Question
Greetings, does anyone know of a credit card issuer who issues euro denominated cards with miles on the spend? I have an AF Amex card, but many outlets don't accept it.
Thanks for any help.
Answer
I know that AA does not have a card partner in France. I think Diner's Club may have a card, but then that won't really solve your acceptance issue.
The problem is that the card market in France is basically a cartel :mad: and foreign banks have a very difficult time getting a banking license there and then a card issueing license is even harder. Carte Bleu has the monopoly.
If you find one, would love to know who the issuer is!
Answer
AFAIK, only Amex and DC cards (as major credit cards) collect miles in France.
Some "Cofinoga" cards collect AirMiles if I remember, but are almost useless.
The problem in France is (always) the GIE Carte Bleue / GIE Cartes bancaires whose rules
apply for all Visa/MC issued in France.
Even the "elite" product Visa Infinite don't collect any miles !
AF Amex is a good product (with the Gold version you get status miles on AF), and Amex acceptance in supermarkets, for instance, starts improving (you should receive info from Amex these days).
Answer
I know that AA does not have a card partner in France. I think Diner's Club may have a card, but then that won't really solve your acceptance issue.
Well, I've read that in SOME European countries Diners Club acceptance is much higher than AMEX (the opposite of how it has been in the US so far), but I don't know if France is one of those countries.
Also, if chippy63 visits the US or Canada a lot, then at some point in the (hopefully near) future, DC acceptance (even for DC cards issued in France) will be the same as MasterCard acceptance there:
http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/showthread.php?t=316556
But that won't help further acceptance within Europe...