American Express?

I think it is useless. Visa followed by MCard are the most accepted cards. I finally gave up my AE a few years ago because it was becoming harder and harder to find places that would accept the card. I don't know the current status because I don't look AE sites since I no longer have the card.

Yes you can. Visa is probably more widely accepted by Amex can be used in many places in Italy.

American Express? What is this American Express you speak of?

Visa is everywhere.

American Express is more widely seen in upper scale places. Visa and Mastercard are more widely used in mom and pop type places. (It costs more to take an American Express card than a Visa or Mastercard.)

It is not useless. I always take mine (how else woud I get all those free flights to Europe?) and ask at an establishment if they will take it. Many won't but lots will. SO if you have one do take it along.
In addition, if you should be so unfortunate to have your wallet stolen, AMEX is the best company at assisting travelers in this situation. I could write pages of the problems I had with Mastercard when mine was stolen. Let me summarize that they were awful (I did not have an Amex at the time).

Also, if you feel the need to have Travelers Checks, Amex is absolutely the best company to deal with. A friend of ours had her checks stolen ten years ago. Amex replaced them the next day.

Andrea, we saw many folks frustrated when they tried to pay with AMEX...You may find the odd place where you can use it, but you really do need another card as a back up. As an aside, we stayed in smaller family run places and also ate at lots of family run restaurants. we ended up paying cash almost everywhere. A real change but you get used to it. We also routinely got 8-10% discounts at hotels when paying cash

Andrea - I have an AMEX Platinum I used for business in US and racked up $100k each year in expenses. Yet when I traveled to Europe - and now that I live in Italy - I DO NOT use it. The fees on every purchase you make using an AMEX card in Europe will range - for you 2-4% - and for the vendor, another 2-4%.

For you, you will get hit with a "conversion - or exchange rate" fee on every purchase. The vendors also DO NOT like AMEX because it has the highest rates for them. Many DO NOT accept AMEX.

I also have a Capitol One Platinum MC and, when I use a credit card, I use it. NO CONVERSION FEES - NO EXCHANGE RATE charges... I just have to pay for what I buy in dollars. And because they're such a large corporation you get the BEST exchange rates.

Knowing I was moving here I did a ton of research and they were the best card for what I needed - wide acceptance and no HIDDEN or ADDITIONAL charges. I love my AMEX, but it's getting "dusty" from lack of use here in Italy! Here, it's a cash society (or locals use a Bancomat - their version of a debit card.)

AMEX is great when you need service, help, travel assistance, lost cards (lost mine in Amsterdam once, had another the next day!), and other things but their fees are just TOO high! Now that I'm here, it's just not smart for me to pay those fees, or the conversion rates, when I do not have to ... Good Luck in your travels!

Ciao,
Ron

David: what's a traveler's check? (just kidding!)

Andrea, I am able to use my AMEX at the hotels but otherwise, stick to Visa and MC. Not all restaurants take AMEX either, but its not compeltely useless to have

Just returned and I used Amex for hotel bills and Visa for everything else. Worked well for me.