Consumer complaint received 2019-03-12
Company: AMERICAN EXPRESS COMPANY
State: GA
Product: Credit card or prepaid card
Sub-product: General-purpose credit card or charge card
Issue: Advertising and marketing, including promotional offers
Sub-issue: Confusing or misleading advertising about the credit card

Complaint:
summary complain : AMEX credit card ; fake opening bonus ; misleading customer service ; " we amex can close your account, and now I am allowing to keep having the account, so you should be happy with it and just use what you have '' -- I did nothing wrong with the card, I pay bills in time, I only have 3 amex cards, have never closed any, how can a supervisor say such a thing? 

details are follow : I opened a American express XXXX XXXX XXXX card on XX/XX/XXXX. 

Which the company promotion is : bonus offer XXXX XXXX points after spending {$4000.00}, + 1 complimentary night once receive the credit card and another free night upon renewal. 

I checked with the customer service team before and after opening of the card several times before and after submitting my application of the credit card. And I was told I will get the welcome offer as long as I have never had the same card before. 

So I spent at least {$4000.00} within 3 months, and I check with the customer service team again on XX/XX/XXXX to verify that I have finished the spending and will get the bonus points and complimentary night or not. I was told, yes, we can see your bonus offer, and you will get it, just wait. 

Again on XX/XX/XXXX, I check again with customer service about the bonus points and complimentary night, this time, they say there is some issue with your account, but you will recieve your points, we will open investigation and let you know in 1-2 weeks. 

on XX/XX/XXXX, I called the customer service about my case. I spend 2 hrs on phone with 1 assistant, 1 supervisor and 1 supervisor of supervisor. The supervisor told me " I can give you the complimentary night as you should have, but I don't know about the bonus offer issue ''. Then i was transferred to the supervisor of this supervisor, I was told : " we revoked your welcome offer on XXXX XXXX right after your opening of the card, and there is never a promise of a free night after opening card, we AMEX CAN DECIDE TO GIVE IT TO YOU OR NOT AS WE WISH ... ..We can even close your account and do not let you use our credit card anymore, but you see I still allow you to have your account open and allow you to use your credit cards. So you should be happy with it ''. 

I am so annoyed, because, the amex official website says : " Enjoy one weekend night reward with your new XXXX XXXX American Express XXXX Card and every year after renewal '' This means a night after card opening and a night after renew of anniversary. And now the supervisor told me AMEX CAN DECIDE TO GIVE IT TO YOU OR NOT???? Why don't they advertise it this way? When they advertise the card, they tell you you will get 1 right after card opening and now after you already paid {$450.00} annual fee, now they just tell you " we don't want to give it to you, so there is nothing you can do with it? '' Also, the opening bonus, I check 1 time right when I was submitting the application, 3 times after opening ( in 5 months ), every single amex customer service told me " you have a welcome offer attached, just spend the money and you will get it just wait '' or " I just checked your welcome offer, you finished it and wait ''. 

And then when I can not bare with the endless waiting and want to find out the truth, now they tell you " We know you do not have it on the very first day, but we do not tell you and since now I tell you this, you can do nothing but accept it. '' In my case, I believe the American express credit card company has the issues : 1. false/misleading advertisement on line 2. intentional misleading through customer service team ( 1 ) did not inform customer that the offer is revoked. 
( 2 ) when I check with them, they only tell me that i will have the offer, but the truth is they can see me not. 
3. when they figure out that I really want the truth, they just tell me : we decide it, you accept it, and insult me as a customer.

Company response to consumer: Closed with non-monetary relief