Cancelling AMEX card with points

[castleview]

Hi,

I just received our American Express Rewards bill and the membership fee is due. For both DH and myself, the fee is $110.00. Thing is, we rarely use this card, so I'm thinking of cancelling it. Currently, there are over 32,000 points. Would I have to use these points before cancelling out? And is it a good idea to get rid of the card? Opinions would be welcome before I call the company and talk to them. Thanks.

 

[starwood]

I think you do. If you cancel the card you lose everything.

 

[arlenesp]

If you're not using the card then it would be wise to cancel it.Call them first to redeem whatever you can and then cancel the card. Also find out how much time you have to cancel. Some cards have a 30 day policy from the time the af was charged til you can have then remove it.

 

[rflorek]

From the AMEX site:

Q: What happens to my points if I cancel all of my American Express Cards or if you cancel any of my enrolled Card accounts?

A: If you cancel all your American Express Cards, linked and non-linked, or if we cancel any linked accounts, you will forfeit immediately all the points you've accrued in the program.

 

[Aneille]

When you call ask if there is another card you can get without the fee or a reduced fee. There might be another option.

 

[Homer Simpson]

It depends on which AMEX card you have. We had the Delta Skymiles AMEX and we cancelled it because we switched to an AMEX with more flexible rewards. But we never lost the points... I still have all my points in the Skymiles account and we even used some of them to buy three tickets for our trip this December. And we still have enough left for two more tickets and we cancelled the card over a year ago.

 

[starwood]

It depends on which AMEX card you have. We had the Delta Skymiles AMEX and we cancelled it because we switched to an AMEX with more flexible rewards. But we never lost the points... I still have all my points in the Skymiles account and we even used some of them to buy three tickets for our trip this December. And we still have enough left for two more tickets and we cancelled the card over a year ago.

I think you may have retained your points because you switched to another Amex Card. If you cancel and have no Amex card you will lose all your points.

 

[InstImpres]

As others have said, I would transfer but only after using up the points. You can redeem for gift certificates or transfer them to frequent flyer accounts (I know you can to Continental).

 

[Homer Simpson]

I think you may have retained your points because you switched to another Amex Card. If you cancel and have no Amex card you will lose all your points.

Not really... because we cancelled the Amex and continued to use our Disney Visa until we found another Amex card we liked. There was about a two month gap between Amex cards.

We got to keep the points because they were in our Skymiles account... like I said before: it depends on which Amex card you have.

 

[starwood]

Another thought is - sometimes when you call and tell them you want to cancel they will waive the fee for a year. It's worth a try.

 

[tinytink]

Another thought is - sometimes when you call and tell them you want to cancel they will waive the fee for a year. It's worth a try.

Amex has a deal with Hilton Honors and there is no annual fee.

 

[mrsltg]

If you still want to cancel just call and get the gift certificates. We use our Amex for just about everything so that we accrue points. I am forever cashing in for Pottery Barn Kids or Williams Sonoma gift certificates. 5000 pts =$50.00.

 

[disneyvacalover]

I'm not familiar with the cancellation policy, howevert I think the points you have earned to date are fully transferable w/o penalty.
You can get 1 southwest credit for every 1500 AMEX points. And it only takes 16 credits to earn 1 round trip ticket. That's almosat 20 credits, enough for 1 round trip ticket!

 

[Homer Simpson]

Amex has a deal with Hilton Honors and there is no annual fee.

We switched to the Hilton Honors Amex and love it!

We can use the points for Hilton Hotel stays, tranfer points to our skymiles account, or even buy Disney tickets. We got a free 4 day premium park hopper with 4 plus options for our son for our next trip by cashing in the points.

We like that its so flexible... we can use the points for airfare, hotels, or park tickets.