Where is Amex Accepted & Not Accepted in Australia?

The short answer is, most places. American Express lists more than 220 major brands that accept its card for payments, and a further 3,000 smaller businesses that will accept Amex. That’s just the ones listed on the Amex website – there are many more local businesses across Australia that accept American Express.

The reality is, you may have marginally less choice with an Amex card (having a back up debit or credit card on hand is a good idea), but for most spending, chances are you will be able to use an Amex card without much difficulty.

Below we've listed the well-known brands that American Express says accepts its cards for payments (as at April 2025).

The most noteworthy merchants in Australia who do not accept Amex credit cards for payments are discount supermarket, Aldi, and wholesale retailer, Costco.

Fortunately for Amex cardholders, the vast majority of other major retailers and merchants do accept Amex, and do not charge any extra to Amex customers.

Acceptance has traditionally been less consistent when it comes to small, local businesses. Some independent retailers and businesses have chosen to not accept Amex, because accepting Amex can cost them more than other cards.

From 1 October 2026, Amex opted to no longer allow merchants to add a surcharge when accepting one of its cards as payment. This coincided with a ban on surcharging on Visa, Mastercard and eftpos payments.

However, the merchant will still incur a cost if a customer pays using Amex (or any other credit card). This could mean more businesses deciding to not accept Amex card payments. But that remains to be seen.

For the small number of merchants that do not accept Amex, it generally it comes down to cost. American Express is typically more expensive as a payment method for businesses to accept versus its rivals, Visa and Mastercard.

According to data from the Reserve Bank of Australia, the average merchant fee charged to businesses on an Amex card transaction was 1.35% in the period between September and December 2024. In comparison, the average merchant fee for Visa and Mastercard in the same period was 0.96%.

Here’s a more detailed breakdown of the average merchant fees on Amex cards versus Visa and Mastercard.

If you think an Amex personal or business credit card is going to be a good deal for you based on the rewards, fees and customer service, then chances are the extent to which it's accepted or not should not be a dealbreaker. Most businesses will let you pay with Amex no problem at no extra cost to you.

The possible exception is if you are a particularly heavy spender with Aldi or Costco. Not being able to use your Amex card at these retailers will impact your ability to earn rewards with an Amex card.

Amex is known for the high levels of perks on its of rewards credit cards and its customer service. The fees on their cards can also be on the high side, but you tend to get a lot for the price (think lounge access and travel insurance included on some cards).

If you’re comparing credit cards and leaning towards American Express, it's no harm to check if any business or other merchant you tend to spend a lot of money at accepts Amex. That way you’ll have a clearer idea of how much you’ll be able to get from your card in rewards.

Where Amex is accepted, it shouldn't cost you any more to pay that way than using another type of card. That's because American Express no longer allows merchants to apply a surcharge for accepting a payment made using one of its cards. Surcharging on other types of card payments is also generally no longer allowed.

Some business may offer a discount to customers who pay with cash, in which case paying with a card would be relatively more expensive.