After split with Costco, AmEx ties up with Sam’s Club

Seven months after splitting with longtime partner Costco Wholesale Corp, American Express Co said on Thursday that its cards will be accepted at rival membership warehouse Sam's Club starting 1 October..

Sam's Club, a division of Wal-Mart Stores Inc, has 653 stores in the US and Puerto Rico.

"We are constantly looking for ways to expand the places where our card members can shop and bring more convenience and value to their everyday lives," Anré Williams, American Express president of global merchant services, said in a statement.

New York-based American Express was the only credit card accepted at Costco for 15 years. In February, the companies said the partnership would end in 2016.

Starting April 2016, Citigroup Inc will be the exclusive issuer of Costco's credit cards and Visa Inc will be the credit card network for Costco's stores.

In March, American Express announced a customer loyalty programme called Plenti, in which consumers could earn points for shopping at a number of companies such as Macy's Inc and Exxon Mobil Corp.

The programme was expected to help offset the loss of the Costco partnership, which represented 8 per cent, or $80 billion, of American Express' billed business and about 20 per cent, or $14 billion, of its interest-bearing credit portfolio.

Many AmEx users are less than thrilled with the new partnership. As one of them commented on the Los Angeles Times website, ''As if I'm going to trade my excellent-worker-treating Costco dollars for minimum-wage-Walmart-cousin! Sorry, AMEX, bad deal on your part!''