Consumer complaint received 2022-10-13
Company: AMERICAN EXPRESS COMPANY
State: IN
Product: Credit card or prepaid card
Sub-product: General-purpose credit card or charge card
Issue: Other features, terms, or problems
Sub-issue: Problem with rewards from credit card

Complaint:
Summary : American Express closed our Credit Card without warning and forfeited our {$1300.00} rewards points. After making multiple attempts through their customer service number, speaking to multiple levels of representatives in multiple departments no concrete answer can be given as for the reasoning of the cancellation. 

Details : XX/XX/2022, XXXX XXXX : We received an email that one of our accounts needed to provide additional information and that it risked closure. We called American Express 's customer service number ( XXXX ) on the back of our card same day. Initially the representative stated their was no record of this email and they couldn't provide any information on it. After escalating to a supervisor we were told we would need to contact another department at XXXX the next day as they were closed for the day. 

XX/XX/2022 : I contacted the other department and after initial confusion on the request from the email the representative stated without much confidence that my wife who is authorized user on the account needed to provide her birthday as it seem to be incorrect from what was in their system. I provided this information and requested assurance from the representative that the issue was taken care of and no further action needed to be taken on my part. The reassured me there was no further issue and no risk to my account. 

XX/XX/2022 at XXXX AM : We received an email stating that our American Express card has been cancelled and our rewards point have been forfeited. 

I called their customer service number immediately and was told that on their end our card was in good standing, they could find no record of the email I received and to disregard it as a phishing attempt. 

After the call ended I tried to use the card for an online purchase and it was declined. 

I called the customer service line back and was again told there was no record of the email and our account was in good standing and that the problem was with the merchant. 

After the call ended I tried a purchase from another online vendor and the card was declined again. 

I called the customer service line again requesting to speak to a 1st tier supervisor. They said before they could do anything to try an in person purchase and to call back. 

XX/XX/2022 : Tried a purchase at XXXX and was declined again. 

After calling back again and speaking to a 1st tier supervisor they forwarded us to the " XXXX XXXX XXXX ''. Speaking with them I am given no concrete answer to our problem and they refused to let me speak to a supervisor. Their direct contact was XXXX '' I called the original customer service number at XXXX and after pushing for more information with no answer I requested to speak to a 2nd tier supervisor. They weren't available at the moment and I would need to speak to them at another time. The supervisor I was speaking to said " There is nothing more I can do to help you '' After trying to use my rewards points I have confirmed that their use is being declined as well any charges to the card. 

After investing many, many hours into trying to work with American Express with no clear direction as to what is going on with multiple service reps, service tiers and service departments I am not confident they are going to be able to resolve this issue without additional motivation.

Company response to consumer: Closed with explanation