Does Burger King Accept American Express in 2024?

Credit card acceptance varies across the thousands of Burger King locations in the United States. But when it comes to American Express, only some Burger King franchises accept their cards. This guide will cover everything you need to know about paying with American Express at Burger King, including a deep dive into why more locations don‘t take Amex cards.

The Costs and Benefits of Accepting American Express

Accepting credit card payments provides a major convenience for customers and drives higher sales, but it also comes with processing costs for merchants like Burger King franchises. Typically these processing fees range from 1-3% per transaction for Visa, Mastercard, and Discover.

However, American Express charges the highest fees in the card industry, in the range of 2.5-3.5% per swipe according to industry reports. This table compares the variable transaction fees across major card networks:

With tight profit margins around 3-9% for most restaurants, every fraction of a percent counts when calculating the cost of accepting a card network. This helps explain why some Burger King franchises see American Express fees as too costly for their customer base and sales volume.

The Customer Demographics of American Express

Beyond just the higher fees, Burger King locations also have to consider the customer demographics that carry and use American Express cards versus other networks.

According to industry research, American Express customers tend to skew higher income. The average income of an American Express cardholder is around $78K per year compared to $61K for Mastercard and $58K for Visa.

Geographically, Amex cards are also more heavily concentrated in major metropolitan and suburban areas on the coasts. The heartland and rural areas have lower American Express market penetration compared to Mastercard and Visa cardholders.

So for Burger King franchises in small towns or lower-income urban neighborhoods, accepting American Express cards may not make financial sense based on their local customer base. The additional card fees are not always offset by higher sales volumes from Amex customers.

Finding Burger King Locations That Accept American Express

Since American Express acceptance varies between individually owned Burger King franchises, you‘ll need to check ahead of time to see if your local restaurant takes Amex cards.

Here are a few ways to find Burger King locations that accept American Express:

• Search the American Express online merchant locator and filter for Burger King restaurants.

• Check the Burger King online restaurant locator and contact your desired locations directly to ask about Amex.

• Search restaurant review sites like Yelp – patrons sometimes note whether American Express is accepted in their comments.

• Use the Amex mobile app to locate nearby accepting merchants in all categories, including fast food chains like Burger King.

If you know your local Burger King franchise accepts American Express upfront, you can proceed confidently with your Amex card. But be sure to verify ahead of your visit or order to avoid payment issues.

Options for Using Amex at Non-Accepting Burger King Locations

If your local Burger King doesn‘t accept American Express credit cards directly, you still have a couple options for using your Amex card:

• Order Delivery – Major food delivery apps like DoorDash, Uber Eats, and Grubhub all accept American Express. You can use your Amex card through their platform to order Burger King delivery.

• Buy an Amex Gift Card – Burger King locations accept American Express gift cards, which are prepaid. This allows the franchisee to accept the funds without paying card fees.

Between checking locations, ordering delivery, and using Amex gift cards, you have alternatives for using your American Express card at Burger King restaurants not on the Amex merchant network.

The Bottom Line

While American Express is not accepted universally at Burger King, many franchises do take Amex cards. But it‘s important to check ahead of time and understand why locations may choose not to accept American Express. The higher transaction fees combined with local customer demographics factor into the decision. With some prep work to find accepting restaurants or utilize delivery/gift cards, Amex cardholders can still enjoy Whoppers and fries nationawide.