AMEX

https://www.americanexpressindia.co.in/new/card-by-type.aspx
http://boss.blogs.nytimes.com/2013/03/25/what-you-need-to-know-about-credit-card-
processing/?_php=true&_type=blogs&_r=0
https://merchant.americanexpress.com/accept-card/accepting-merchantcredit-card
https://www209.americanexpress.com/merchant/services/en_US/pages/home
https://www.google.co.in/?gfe_rd=cr&ei=-
4d_U67ZPOXA8gfayoCIDQ#q=amex+credit+card+working+process

American Express Company, also known as AmEx, is an American multinational financial
services corporation headquartered in Three World Financial Center, Manhattan, New York City,
New York, United States. Founded in 1850, it is one of the 30 components of the Dow Jones
Industrial Average.
[6]
The company is best known for its credit card, charge card, and traveler's
cheque businesses. Amex cards account for approximately 24% of the total dollar volume of
credit card transactions in the US
BusinessWeek and Interbrand ranked American Express as the 22nd most valuable brand in the
world, estimating the brand to be worth US$14.97 billion.
[9]
Fortune listed Amex as one of the top
20 Most Admired Companies in the World.
[10]

The company's logo, adopted in 1958, is a Centurion
[11]
whose image appears on the
company's travelers' cheques,charge cards and credit cards.

History
American Express was started as an express mail business in Buffalo, New York, in 1850.
[12]
It
was founded as a joint stock corporation by the merger of the express companies owned
by Henry Wells (Wells & Company), William G. Fargo (Livingston, Fargo & Company), and John
Warren Butterfield (Wells, Butterfield & Company, the successor earlier in 1850 of Butterfield,
Wasson & Company).
[1][2]
The same founders also started Wells Fargo & Co. in 1852 when
Butterfield and other directors objected to the proposal that American Express extend its
operations to California.

http://www.mouthshut.com/product-reviews/American-Express-Card-reviews-925006382

Why choose an American Express Credit Card?
The American Express Credit Cards offer you a range of shopping, dining and travel privileges. Get
rewarded with one of the most powerful rewards programme where you earn Membership Rewards
Points every time you spend. What's more enjoy the 'Pay-in-Parts' Privilege on all our credit cards
and make your payments in easy installments on your selected transactions.

Enjoy the flexibility to redeem you points on your American Express Platinum Travel Credit Card and
choose from over 600 redemption options including leading airlines and hotels. Earn 6 JPMiles per
Rs.100 - the fastest ongoing JPMiles earn rate on all your spending on your Jet Airways American
Express Platinum Credit . While Miles come to you the fastest way, there is also no limit to the
amount of JPMiles you can accumulate.

What's more, with an American Express Platinum Reserve Credit Card you are automatically entitled
to use our premium Concierge Service. The dedicated team are on call 24 hours a day, ready to take
care of all your lifestyle needs. Just pick up the phone and you'll get a table at that exclusive
restaurant, they'll find you that hard-to-get item, arrange your next holiday or even a party.

Experience the American Express Platinum Service on all our credit cards with 24x7 Platinum Assist,
Zero Lost card liability, Emergency Card Replacement anywhere in the world.

Benefits of our Credit Cards:
American Express Credit Cards offer you:

24X7 Platinum Assist

Zero Lost Card Liability

Online Fraud Protection Guarantee

Emergency Card Replacement

Online Services



Charge card
A charge card is a card that provides a payment method enabling the cardholder to make purchases
which are paid for by the card issuer, to whom the cardholder becomes indebted. The cardholder is
obligated to repay the debt to the card issuer in full by the due date, usually on a monthly basis, or
be subject to late fees and restrictions on further card use.

Though the terms charge card and credit card are sometimes used interchangeably, they are distinct
protocols of financial transactions. Credit cards are revolving credit instruments that do not need to
be paid in full every month. There is no late fee payable so long as the minimum payment is made at
specified intervals (usually every thirty days). The balance of the account accrues interest, which
may be backdated to the date of initial purchase. Charge cards are typically issued without spending
limits, whereas credit cards usually have a specified credit limit that the cardholder may not exceed.

Though originally charge account identification was paper-based, in 1959 American Express became
the first charge card operator to issue embossed plastic cards to ISO/IEC 7810 ID-1 standard. Cards
have an embossed bank card number complying with the ISO/IEC 7812 numbering standard.

Credit card
A credit card is a payment card issued to users as a system of payment. It allows the cardholder to
pay for goods and services based on the holder's promise to pay for them.[1] The issuer of the card
creates a revolving account and grants a line of credit to the consumer (or the user) from which the
user can borrow money for payment to a merchant or as a cash advance to the user.

A credit card is different from a charge card: a charge card requires the balance to be paid in full
each month.[2] In contrast, credit cards allow the consumers a continuing balance of debt, subject to
interest being charged. A credit card also differs from a cash card, which can be used like currency by
the owner of the card. A credit card differs from a charge card also in that a credit card typically
involves a third-party entity that pays the seller and is reimbursed by the buyer, whereas a charge
card simply defers payment by the buyer until a later date.

The size of most credit cards is 3 38 2 18 in (85.60 53.98 mm),[3] conforming to the ISO/IEC
7810 ID-1 standard. Credit cards have an embossed bank card number complying with the ISO/IEC
7812 numbering standard. Both of these standards are maintained and further developed by ISO/IEC
JTC 1/SC 17/WG 1.


Benefits to customers[edit]
The main benefit to each customer is convenience. Compared to debit cards and checks, a credit
card allows small short-term loans to be quickly made to a customer who need not calculate a
balance remaining before every transaction, provided the total charges do not exceed the maximum
credit line for the card.

Different countries offer different levels of protection. In the UK, for example, the bank is jointly
liable with the merchant for purchases of defective products over 100.[12]

Many credit cards offer rewards and benefits packages, such as enhanced product warranties at no
cost, free loss/damage coverage on new purchases, various insurance protections, for example,
rental car insurance, common carrier accident protection, and travel medical insurance. Credit cards
can also offer reward points which may be redeemed for cash, products, or airline tickets. Research
has examined whether competition among card networks may potentially make payment rewards
too generous, causing higher prices among merchants, thus actually deteriorating social welfare and
its distribution, a situation potentially warranting public policy interventions.[13]

Comparison of credit card benefits[edit]
The table below contains a list of benefits offered in the United States for consumer credit cards. Be


MasterCard
[14]
Visa
[15]

American
Express
[16]

Discover
[17]

Return Extension
60 days
up to $250
90 days
up to
$250
[18]

90 days
up to $300
90 days
up to $500
[19]

Extended Warranty
2x Original
up to 1 year
?
1 Additional Year
6 years max
1 Additional
Year
4 years max
[20]

Price Protection 60 days Varies

90 days
up to $500
[21]

Loss/Damage
Coverage
90 days ?
90 days
up to $1,000
90 days
up to $500
[22]

Rental Car Insurance

[23]

[24]

nefits may vary in other countries or business credit cards.



Low introductory credit card rates are limited to a fixed term, usually between 6 and 12 months,
after which a higher rate is charged. As all credit cards charge fees and interest, some customers
become so indebted to their credit card provider that they are driven to bankruptcy. Some credit
cards often levy a rate of 20 to 30 percent after a payment is missed.[25] In other cases a fixed
charge is levied without change to the interest rate. In some cases universal default may apply: the
high default rate is applied to a card in good standing by missing a payment on an unrelated account
from the same provider. This can lead to a snowball effect in which the consumer is drowned by
unexpectedly high interest rates. Further, most card holder agreements enable the issuer to
arbitrarily raise the interest rate for any reason they see fit. First Premier Bank at one point offered a
credit card with a 79.9% interest rate,[26] however they discontinued this card February 2011
because of persistent defaults.[27]

Complex fee structures in the credit card industry limit customers' ability to comparison shop, help
ensure that the industry is not price-competitive and help maximize industry profits.

Credit cards as funding for entrepreneurs[edit]
Credit cards are a risky way for entrepreneurs to acquire capital for their start ups when more
conventional financing is unavailable. It's widely reported that Len Bosack and Sandy Lerner used
personal credit cards[65] to start Cisco Systems. It is rumoured that Larry Page and Sergey Brin's
start up of Google was financed by credit cards to buy the necessary computers and office
equipment, more specifically "a terabyte of hard disks".[66] Similarly, filmmaker Robert Townsend
financed part of Hollywood Shuffle using credit cards.[67] Director Kevin Smith funded Clerks in part
by maxing out several credit cards. Actor Richard Hatch also financed his production of Battlestar
Galactica: The Second Coming partly through his credit cards. Famed hedge fund manager Bruce
Kovner began his career (and, later on, his firm Caxton Associates) in financial markets by borrowing
from his credit card. UK entrepreneur James Caan (as seen on Dragons' Den) financed his first
business using several credit cards.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Credit_card

Centurion
A centurion (Latin: centurio; Ancient Greek: ), also hekatontarch (,
hekatontarchos) in Greek sources, or, in middle Byzantine times, kentarch (,
kentarchos),[1] was a professional officer of the Roman army after the Marian reforms of 107 B.C.
Most centurions commanded 80 men but senior centurions commanded cohorts, or took senior
staff roles in their legion. Centurions were also found in the Roman navy.

Centuries, or Centuriae, means tribe or company.[2] Theoretically, this word traces its roots to
centum which is Latin for one hundred,[2] but that connection is widely disputed or disregarded.

Business process outsourcing to India refers to the business process outsourcing services in the
outsourcing industry in India, catering mainly to Western operations of multinational corporations
(MNCs).


BPO Industry in India:
As of 2012, around 2.8 million people work in outsourcing sector.[1] Annual revenues are around
$11 billion,[1] around 1% of GDP. Around 2.5 million people graduate in India every year. Wages are
rising by 10-15 percent as a result of skill shortage.[1]

Merchant:
a person or company involved in wholesale trade, especially one dealing with foreign countries or
supplying goods to a particular trade.


A heritage built on service and sustained by innovation.We're a global services company that
provides customers with access to products, insights and experiences that enrich lives and build
business success.



Butterfly effect
In chaos theory, the butterfly effect is the sensitive dependency on initial conditions in which a small
change at one place in a deterministic nonlinear system can result in large differences in a later
state. The name of the effect, coined by Edward Lorenz, is derived from the theoretical example of a
hurricane's formation being contingent on whether or not a distant butterfly had flapped its wings
several weeks earlier.

Although the butterfly effect may appear to be an unlikely behavior, it is exhibited by very simple
systems. For example, a ball placed at the crest of a hill may roll into any surrounding valley
depending on, among other things, slight differences in its initial position.

The butterfly effect is a common trope in fiction, especially in scenarios involving time travel.
Additionally, works of fiction that involve points at which the storyline diverges during a seemingly
minor event, resulting in a significantly different outcome than would have occurred without the
divergence, are an example of the butterfly effect.


Definition of 'Butterfly Spread'
A neutral option strategy combining bull and bear spreads. Butterfly spreads use four option
contracts with the same expiration but three different strike prices to create a range of prices the
strategy can profit from. The trader sells two option contracts at the middle strike price and buys
one option contract at a lower strike price and one option contract at a higher strike price. Both puts
and calls can be used for a butterfly spread.
Investopedia explains 'Butterfly Spread'
Butterfly spreads have limited risk, meaning you can only lose your initial investment. Your
maximum return is when the price of the underlying asset remains around the middle strike price.


Definition of 'Black Swan'

An event or occurrence that deviates beyond what is normally expected of a situation and that
would be extremely difficult to predict. This term was popularized by Nassim Nicholas Taleb, a
finance professor and former Wall Street trader.

Investopedia explains 'Black Swan'

Black swan events are typically random and unexpected. For example, the previously successful
hedge fund Long Term Capital Management (LTCM) was driven into the ground as a result of the
ripple effect caused by the Russian government's debt default. The Russian government's default
represents a black swan event because none of LTCM's computer models could have predicted this
event and its subsequent effects.

Implications for Markets and Investing
Stock and other investment markets are affected by all manner of events. Downturns or crashes
such as the dreadful Black Monday or the stock market crash of 1987 or the internet bubble of 2000
were relatively "model-able," but the Sept. 11 attacks were far less so. And who really expected
Enron to implode? As for Bernie Madoff, one could argue either way.

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But the point is, we all want to know the future, but we can't. We can model and predict some
things (to an extent), but not others - not the black swan events. And this creates psychological and
practical problems.

For example, even if we correctly predict some things that impact on the stock and other financial
markets, such as election results and the price of oil, some other event like a natural disaster or war
can override these other factors and throw our plans totally out of kilter. Furthermore, events of this
kind can happen any time and last for any length of time.

To illustrate the unpredictability of these events, we'll look at past wars. On the one hand, there was
the incredibly short Six Day War in 1967. But on the other hand, in 1914, people thought "the boys
will be home by Christmas." In fact, those that survived were home four years later. As for Vietnam,
that did not exactly turn out as planned either.


Complex Models May Be Pointless
Not only does Taleb himself make some suggestions, but the work of Gerd Gigerenzer also provides
some useful input. See in particular his book, "Gut Feelings: The Intelligence Of The Unconscious"
(Penguin 2008). Gigerenzer argues that 50% or more of decisions are made intuitively, but people
often shy away from using them as they are hard to justify. Instead, people make "safer," more
conservative decisions. Thus, fund managers may not be contrarian, simply because it is easier at the
time to go with the flow.

This happens in medicine, too. Doctors stick to known and familiar treatments, even when a bit of
lateral thinking, imagination and prudent risk-taking would be appropriate in a particular case.

Complex models (such as Pareto optimality) are often no better than intuition. Such models only
work in certain conditions, so the (complex) human brain is often more effective. Having more
information does not always help, and getting it can be expensive and slow. A laboratory situation is
very different - here, complexity can be handled and controlled.

Conversely, it is highly unsatisfactory and very risky simply to ignore the potential for black swan
events to occur. To take the view that we cannot predict them, so we will plan and model for our
financial future without them, is looking for trouble. And yet, this is often precisely what is done by
firms, individuals and even governments.

Diversification and Harry Markowitz
Gigerenzer considers the Nobel Prize-winning work of Harry Markowitz on diversification. Gigerenzer
argues that one would really need data extending over 500 years for it to work. He comments wryly
that one bank, which promoted its strategies on the basis of Markowitz-style diversification, sent out
its letters 500 years too early. After getting the Nobel Prize, Markowitz himself actually relied on
intuition.

In the 2008 and 2009 crisis years, the standard asset allocation models did not work well at all. One
still needs to diversify, but intuitive approaches are arguably just as good as complicated models,
which simply cannot integrate black swan events in any meaningful manner.

Other Implications
Taleb warns against letting someone with an "incentive" bonus manage a nuclear power station - or
your money. Ensure that financial complexity is balanced with simplicity. A mixed fund is one way of
doing this. Certainly, these vary substantially in quality, but if you find a good one, you can really
leave the diversification to one supplier.

Avoid hindsight bias. Be realistic about what you really knew back then, and don't bank on it
happening again, certainly not exactly the same way. Take uncertainty seriously; it is the way of the
world. No computer program can forecast it away. Don't place too much faith in predictions.
Markets can be clearly too high or too low; it is not as if we know nothing. But really reliable,
accurate forecasts that you can bank on are just a fantasy.

The Bottom Line
Predicting financial markets can be done, but their accuracy is as much a matter of luck and intuition
as of skill and sophisticated modeling. Too many black swan events can happen. All manner of
factors can nullify even the most complex modeling, because one just cannot include the truly
unknown into the model.

This does not mean that modeling and prognoses cannot or should not be done. But we also need to
rely on intuition, common sense and simplicity. Furthermore, investment portfolios need to be made
as crisis- and black-swan-proof as possible. Our old friends - diversification, ongoing monitoring,
rebalancing and so on - are less likely to let us down than models that are fundamentally incapable
of taking everything into account. In fact, the most reliable prediction is probably that the future will
continue to remain a mystery, at least in part.



Is a Charge Card right for you?
What is a charge card?
A charge card allows you to manage and maximize your cash flow, because it has no pre-set spending limit. For the
financially savvy consumer, a charge card makes good sense. Because your statement must be paid in full each month,
many people find charge helps them control spending.



Purchasing Power
With a charge card, you are granted more purchasing power with no pre-set spending limit. While your spending is not
unlimited, your purchases are approved based on a variety of factors, including your credit record, account history and
personal resources. Proof of resources and security may be required.

Like many credit products, should you wish to make a purchase that goes beyond your usual spending patterns, please
call the Customer Service number on the back of your Card to ensure a seamless experience.

If your spending continues to increase over the months, and your payments and credit record remain in good standing,
you can achieve more spending power over time.



Year-end Summary of Charges for Consumer Cards
This valuable Card benefit simplifies year-end financial planning and can be a great asset during tax preparation. You'll
receive an itemized, chronological listing of your Card transactions from the previous year.

This Card benefit is available on the American Express Platinum Card, American Express

Gold Card and Air India

American Express Gold Card




If you would like more control over your finances and greater financial flexibility an American Express Charge
Card can meet your needs.
Unlike Debit and Credit Cards, with an American Express Charge Card you can enjoy no pre-set spending limit
and you must repay your full balance at the end of each month giving you total control over your expenses.
In addition, with the Green, Gold and Platinum premium Charge Cards you will enjoy complimentary insurance
benefits, plus hotel and travel benefits, all with the superior service and prestige that is synonymous with
American Express, none of which you would get with a standard Debit or Credit Card.
American Express Charge Cards Vs Debit and Credit Cards

Debit
Card
Credit
Card
American Express
Premium Charge Cards
Control over finances

X

No pre-set spending limit X X

Complimentary Insurance Benefits X X

Loyalty Programme X X

Discounts on hotels & airfares X X

Complimentary Travel Benefits X X


The wide range of benefits available on an American Express Charge Card represent great value when
compared to Debit and Credit cards.
A Basic Charge Card is also available with no pre-set spending limit5 and no interest charges - just pay your
balance in full every month.