William Lipovsky
While more stores accept American Express now than in the past, some stores still choose not to accept it due to the associated transaction fees or their relationships with other credit card networks.[1]
Below, we list more than 100 national retailers that take American Express, divided by category.
It’s worth noting that stores that take American Express credit cards generally also accept American Express prepaid gift cards.
The List
Note: Linked store names will direct you to our previous research on each company’s payment options.
Department Stores/General Merchandise
- Amazon[2]
- Burlington[3]
- Dillard’s[4]
- Dollar General[5]
- Dollar Tree[6]
- JCPenney[7]
- Kmart[8]
- Kohl’s[9]
- Macy’s[10]
- Marshalls[11]
- Neiman Marcus[12]
- Nordstrom[13]
- Nordstrom Rack[14]
- Saks Fifth Avenue[15]
- Target[16]
- T.J. Maxx[17]
- Walmart[18]
Wholesale Clubs
Clothing
- ASOS[21]
- Athleta[22]
- Banana Republic[23]
- Eloquii[24]
- Gap[25]
- H&M[26]
- J.Crew[27]
- Old Navy[28]
- Ross Dress for Less
- Uniqlo[29]
- Urban Outfitters[30]
- Victoria’s Secret[31]
- Zara[32]
Hardware/Home Goods
- Ace Hardware[33]
- Bed, Bath & Beyond[34]
- Crate and Barrel[35]
- CB2[36]
- The Home Depot[37]
- HomeGoods[38]
- IKEA[39]
- Lowe’s
- Marshalls[11]
- Menards[40]
- Pottery Barn[41]
- True Value[42]
- West Elm[43]
- Williams Sonoma[44]
Auto Parts
- Advance Auto Parts[45]
- AutoZone[46]
- CarParts.com[47]
- NAPA Auto Parts[48]
- O’Reilly Auto Parts[49]
- RockAuto[50]
Entertainment, Electronics, and Gaming
- Apple[51]
- AT&T[52]
- Barnes & Noble[53]
- Best Buy[54]
- Comcast/Xfinity[55]
- Fandango[56]
- GameStop[57]
- Verizon Wireless[58]
Office Supplies
Groceries/Meal Kits
- Albertsons[63]
- ALDI[64]
- Blue Apron[65]
- Compare Foods[66]
- Fareway Stores[67]
- Food Lion[68]
- Fresh Thyme[69]
- Giant Eagle[70]
- Giant Food[71]
- Harps Foods[72]
- H-E-B[73]
- HelloFresh[74]
- Hmart
- Hy-Vee[75]
- Ingles Markets[76]
- Jewel-Osco[77]
- Key Food[78]
- Kroger[79]
- Market32[80]
- Meijer[81]
- Natural Grocers[82]
- Price Chopper[83]
- Price Rite[84]
- Publix[85]
- Ralphs[86]
- Safeway[87]
- Schnucks[88]
- Shaw’s[89]
- ShopRite[90]
- Sprouts[91]
- Stop & Shop[92]
- Trader Joe’s[93]
- Vons[94]
- Weis Markets[95]
- Wegmans[96]
- Whole Foods Market[97]
- Winn-Dixie[98]
Pharmacies
Outdoor/Sporting Goods
Beauty/Personal Care
Pets
Restaurants
- Applebee’s[113]
- Arby’s[114]
- Buffalo Wild Wings[115]
- Burger King[116]
- Chick-fil-A[117]
- Chili’s[118]
- Chipotle[119]
- Cracker Barrel[120]
- Domino’s[121]
- Dunkin'[122]
- Five Guys[123]
- In-N-Out
- Jack in the Box[124]
- McDonald’s[125]
- Olive Garden[126]
- Panda Express[127]
- Panera Bread[128]
- Papa John’s[129]
- QDOBA Mexican Eats[130]
- Sonic Drive-In[131]
- Starbucks[132]
- Subway[133]
- Taco Bell[134]
- Wendy’s[135]
- Whataburger[136]
Gas Stations/Convenience Stores
- 76
- 7-Eleven
- Albertsons Express
- Amoco
- BP
- Chevron[137]
- Circle K
- Conoco
- Cumberland Farms
- Delta Sonic
- ExxonMobil
- Flying J
- Gulf Oil[138]
- Hy-Vee
- Kum & Go
- Kwik Fill
- Kwik Star
- Kwik Trip
- Red Apple
- Marathon
- Meijer
- Phillips 66
- Pilot
- RaceTrac
- RaceWay
- Sheetz
- Shell
- Speedway[139]
- Sunoco
- Valero
- Wawa
- Weis Gas & Go
Travel
- Alaska Airlines[140]
- American Airlines[141]
- Amtrak[142]
- Delta Air Lines[143]
- Frontier Airlines[144]
- Greyhound Lines[145]
- Hotwire[146]
- JetBlue Airways[147]
- Lyft[148]
- Southwest Airlines[149]
- Spirit Airlines[150]
- Uber[151]
- United Airlines[152]
Places That Don’t Accept American Express
Locally-owned or franchised businesses may not accept American Express; our list only includes national and large regional retailers, so you’ll need to contact local stores to find out their payment policies.
In the course of our research, we found that the following major chains don’t take American Express:
I called the Sears store in Pensacola fl, and was told they did not accept American Express gift cards. on 17 July 2017
Hi Walter,
You may want to contact that store again to verify, as the Sears’ website shows that they continue to accept American Express as a form of payment.
Someday it would be nice to be able to pay a car note, business leases etc. until this happens Amex remains a department store card and limited. Hopefully this will soon change.
Change in Amex’s rates has been slow to fall historically, though they have been falling. Back in the 80s, the rate they charged merchants on transactions was around 4%. It will probably be some time before Amex rates match levels of other major cards.