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American Express

Rewards

Matt of Lincoln, NE March 30, 2009

Matt of Lincoln NE (03/30/09)
American Express has closed my account after the balance has been paid. They are not allowing me to transfer all my Membership Reward points to an airline. I don't owe them any money and feel they should allow me to transfer my points.

The points can be used for ailine tickets that can be estimated to be worth 2,000.

Jennifer of Bloomington, IN March 29, 2009

Jennifer of Bloomington IN (03/29/09)
About a month ago I was shocked to receive a notice from American Express (dated February 20th) that my card had been canceled. Up until that point I had been an American Express cardholder for nearly a decade and had always made timely payments. It was shocking to me that a credit card company would elect to cancel the account of a long-term cardholder that was always in good standing, especially at a time when there are clearly many others who are not. Through a call with a rather impolite customer service agent who had a very accusatory and condescending tone I learned that there had apparently been a negative report made against my credit history.

Through Experian I was able to learn that there had been a 40 bill filed to my medical insurance company improperly by my doctors office in May of 2008 that was apparently reported to a collection agency. I never received any notifications by mail or telephone from my doctors office or the collections agency. Upon learning of the bill via this rather roundabout way, I immediately paid it in full and was told by the collections agency that they would request that all records be removed from my credit history since I had clearly done nothing wrong (its hard to pay a bill that you never knew you had). Up until that point, the collection agency had treated me with the most courtesy and respect.

Today I received my American Express statement in the mail (closing date 3/19). The statement correctly reflected that I had paid the balance on my account in full (as required when it was suddenly closed) it also stated that I had 15,387 Membership Rewards Points available to redeem. I believed that since I had resolved matters with the collections agency, and they had ensured me that they would resolve things with Experian, that my account could be reinstated and I could, at the very least, redeem the Membership Rewards Points that I have been saving up for several years. When efforts to redeem the points online failed I phoned the Membership Rewards service number and was assisted by a very kind representative who helped to transfer me to another department to see if the account could be reinstated.

The representative and supervisor in this department informed me that not only could the account not be reinstated, that all the points Id accumulated were permanently erased. What was even more frustrating was the fact that the points were apparently gone before Id even received the letter in February, notifying me that the account had been canceled. I have always associated American Express with a very high level of customer service and up until this past month I had always been proud to be a cardholder. However, my recent experiences have been frustrating, demeaning, and extremely unsatisfying.

I cannot yet estimate the damage done by American Express's decision to cancel my account. I am in the process of attempting to refinance my mortgage and I fear that the credit ding their account closure has caused may end up costing me several thousand dollars in the form of higher interest loans or loans with less than the ideal terms that I have worked so hard to obtain and maintain by having nearly perfect credit.

Jillian of Winchester, CA March 24, 2009

Jillian of Winchester CA (03/24/09)
I too had my points revoked and cards canceled after 10 years of being a card member. I had 105,000 points...all gone.

Teresa of Mount Airy, NC March 13, 2009

Teresa of Mount Airy NC (03/13/09)
I overpaid my american express bill in Feb. 2009. On March 13, 2009 I attempted to use my card and it was declined. I called customer service to see what the problem was...I had a 16000.00 credit limit and was just coming out of a credit balance. They informed me that because of information on my Experian credit report they made the decision to close my account. Funny thing, they didn't try to close my account when I had a credit balance with them, only when I owed them 71.00. Now they have taken my rewards points, which I earned through them, that was close to 40,000 points. Why are they getting MY taxpayer dollars when they are shafting me?

They have taken 40,000 reward points, that I earned, that I usually spend every spring for gifts for my children.

Patrick of Alexandria, VA February 27, 2009

Patrick of Alexandria VA (02/27/09)
I have offer in writing from American Express that I would receive the following 4 items for subscribing to a magazine-GURANTEED-even if subscription is canceled. 1)Free Airline Companion Ticket;2)A 100 Restaurant Certificate; 3)2 issues of TRAVEL & LEISURE; and 4)2 Issues of FOOD & WINE. I did receive the magazines, but never the companion ticket or 100 restaurant gift cert.

I did receive the magazines, but never the companion ticket or 100 restaurant gift cert. When I call the number provided by American Express, the subscriber service tells me the missing items are Out of Stock on backorder. Never received anything in the mail stating they are on backorder but will be sent. Would be happy to send you a copy of my letter with the Guarantee on it.

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