Some Real Panache

  One never knows what little gems lie around the house, waiting to be discovered. Such was the case recently when I came across, in the clutter that occupies most of the lower level of our house, a 1963 passenger train timetable for the New York Central System, at the time one of the nation's largest railroads. I bought it a few years ago while attending a model train show with my railroad-enthusiast brother, then promptly set it aside.
  Having rediscovered it, I noticed on the inside back page a full-page ad for the 20th Century Limited, reproduced here. The 20th Century, which ran between New York and Chicago, was the king of the streamliners, those swift, sleek trains that dominated passenger travel from the 1930s until the late 1950s.
  As you see, there is a little plug for the "American Express credit card" at the bottom of the page. The promo urges passengers to "Charge It! Use your American Express Credit Card at New York Central ticket offices for both rail fares and sleeping car accommodations. Use it aboard trains for superb meals in Central dining cars."
  Luxury and a touch of exclusivity ... that was the way the travel-and-entertainment sector was 40 years ago. Diners Club was older, but American Express was establishing itself as the card for traveling, especially if you wanted access to the side of life that later would be called "upscale."
  The card world at the time was a lot simpler than it is today. The predecessor organizations of Visa and MasterCard were just forming, and Sears, Roebuck and Co. dominated retail credit. There was no First Data Corp., which American Express would own, there were only the regional bank card processing associations.
  But things changed rapidly. In 1970, the railroads would turn over the rundown remnants of their passenger routes to publicly funded Amtrak. The New York Central would merge with the Pennsylvania Railroad, becoming the Penn Central. The Penn Central in short order went bankrupt-the largest corporate bankruptcy in U.S. history at the time.
  AmEx dominated T&E right into the 1990s, but today your American Express card is accepted at Wal-Mart and many quick-service restaurants. Amtrak staggers from funding crisis to funding crisis, and the airlines are beset with enormous woes (page 14).
  Consumers have a lot more choices today, both for travel and for credit, and that's good. But what happened to the panache?