Don’t leave home without him.
Tamarac Commissioner Marlon Bolton recently persuaded city officials to start accepting American Express cards for bills and fees, a first for the city’s government.
Amex cards can now be used to pay city utility bills, purchase building permits and business licenses, and cover parks and recreation fees, “adding another level of convenient payment options just for you,” the city said in posts on X and Facebook Friday.
Bolton pitched the payment option at a June 20 commission workshop, telling colleagues he’d like to accrue more points in Amex’s Membership Rewards Program.
“I swear by American Express, I have like six cards,” said Bolton. “I would love to be able to pay [city] bills with American Express, and other residents have asked in the past as well, ‘Why don’t we use American Express?’”
Bolton said he understood the company’s merchant fees were higher, “but as an American Express customer, I would pay the extra cost just to be able to use that card because of the amount of points that I can have.”
Amex reward points can be redeemed to buy products from a host of top companies, including Amazon and Best Buy, and to pay for travel.
Bolton called the points “valuable” and asked staffers whether the city had looked into accepting Amex cards and “passing on the cost to the consumer.”
A staffer said the city was not set up for Amex payments.
“I know, I’m asking, can we be set up in that fashion?” Bolton said.
Twenty-nine days later, the payment option was announced to residents.
Customers won’t have to pay any fees to use their Amex cards for Tamarac bills.
“The City covers the cost of the merchant fees,” Tamarac spokesperson Joanna Johnson said.
Got News? Send it to Tamarac Talk. Don’t Miss Reading NW Broward County’s #1 News Sites: Margate Talk, Coral Springs Talk, Coconut Creek Talk, and Parkland Talk.
2 comments
Try posting this one Sharon: WTF is Tamarac doing absorbing the costs for Amex use by customers — that just turns around being billed in everyone's taxes in the long run. Vote this idiot out this November and do Tamarac a good deed.
Why would anyone need 6 AMEX cards ? You can rest assured that bolton is doing this for his own benefit !! Any rewards accrued from AMEX should be given to the city to use, as they see fit. He's such a schemer.