How can American Express afford to pay you the most generous rewards in the industry?

New York (NerdWallet) – American Express has some of the best rewards programs out there, as you can see from their high rankings using our nerdy credit card finder tool. To demonstrate why, let’s analyze 2 transactions at Joe’s Coffee Shop, one using your American Express card, and one using your MasterCard/Visa from one of the big issuers (Bank of America, Chase, Citibank, Capital One, Wachovia). Not only does American Express charge a higher transaction fee, they also keep the entire