Credit cards are strange. You would think credit card technology around the world is all the same. Oddly enough, it isn’t. You’d be surprised by how much payment technology differs around the world. One of those technologies used heavily in much of Europe is contactless payment.
Contactless payment is essentially Apple Pay, but with a credit card. Contactless cards have tiny RFID chips in them which emit a radio frequency. When the card is placed near a NFC card reader a transaction is initiated. Contactless cards are widely used in places like London and Hong Kong, but rarely seen in the US.
I personally prefer contactless cards because of how quickly the transactions occur and because of how widely contactless payment is accepted outside of the US. For that reason, I recently ordered the contactless version of the American Express Platinum card which finally arrived earlier this week.
Why Do I Want A Contactless American Express Platinum Card?
I decided to request a contactless American Express Platinum card for a few reasons. First and foremost, I requested the contactless card for international travel. In London the Underground (Tube) accepts contactless payment. That means whenever I travel to London in the future I can simply use my new contactless Platinum card to pay for my Tube rides. Thanks to my contactless card I shouldn’t have to purchase Underground cards or refill my Oyster card. Instead I can just place my Platinum card on the Tube reader and proceed.
Another reason I wanted the contactless version of the Platinum card is for my local public transportation. The Chicago Transit Authority (CTA) accepts contactless payment on both trains and busses. I currently have to carry a “Ventra” card to pay for rides. The Ventra card takes up valuable real estate in my wallet so I’ll be happy if going forward I only have to carry my American Express card.
Lastly, I decided to get a contactless American Express Platinum card to use at convenience and grocery stores. A small amount of my annual spend is non-bonus spending at convenience stores and grocery stores. When visiting these establishments I have to put my chip card in the reader and wait 10 seconds for my transaction to go through. I know, it’s not a huge deal, but I can’t tell you how nice it is to simply tap my card on a reader instead. Placing my card on the reader takes 2 seconds and I don’t even have to take the card out of my wallet.
For those reasons I decided to call American Express and request a contactless Platinum card.
Requesting A Contactless American Express Platinum Card
American Express offers the contactless version of the Platinum card at no additional cost to card members. To request a contactless card all you have to do is call Amex and ask for it. Simply call the number on the back of your Platinum card and request a contactless version of the Platinum card. A few seconds later and the Amex customer service representative confirmed that my card would arrive within 3 business days.
My Contactless American Express Platinum Card Arrived
A few days after my call with Amex a package arrived to my home. As with most American Express cards, the card arrived in a FedEx overnight envelope.
Inside was a standard white envelope which was unsealed.
Inside the envelope was a sheet of paper with my new contactless Platinum card affixed to the page.
When I removed the card from the page I noticed a few subtle differences from the standard Platinum card, but my card number remained the same.
On the back of the card I noticed the “contactless” logo on the bottom right corner of the card.
For comparison, here is the front of the standard Platinum card.
And here is the back of the standard Platinum card.
Besides the larger chip and contactless logo the cards are nearly identical. However, it’s worth noting that the contactless card is lighter and appears to be made of a thick plastic rather than metal. I suppose this is because a metal card would interfere with the RFID chip found in the contactless card.
Be Cautious With Contactless Cards
Contactless credit and debit cards should all display the small contactless logo found in the corner of the above Platinum card pictures. If you have more than one of these cards in your wallet you need to be cautious. When placing your wallet on a contactless card reader it’s possible that the reader will charge multiple cards for a single transaction. My advise would be to only carry one contactless card in your wallet at any one time to avoid making this mistake.
Final Thoughts
I’m extremely excited to finally have the contactless version of the Platinum card. I’ve been meaning to request the contactless version of this card for some time now so I’m glad I finally made the call. While most people probably won’t care one way or another about having a contactless card, I think it’s a valuable tool to have in my wallet when traveling abroad.
I look forward to figuring out where I can and can’t use my contactless card. In the US I’ve discovered that anywhere that accepts Apple pay also accepts contactless payments. This includes places like CVS, Walgreens, my local grocery store, and my office’s vending machines. Going forward I will try to use my contactless card as much as possible to figure out where it will and won’t work. The biggest test will be to see if the card works on the CTA bus I take each morning to work. (Update: OMG it worked on new CTA bus! Goodbye Ventra!)
Lastly, keep in mind that American Express offers contactless versions of many of their credit cards. You can learn more about Amex contactless card on their contactless card website.
