Consumer complaint received 2022-05-03
Company: AMERICAN EXPRESS COMPANY
State: MA
Product: Credit card or prepaid card
Sub-product: General-purpose credit card or charge card
Issue: Advertising and marketing, including promotional offers
Sub-issue: Didn't receive advertised or promotional terms

Complaint:
My partner has the American Express XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX. We have several upcoming trips so she suggested I sign-up, I agreed and so she sent me the web link, which I used to sign-up before midnight on the evening of XX/XX/2022. After signing up, I noticed the mismatch in miles between the offer we saw on her screen when I signed up and what I received. The offer stated I would receive XXXX miles for opening and she would receive XXXX miles for the referral. The standard offer, that I ended up receiving, results in me only receiving XXXX miles instead and my partner receives XXXX miles. 

I dont know what went wrong, but after the mismatch, she referred me again via the email method in the hopes we could link it up that way to fix the issue. At the time of sign-up, I did not have any American Express credit card, nor have I have been referred to a credit card at American Express , so I was unfamiliar with the process and Im still unclear on the difference between the email and the web link. However, the initial complaint has been exacerbated and broadened as a result of the varying, inconsistent responses that have resulted from multiple attempts to contact American Express in order to remedy the issue. Ive also had issues with representatives pointing out the email link was sent to me after I had used the web link, therefore I shouldnt qualify at all due to the timestamp of the email link, though that doesnt make any sense based on the timeline of what actually occurred and what I've repeatedly explained to them. 

Upon seeing the inconsistency after sign-up when using the web link, I called early the next morning ( about six hours later ) to discuss with a representative. I was told they didnt have a record of the first referral using the web link, only the email one a few hours later. He said he thought hed be able to fix it, but after being on hold for 25 minutes the phone disconnected. He never called me back. I called back after waiting for ten minutes and spoke to a second person, this person told me that I should cancel the card and re-apply. I said Id have to think about it and would call back in a bit. About twenty minutes later, I decided despite the hassle, to just proceed with this. I called back, speaking to the third representative, and was told that would be a bad plan as Id only qualify the first time I ever applied for the card and they didnt think there was anything I could do. After disconnecting, I called new accounts and discussed with a representative specific to that department. He said that he believed itd be fixable, but that I should wait until XXXX XXXX  and then call a dedicated phone number for new accounts. I then proceeded a few hours later when they opened to call this number. I was told they werent clear what had occurred, but that I could open a case and in two to four weeks someone would investigate and possibly be able to fix it. I gave them all the information and they created a case. 

Yesterday I received my XXXX miles and hadnt heard anything, so I called back this afternoon and the first person I talked with said I didnt have a case. She then put me on hold when I was adamant that I did indeed have a case, and after some time, was able to find it. She told me that it had been closed some time ago and that it was somehow determined that I had failed to use the correct link, though Im adamant I used the web link correctly. Once again, they're focusing on the email link and not the originally used web link.

In summary, my partner referred me to a card she had, that I wanted and I successfully met the criteria for the miles. There was somehow a technical glitch somewhere along the line that prevented me from receiving most of the bonus miles and my partner was denied all of her miles for the referral. Ive spent three hours talking to six representatives, all of which gave me varying and contradictory information on how to fix the issue. My complaints : I didnt receive the terms of the credit card offer that were advertised, I consistently had issues with customer service regarding the opening/escalation of the issue and eventually wasnt notified of the closing of my case. Im not trying to use random codes off the internet to get better deals, but instead accepted a referral from my partner that we in good faith believed was a legitimate offer to increase our miles for upcoming trips, but instead, despite contacting American Express within hours of the issue, we spent several hours jumping between representatives who gave us contradictory information and I dont believe ever seriously attempted to rectify the situation in good faith.

Company response to consumer: Closed with explanation