Angry at American Express

[Mickey527]

I paid off my American Express last month after calling them and asking what I owed. Today I got a bill for $.64 more in charges. I called to have them take the charge off and they willingly did but after they did they said we are glad you called to ask us about the changes made to your account.
I had no idea what they were talking about so I asked what changes and they said that my AE card had been closed. I didn't pay it off to close it, I came into some cash and wanted to pay it off.
I have been faithful in paying my card, never late, but did sometimes have a balance. Last year they dropped my credit limit from $6,000 to $2,000 with no explaination but I didn't mind because I never had the charge up that high.
So I was a little angry that they had cancelled it but oh well, I have other cards with lower interest rates so I don't really care much.
Then I asked about my AE points and was told that I lost them when the card was cancelled. I threw a fit with that and they transferred me to someone who ok'd me getting my points back only if I redeemed them right away.
I got 2 $50.00 Home Depot certificates and 1 $25 Olive Garden/Red Lobster certificate because I had no idea what else they had, I had only the list the woman read off to me. Most of it was Old Navy and Gap stuff, clothing stores where I don't shop.
TOnight on the news they announced that AE is offering people $300.00 in cash if they willingly close their accounts because they are afraid people will charge large amounts and not pay off due to the economy.
So I am really angry now. If I had known I would have called and cancelled my account and gotten the $300.00.
So, if anyone has an AE and really don't need it, call and ask for the $300.00. I plan on calling but I might be too late.

 

[Tink-aholic]

Hmm...when I first opened this thread, I thought you were talking about American Eagle and their points system, but after reading about your gift cards, I think you are talking about American Express. Although, it would still be possible to spend $6K at American Eagle, I think you'd have to get everything in the store!

Good luck!

 

[cruisnfamily]

Hmmmm....found this link but it sounds like it's only available to certain people, the ones they've deemed higher risk. I'm going to look into this some more as I have an Amex with a zero balance that I would happily close in exchange for $300.
You have to receive this offer in the mail to qualify I guess....Here's the link from Amex

 

[dogodisney]

Hmm...when I first opened this thread, I thought you were talking about American Eagle and their points system, but after reading about your gift cards, I think you are talking about American Express. Although, it would still be possible to spend $6K at American Eagle, I think you'd have to get everything in the store!

Good luck!

I too thought she was talking about American Eagle.

 

[Lisa_M]

I too thought she was talking about American Eagle.

Me too! I thought wow, she must spend some serious dough there to get those kind of rewards.

 

[nowellsl]

I paid off my AE last month after calling them and asking what I owed. Today I got a bill for $.64 more in charges.

I would imagine this is interest that accrued between the time you called for your balance and when they received your payment.

I hope I get the $300 offer, I will gladly close mine! It wouldn't surprise me if they have already closed it as it's had a 0 balance for years.

 

[swilshire]

I hope I get the $300 offer, I will gladly close mine! It wouldn't surprise me if they have already closed it as it's had a 0 balance for years.

I have two. I'd gladly close either or both for the bucks.

Sheila

 

[disney1990]

I'm going to call and ask about the offer. I will gladly close my account for $300.

 

[StephMK]

I too thought the other AE but I'm ticked at your AE too. They keep dropping my limit which I'm sure is affecting my credit score each time since it makes my balance higher compared to my limit. I have a balance that I have been faithfully paying off well in advance of the due dates, not using it, etc. I got a letter offering $100 per $1000 I pay off, up to $500.

They must be hurting or something because it seems they are making a big push to get money coming into them (besides interest charges)

The thing is, eventually the economy will bounce back and I will become a better risk down the road but won't carry their cards again after this.

 

[hockeyprincess]

Thanks for the links, I'm going to ck them out tomorrow at work. No problem for me to close my Blue card and get my kids spring clothes with $300 shopping card! It says though, they will send the card w/in 4 weeks, what IF they don't send it?

 

[chefgirl96]

Having worked for a credit card company in the past, I would ask what "type" of close this was. Big difference between closed at the cardmember request and soft/hard closes by the creditor. Would hate for that to be added to your credit report only to discover it later. So to here about your AE woes!

 

[Mrs.Reese]

DH got the $300 offer. It's weird because he's had card with them for 12 years and always paid on time. Doesn't carry a balance but they want to get rid of him. To be honest, I'm thinking they won't be in business in much longer. They spun off their investment banking division. Still it seems stupid to get rid of the good customers for short-term cash.

 

[WDWorld2003]

This is interesting.... I just signed up for an Hilton Honors American Express with 30,000 bonus points and 20,000 with first purchase through an email link they sent to me. Now they are denying I signed up for that promotion.

It's been nothing but a headache. I've never had this much trouble with a card before. I wanted to use this card at Costco and build up some points for a vacation but I may cancel if this is the way they do business.

 

[My2Angels]

Well, I tried to sign up my accounts and it said that my accounts were not eligible for this promotion!! That stinks!

 

[Lib E]

DH got the $300 offer. It's weird because he's had card with them for 12 years and always paid on time. Doesn't carry a balance but they want to get rid of him. To be honest, I'm thinking they won't be in business in much longer. They spun off their investment banking division. Still it seems stupid to get rid of the good customers for short-term cash.

I've been scared that they'll fold for awhile. My hubby uses his corporate card a lot for work travel and I've been transferring the points to Hawaiian Air, which seems to be in pretty good shape for an airline, or getting merchandise certificates every month.

 

[Green Tea]

It is a special offer made to certain people. It isn't a general use kind of thing. It was apparently a small number of customers they targeted.

 

[plummer925]

DH got the $300 offer. It's weird because he's had card with them for 12 years and always paid on time. Doesn't carry a balance but they want to get rid of him. To be honest, I'm thinking they won't be in business in much longer. They spun off their investment banking division. Still it seems stupid to get rid of the good customers for short-term cash.

Having worked at a credit card company in the past, I can tell you, from THEIR prespective, he's NOT a 'good' customer - he is not carrying a blance and always pays on time, so no interest or fees. They want people who carry balances with high interest rates and who sometimes pay a bit late so they can get fees.

At MBNA they had a saying 'alphabet soup...m-m-good' - wehn someone's account was coded "M" (hense the m-m-good) it meant they paid the MINIMUM due, which MBNA loved (because of the interest charges). They also liked an occassional "1" or maybe even "2" code because it meant late payments. An "o" was great because it was "over limit".

Hope that makes sense....

 

[JoanneNC]

American Express is also the most expense card for merchants to accept so I suspect that retailers aren't taking their card as often and thus less transactions fees, etc.

I personally have 2 AmEx Cards and have nothing but good experiences.

 

[TheLittleRoo]

I used to work for Amex and to the OP, I'm not sure why your account was closed. That seems odd that it would be closed unless you asked it to be. Not sure if you have the green/gold/plat cards that are charge cards, or the Blue, Delta, or other cards that are revolving credit. The charge cards must be paid in full each month, and the revolving allow you to carry a balance.

Amex is well-protected for profit on either card type, but if you're on a revolving card and paying in full each month, they make less than if you were on a charge card (only slightly less though). I'm sure it's the revolving cards profiling toward bad debt that they targeted for their $300 offer, or the ones that are paid close to zero with high credit limits (exposure).

I'm biased but I know how much market research and financial analysis goes into decisions like this, and I don't see it as a negative or a sign of weakness that they offered it to certain customers. Remember too, that Amex is a powerhouse in the Corporate Card arena, especially since buying GE Capital's corporate card portfolio last year, and with Citi and Chase not doing so well with their cash reserves - I'd wager they're clearing their cash reserves on the consumer side of the house to open them up for the corporate side.

If you're thinking of cancelling based on customer service, you won't find any other credit card company (now or previously) that provides superior customer service and protection against fraud, charge disputes and travel than Amex. Going forward in this economy, the bank cards are the ones in danger of their host banks folding and customer service going to the dogs, IMO....

 

[JoanneNC]

I'm biased but I know how much market research and financial analysis goes into decisions like this, and I don't see it as a negative or a sign of weakness that they offered it to certain customers. Remember too, that Amex is a powerhouse in the Corporate Card arena, especially since buying GE Capital's corporate card portfolio last year, and with Citi and Chase not doing so well with their cash reserves - I'd wager they're clearing their cash reserves on the consumer side of the house to open them up for the corporate side.

Unfortunately and kinda surprisingly AmEx is one of the financial institutions that has been targeted by the Fed to have its stress test conducted on it. While a very creative approach to getting some cash flow - I do think that it's a sign of weakness