AMEX is one of the best cards for floating monthly expenses. Customer service is top notch, and you often get an extra year warranty on anything you buy. If you're irresponsible, prepared to get slaughtered by high interest rates that pay for these services... That said, I would not use an AMEX to bootstrap a company. You can find a better interest rate through VISA/Mastercard.

I currently use an AMEX Blue (cash back) for my personal stuff, balance is paid IN FULL every month. And we have a business checking account for the iPhone company. $5/month through Wells Fargo.

While I keep a few accounts at Wells Fargo, I bank through ING Direct. Love everything about ING, and they have great leadership. One complaint: for an online bank their web interface is freaking terrible.

do NOT bootstrap a company on credit cards, Amex or otherwise.

It's not something most people should do, but if you're in a pinch it might be a lot better than diluting & dealing with the hassles of bringing in more angels. I don't think you're giving enough credit (no pun intended) to credit card companies willing to give you 0% interest for 6 months to a year.

But to your point, it's very risky and NOT something most people should even consider. There's no way in hell I'd sell my soul to a credit card company at 20% APR either.

I have never bootstrapped a company on a CC. Fortunately this latest endeavor is all about micro-transactions so we're cash-flow positive very quickly. If I bootstrapped on a CC, I would never exceed a debt level more than the value of personal assets (car, equipment, etc..). Always plan an exit...

Careful with ING. In November they closed my account with no advanced notice and no chance for me to make any arrangements for my money. I couldn't access my savings for 2 weeks while I waited for a paper check. I also had to wait for a paper paycheck since it was too late to change my direct deposit. When I called they said that I had taken advantage of too many of their "free" services and my account had become unprofitable. No one there, including the ombudsman, cared that they had cut me off from my money for 2 weeks or that my bills would be late.

That's interesting, thanks for the warning. Too many "free" services is what I don't understand since everything they offer is essentially free.

I've heard of them closing accounts before, in the book "Mavericks at Work" ING actually promotes the behavior of rejecting bad customers. While I agree, I think there needs to be absolute transparency around their banning policy so it's crystal clear form the start to prevent issues like yours.

Wow thats scary. I have almost all my savings in ING. What "free" services are you taking about?

Well, what happened to me was that I was having a tough month, and a couple of automated ETF's came in unexpectedly. They all got returned NSF on the same day and the next day without any warning they just shut down my account without notice. The only way I knew something was wrong was that I could no longer log in to my account.

Right now I'm using American Express. I was using Visa/Mastercard for quite some time, but lately and after reviewing what it offers, American Express has been too good to pass up. What I found to be of maximum value, was its deals for shopping at selected vendors and you get three times the point for every dollar.

On a side note, like most of us, if I use a number a lot, I tend to remember it, and that goes for credit card numbers... comes in real handy when you don't have the card on your person. But switching to AE was ironic because it's not a typical 16-digit number, in fact, it's not even sixteen digits, but fifteen - but in an odd sequence(4-6-5), which I found to be interesting since every credit card I've ever used(even debit cards) have been 16 digits in groups of four numbers. :)

How much do you pay for it a year?

Main Cards:

* LOC linked to a visa cc through a local credit union (highly recommend going this route.)

* Also a citibusiness cc. (pretty good for a multinational)

* 3 other credit union cc's.

Also have 2 other business loc's and many other credit cards not worth mentioning.

I used to be a very Amex heavy business. Luckily I had my other options available so when I got Amex f/r'ed last year, I was able to cancel all Amex and switch without any major cash flow issues.

I was very lucky in this respect, as Amex has jeopardized many businesses with their f/r, cdl, and verification practices. There is alot to say here, but to keep it short: If you rely on Amex for operating your business, go ahead and setup alternatives that can be switched to "just in case".

Amex is the greatest when everything is peachy, but if they decide otherwise (and this does not require late payments, breaking your cl, or any other negs) they can and will shut you off until you work with them through it. I decided this type of unreliability was not an acceptable type of relationship I needed for my business financially. Their points & cash back programs are still the best I have encountered, however.

Best of Luck!

Amex business. As an anecdote, I heard Jeff Barr say that Smugmug was charging all of their monthly Amazon S3 expenses on Amex Business Platinum (generating multiple first-class air tickets)

I've had an Amex Gold Business Card since starting up in 2001. Their customer service is the best and their web site keeps getting better each year for tracking my transactions, etc.

I've also had them go to bat for me a few times over disputed charges and I've always been very happy with the outcome. I'd highly recommend them.

American Express Plum Card. http://www.plumcard.com/ With early pay I get 2% cash back. If you need to push payments off you can pay 10% by the due date and pay the balance 2 months later without interest charges.

I try to use this card for every expense I can, it can really help you manage your cash flow.

I've seen this and I think you might get ideas: http://www.btgains.com/credit/card/Regular/Promo_Balance_Tra...

We have http://www.plumcard.com/ and love it.

2% cash back if you pay within 7 days of your statement. (But there is a minimum monthly spend of $1000 or something like that.)

american express platinum.

no monthly/yearly fees, doesn't have to be paid off every month, and it does the whole reward point thing (i've used them to buy flight tickets).

Amex Gold.

are the monthly fees worth it for AMEX?

Amex has simply the best customer service of any credit card company in the universe. You have a problem with any random transaction, you call them up, they apologize, and they go fix it.

I haven't noticed the fees being an issue, but I'm not paying attention; we have a finance@ for that.

>You have a problem with any random transaction, you call them up, they apologize, and they go fix it.

I have absolutely the same experience with my bank's Visa.

What's the biggest conflict you've had over a Visa transaction? My biggest Amex conflict: I was forced to buy a walk-up fare one way ticket from Prague because CSA screwed up my booking; Amex fixed that in 4 minutes over the phone when I got home.

I'm not arguing with you; it's just my perception that Amex has been better than the various Visas and MCs I've held.

I've had my card copied and used to purchase thousands in gas and electronics. I called up Visa after seeing the charges when I logged in - and within minutes it was sorted with all charges waived.

Also, all purchases made with the card have their warranty doubled. So when my dell died right out of 2 yr warranty, I contacted them and was told to send it in. I then received a comparable unit from Dell the week after.

Just to be devil's advocate, any credit card is going to do the same thing if your card is stolen; they're legally required to, but they also do a good job on this just as a customer retention measure.

My Amex story is about getting fucked over in a legitimate transaction, and Amex making it right even though the problem had nothing to do with my credit card. I was told to expect this of Amex customer service, and they were right.

> What's the biggest conflict you've had over a Visa transaction?

We had to buy full-price tickets (~ $1k) to get back home from a vacation due to a hurricane warning. We had no applicable insurance on original return tickets, but we got a full refund after a call to a bank's credit card department. Perhaps it wasn't 4 minutes as in your case, more like 15, but considering the circuimstances I think it's still pretty awesome :-)

That is pretty awesome!

I didn't know this was a 'I've been fucked over more than you' contest. You asked for the biggest conflict someone with a Visa has had.

It seems Amex is great as well I've just never had one of their cards.

Again: totally not arguing with you. I'd be interested in knowing whether you've gotten the same customer support from your bank's Visa program.

I've been in business for 23 years. I look for the best interest rate on a card, no matter what it is. I don't care about cash back because it's never enough to balance the interest rate charged. If ToysRUs had a better deal, that's what I would use.

Now my wife is my accountant and we have a Amazon Visa card. I don't know anything more than that but, knowing how she investigates all that, I know it's the best deal. The only other card we have is a Discover card because that's the only one used by Sams Club.