I saw this, too. How readily is American Express accepted throughout St. Thomas and St. John? It looks and acts like an Amex credit card, with the safety of travelers checks.Looks like there is a promotion of some sort for free companion airfare. call 1-888-safe-axp
The card costs 14.95 and is reloadable. I was told of the local banks in my area where it could be purchased. Unfortunately, I couldn't get it at my AAA, where travelers checks are free to memebers. I didn't ask about the free air thing, I'll calll them again to see what that's all about.

AmEx is the least popular card here, due to the amount that AmEx charges the vendor...and the fact that if the customer disputes the charge, the vendor automatically loses. I know in the jewelry business, if someone is using AmEx, I can't discount as much as I could if they were using Visa or M/C. And I can't tell you how many thousands of dollars in commissios I have lost just because some schmuck got home and didn't want to pay the bill, so he disputed it,and AmEx just refuses to fund the vendor.

I know that American Express is not preferred by vendors, but it is the best credit card I have ever had for the consumer. When I purchase something, especially from a vendor that is unfamiliar, I use American Express - if the vendor won't take American Express, I generally will not purchase anything. I have had several charges that were incorrect or downright fraudulent and everything is resolved much faster and easier with American Express than any other credit card - especially Bank of America.