AmEx Facing Tough Times?

(AP Photo/Mark Lennihan)

How the once mighty American Express card has fallen.?It seems that perks the plastic once garnered are quickly dwindling.

FOX News Radio’s Gurnal Scott explains:

It was an 80’s tagline so famous — even the Muppets got in on it…

(Commercial)?”The American Express card. Don’t leave home without it!”

Now consumers are struggling to find a reason to take it with them.

Retailers like Costco and airlines that granted special access to cardholders are steadily defecting to other credit card companies. Competition is the main reason — Visa and CitiGroup are more aggressively pursuing AmEx clients.

A legal setback in an anti-trust suit could also open the door for merchants to choose a preferred credit card company. American Express is appealing. A loss there could mean a revenue hit by lowering card processing fees in an effort to keep customers.

Gurnal Scott, FOX News Radio.