American Express Merchant Finder 🗺️

Automatically extract merchant data from American Express maps including store names, addresses, phone numbers, offers, and benefits.

🚀 Quick Start

Option 1: Use Default Settings (Easiest)

1. Click "Start" button
2. Wait 30-60 seconds
3. Download your data as CSV or Excel

Option 2: Search Different Locations

1. Go to American Express Maps
2. Search for your desired location and categories
3. Copy the URL from your browser
4. Paste it in the "Start URL" field
5. Click "Start"

📍 How to Find Merchants Near You

Step-by-Step Guide:

1. Visit AmEx Maps: Go to https://www.americanexpress.com/en-us/maps

2. Search Your Location:

   • Enter your city or address in the search box
   • Example: "Manhattan, NY" or "London, UK"

3. Select Categories (optional):

   • Shopping
   • Dining
   • Travel
   • Entertainment
   • New Merchants

4. Copy the URL: After the map loads, copy the entire URL from your browser's address bar

5. Paste in Actor:

   • In the Apify Actor input, paste the URL
   • Click "Start"

💡 Example Searches

United States:

New York Shopping:
https://www.americanexpress.com/en-us/maps?country=US&near=New-York,NY&cat=Shopping&cl=40.7128,-74.0060

Los Angeles Dining:
https://www.americanexpress.com/en-us/maps?country=US&near=Los-Angeles,CA&cat=Dining&cl=34.0522,-118.2437

Miami New Merchants:
https://www.americanexpress.com/en-us/maps?country=US&near=Miami,FL&cat=New-Merchant&cl=25.7617,-80.1918

United Kingdom:

London Shopping:
https://www.americanexpress.com/en-us/maps?country=GB&near=London,England&cat=Shopping&cl=51.5074,-0.1278

Birmingham City Centre:
https://www.americanexpress.com/en-us/maps?country=GB&near=City-Centre,England&cat=Shopping,New-Merchant&cl=52.4820274,-1.8964356

Manchester Dining:
https://www.americanexpress.com/en-us/maps?country=GB&near=Manchester,England&cat=Dining&cl=53.4808,-2.2426

Other Countries:

Paris, France:
https://www.americanexpress.com/en-us/maps?country=FR&near=Paris,France&cat=Shopping&cl=48.8566,2.3522

Dubai, UAE:
https://www.americanexpress.com/en-us/maps?country=AE&near=Dubai,UAE&cat=Shopping&cl=25.2048,55.2708

Tokyo, Japan:
https://www.americanexpress.com/en-us/maps?country=JP&near=Tokyo,Japan&cat=Shopping&cl=35.6762,139.6503

⚙️ Settings

Start URL

• What it is: The American Express maps page you want to scrape
• Default: Birmingham, UK - Shopping & New Merchants
• How to change: Paste your custom AmEx maps URL

Wait Time

• What it is: How long to wait for the page to fully load (in seconds)
• Default: 5 seconds
• When to increase:
  • If you're getting incomplete results
  • If searching large cities with many merchants
  • If your internet connection is slow
• Recommended: 5-10 seconds

📊 What Data You'll Get

For each merchant, you'll receive:

✅ Business Information

• Merchant name
• Store type (online/in-store)
• Category (Shopping, Dining, etc.)

✅ Location Details

• Full street address
• City, state/province
• Postal/ZIP code
• Country
• GPS coordinates (latitude/longitude)

✅ Contact Information

• Phone number
• Website URL (if available)

✅ Offers & Benefits

• Offer type (New Merchant, Special Offer, etc.)
• Benefit description
• Campaign details
• Points or cashback information

📥 Downloading Your Data

After the Actor Finishes:

1. CSV File:

   • Go to "Key-Value Store" tab
   • Download amex_merchants_full.csv
   • Open in Excel, Google Sheets, or any spreadsheet software

2. Dataset Export:

   • Go to "Dataset" tab
   • Click "Export" button
   • Choose format: CSV, JSON, Excel, or HTML

File Formats:

Format	Best For	How to Open
CSV	Excel, Google Sheets, Data Analysis	Double-click or import
JSON	Developers, API integration	Code editors, online viewers
Excel	Business reports, presentations	Microsoft Excel, LibreOffice
HTML	Quick viewing in browser	Any web browser

🔍 Understanding Your Results

Typical Output:

• 100 merchants per search (maximum returned by AmEx API)
• Each merchant on a separate row
• All fields clearly labeled
• Empty fields show as blank (not "null" or "NaN")

Sample Data Row:

Merchant Name: Apple Store Bullring
Address: 52 Bullring, Birmingham, B5 4BU, UK
Phone: 0121 123 4567
Category: Shopping - Electronics
Offer: New Merchant Bonus
Benefit: Earn 2X points on all purchases

❓ Frequently Asked Questions

How many merchants can I get?

• Up to 100 merchants per search
• This is the maximum returned by AmEx's API
• To get more, search different areas or categories

Can I search multiple locations at once?

• Not in a single run
• Run the actor multiple times with different URLs
• Each run takes 30-60 seconds

Why are some fields empty?

• Not all merchants have complete information
• Some fields (like website) are optional
• Phone numbers may not be available for all stores

The data looks incomplete, what should I do?

• Increase the "Wait Time" to 10 seconds
• Make sure you copied the full URL
• Try searching a smaller area

Can I search for specific merchant names?

• Not directly through this tool
• Filter the exported data in Excel/Sheets
• Or use AmEx maps to search, then scrape

Is this allowed?

• This tool accesses publicly available data
• It simulates what a regular user does
• Follow Apify's terms of service and AmEx's robots.txt

💰 Cost & Usage

Free Tier:

• Apify provides free platform credits
• Each run costs minimal compute resources
• Approximately 1-2 minutes of compute time

Pricing:

• Pay only for actual usage
• Billed by compute time (seconds)
• Very affordable for occasional use

🆘 Need Help?

Common Issues:

"No matching requests captured"

• The page didn't load properly
• Increase wait time to 10 seconds
• Check if the URL is correct

"No merchant data found"

• The search location has no merchants
• Try a different category or area
• Verify the URL works in your browser first

"Actor failed with error"

• Contact support with the error message
• Check the logs for details

Support:

• Check the "Log" tab for detailed information
• Use the 👎 feedback button to report issues
• Contact Apify support for technical help

🎯 Pro Tips

1. Start Small: Test with one location before running multiple searches
2. Save URLs: Bookmark your favorite search URLs for quick re-runs
3. Compare Data: Export results from different cities to compare offers
4. Regular Updates: AmEx updates merchant data frequently - run weekly for latest info
5. Filter in Excel: Use Excel's filter features to find specific merchants or categories

📋 Use Cases

For Consumers:

• Find new merchant bonuses in your area
• Discover which stores accept AmEx
• Plan shopping trips around best offers
• Track new merchants joining the program

For Businesses:

• Competitive analysis of local merchants
• Market research for AmEx acceptance
• Identify partnership opportunities
• Track competitor offers and promotions

For Researchers:

• Study retail distribution patterns
• Analyze payment acceptance by geography
• Track merchant program growth
• Compare international markets

🔐 Privacy & Data

• This tool accesses only publicly available data
• No login or AmEx account required
• No personal information collected
• Data is yours to download and use

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🚦 Ready to Start?

1. Click the green "Start" button above
2. Wait 30-60 seconds for completion
3. Download your merchant data
4. Start finding great offers near you!

Default search: 100 merchants in Birmingham, UK (Shopping & New Merchants)

Happy merchant hunting! 🎉