Who wouldn’t want a deal these days, especially with the economy tanking and personal savings twindling? Enter Amex’s Wishlist program. Basically, you list your wish list and AMEX will make the dream come true. For example, you can get a Dell Laptop at deep discounts; gotta love it. Apparently lots of vendors have signed up for this program.

Does this model, credit card company owning the end customer, make web sites like Amazon irrelevant? Not necessarily, but would certainly have an impact on their profit margins. This is especially true for traditional retailers with sky high operating costs.

AMEX should really take this concept to the extreme for small businesses. Why do we need Officemax and Staples, who charges a premium? Squeeze every penny out of them - like LendingTree model for office suppliers.