it I was told a replacement would be issued in “about 20 days”. The following conversation ensued:
Me: 20 days? (the American Express tag line is “the only card you’ll ever need”) My other Amex cards arrive in 24 hours when replaced.
Amex: The Blue card has a special chip inside that takes longer to produce.
Me: What purpose does the chip serve?
Amex: It provides you with greater security for online transactions, sir.
Me: But when I order online, I type my credit card number into a form, so how does a chip, which the computer never comes in contact with..
Amex: It’s for online security. Is there anything else I can help you with today, sir?
Me: Yes. You can help me understand how a chip embedded in a credit card, a card that is not inserted into anything, makes any difference.
Amex: Sir, I’ve already explained that the chip is for enhanced security purposes when making purchases online. Is there anything else I can assist you with today?
Me: Is there any way to get a replacement card sooner?
Amex: We can send you a temporary card tomorrow morning.
Me: What is temporary about it?
Amex: It doesn’t have the chip.
Me: Should I use it to make purchases on the Internet?
Amex: That’s up to you sir.
Intrigued, I called the application line for Amex Blue. The very nice woman asked me if i had any questions about the card before applying..
Me: What’s the chip for?
Amex: It’s for enhanced security online.
Me: How so?
Amex: (giggling)They don’t tell us that.
The Blue card is the only Amex card with a limit, meaning that its theft causes the least damage of all Amex cards, yet it is the lone card with the “enhanced security chip”.
The Blue chip is causing damage to the American Express brand on several levels:
1. 20 day delay is the opposite of the brand positioning they have carefully built
2. lack of a script they have equipped their employees with doesn’t inspire confidence
3. the chip comes off as a silly marketing ploy that only serves to inconvenience customers
American Express needs to either create a well defined and logical explanation of the benefit of the Blue card’s unique on-board microprocessor, or cash this chip in.
9 responses so far ↓
1 abnu // Jul 10, 2005 at 9:53 pm
As of 12/31/2005 the ID Keeper Program will be permanently disabled. If you currently use ID Keeper you can back up your stored data. American Express apologizes for any inconvenience.
Why doesn’t my replacement Blue have a Smart Chip?
At American Express we strive to provide our Cardmembers with the most relevant technology that is in the marketplace. At the time, ID Keeper met these requirements. Since the Smart Chip technology never took hold in the marketplace, we began to work on finding a more relevant feature for our CMs. All Blue from American Express replacement and renewal cards will now be issued with the ExpressPay feature. Users simply hold Blue with ExpressPay next to a special reader at checkout to make purchases. Payment is authorized in seconds and no signature is required. Blue from American Express with the ExpressPay feature also has a magnetic strip and functions as a traditional credit card.
2 wbwither // Jul 12, 2005 at 6:35 am
Looks like they just recently switched to a new RFID chip inside their cards, so maybe that accounts for some of the delay:
AmEx Adds RFID to Blue Credit Cards
3 Steve Portigal // Jul 12, 2005 at 8:11 am
Dude, but like, who cares about a chip, anyway, when they can get Sheryl Crow to rock out for the Blue Card. AmEx totally rules, my frienz and I absolutely love this card and their great music performances totally only just confirm that. I’m sure you knew that.
4 igor // Jul 12, 2005 at 9:06 am
Fair enough. They need to tell their employees what the chip is for.
5 Kristin Conner // Jul 20, 2005 at 12:56 pm
My biggest beef with them is the “up to” in very, very, very fine print.
I like the enhancement, but get a script to your customer service people, stat. That’s bad.
6 David // Apr 23, 2006 at 10:42 pm
If customers are limited to a loss of $50 anyway what’s the difference in better security?
Cards with better security features should be cheaper for customers as they result in less loss to credit card companies.
7 Lola // May 22, 2006 at 9:32 am
Just called ax to ask what extra security my gold card offered. Rep went into the smart chip conversation but really didn’t understand my question. Asked for a mgr who came online and explained how there is a special reader device that the special blue card with the smart chip reads. All of that however meant applying for a new card that is a blue card.
I said to the guy why waste 20 minutes of my time talking about something I did not want….a blue card.
The ax gold card with current protections for fraud is good enough.
Wasting time, or not understanding a question….by giving information about a product not asked about is bizzare.
The answer to does ax gold offer a double number like citibank is NO. And there are no additional security features because ax stands behind its’ fraud guarantee.
Ask Indian purveyor to teach the reps to answer the question asked, not promote something we do notwant.
8 barney // Jun 5, 2006 at 2:17 pm
Initially Amex sent a card reader with the blue card and you USB to your PC and swipe card for internet purchases, the smartcard thus creating a dynamic number for each new purchase, i.e. security. The card reader was an external gadget free to the user and connected to the PC with USB.
9 Harry Kessler // Mar 28, 2007 at 8:17 am
Has anyone applied for an Amex UK Blue card in Oct/Nov/Dec 2005 on the basis of 2% money back for purchases in the first 3 months? If so, did you check the money back credited?
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