the card is still good for forex transactions. Amex give better rates compared to mastercard and visa, when i spent in several countries (thailand, australia, japan). so i think in general amex rates are better.

I found that the T&C a bit misleading. Amex charge 2.5%, Mastercard charge 1%.

But when you look at the effective translation, Amex worked out better.

Let me show you 2 transactions on the same day 13 November 2014. i was in Thailand.


Spent THB 175.82 in Central World, Bangkok with MASTERCARD - statement appear RM18.43 (which means RM1 can exchange for 9.5398 THB)

Spent THB 7,200 in Chiang Mai with AMEX - statement appear RM752.99 (which means RM1 can exchange 9.5618 THB)


The above transaction show that RM is worth more under Amex rate, had i used Mastercard to pay for the transaction in Chiang Mai, the statement amount would have been RM754.72.

RM1.73 or 0.23% more expensive than Amex.


In this case, i suspect upfront Mastercard charge 1%, indirectly charge another 1.73%, thats why end up 0.23% more expensive than Amex.


But then again, these transactions are not swiped back to back, they are swiped at least few hours apart from each other.

This post has been edited by Bahnhofstrasse: Jul 31 2015, 09:34 AM