Living in India? That Won't Do Nicely!

I've been an American Express cardholder for many years, maybe even 15; I have a blue one, a gold one, a green one, and one that even gives you money, called a One. I am even told that I am pre-approved for a platinum one. But not a black one. That's a secret that not a lot of people know about. Anyway, the point is, that my gold card just expired and, as we're now on secondment in Bangalore, we asked for the card to be sent here. That'll do nicely? No, it won't. Apparently, India is an 'unsafe' country, according to Amex Customer Services, and they will not ship your card here, even though UPS (whom they use in the US to deliver cards) offers a very reliable service to and from Bangalore, as does FedEx, Blue Dart, TNT, etc. etc., nor will they transfer the card for pick up at an office even thought they appear to have one in all the major cities. What would happen, I asked, if I was travelling here and lost my cards, isn't there an Amex 'we'll replace your card and get you out of there in five minutes' policy? Sort of. They wouldn't send me a replacement card - India is 'unsafe' remember - BUT they would allow me ONE emergency payment. Who would I pay? The airline to get me home, the hotel to check out, the boutique selling that fabulous sequinned sari??? It seems ludicrous that a company like American Express, whose card is quite widely accepted here (as much as anywhere else, that is) and who have offices all over the country, cannot do a simple thing like ship a card here??? Presumably they are happy for their employees in India to work in an 'unsafe' country, and for all their cardholders to shop til they drop in an 'unsafe' country? Suffice to say, we had to make our own arrangements to get the cards here using UPS at a cost of $50. Will American Express reimburse me? I'm sure they won't do that nicely.