Consumer complaint received 2018-06-02
Company: AMERICAN EXPRESS COMPANY
State: TX
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:
American Express had the following AMEX offer : Get XXXX additional Membership Rewards points one-time by using your enrolled Card to spend a minimum of $ XXXX in one or more eligible transactions directly with XXXX  XXXX by XX/XX/XXXX ENROLLMENT/ELIGIBLE CARDS : Enrollment limited. Must add offer to Card and use same Card to redeem. Only U.S.-issued American Express Cards that are enrolled in the Membership Rewards program at the time of purchase are eligible. Your enrollment of an eligible American Express Card for this offer extends only to that Card. Your enrollment does not extend to any other Cards that may be linked to the same Membership Rewards program account ( such as Additional Cards ). Offer is non-transferable. ELIGIBLE PURCHASES : Offer valid for purchases made directly with XXXX XXXXXXXX through XXXX, XXXX reservation telephone line, or XXXX mobile app. Purchase must be in XXXX to qualify. Purchases such as XXXX XXXX flights are included if purchased through XXXX. Not valid for purchases through third parties, agents, and affiliate sites that link to/from XXXX. Excludes gift certificates, lounge passes, lounge memberships, hotel bookings, car rentals, ground transportation, vacation packages, insurance, purchase or gifting of mileage on Mileage Plan account, XXXX XXXXXXXX XXXX XXXX and purchases within lounges, aboard flights or at international airports. 

I purchased {$280.00} worth of XXXX  XXXX tickets on XX/XX/XXXX via XXXX. The promotional points didn't post so I went and reviewed the promotional terms. I originally overlooked the " Offer valid for purchases made directly with XXXX  XXXX through alaskaair.com '' line in the terms. When I reviewed the purchase on my statement, it lists " Doing business as : XXXX   XXXX. '' Promotional offers can take 2 days to 90 days to post, so I contacted American Express customer service via chat. 

This is the transcript from XX/XX/XXXX : -Hi, How may I help you today? 
XXXX - XX/XX/XXXX XXXX XXXX Hi, I am writing to check to see if my XX/XX/XXXX purchase on my platinum card satisfies the XXXX  XXXX Amex offer requirement. 
You - XX/XX/XXXX XXXX XXXX I will check this XXXX - XX/XX/XXXX XXXX XXXX Am I chatting with XXXX? 
XXXX - XX/XX/XXXX XXXX XXXX  Yes You - XX/XX/XXXX XXXX XXXX Thank you. May I know the name of the offer so that I can find and verify the charge? 
XXXX - XX/XX/XXXX XXXX PM Spend $ XXXX, get XXXX Membership Rewards Points You - XX/XX/XXXX XXXX XXXX Thank you XXXX - XX/XX/XXXX XXXX XXXX Please allow me some time XXXX - XX/XX/XXXX XXXX XXXX Thank you for your patience XXXX - XX/XX/XXXX XXXX XXXX I have verified the charge. It is eligible for offer benefit. As per the terms : - The additional points will be credited to their program account within 90 days after the offer end date This is the maximum time frame XXXX - XX/XX/XXXX XXXX XXXX Thank you for your assistance. Have a great day. 
You - XX/XX/XXXX XXXX XXXX  You too! 

90 days past and no promotional points were awarded. I contacted American Express chat again inquiring about the missing points and I was told that the matter would investigated and to contact them again in 10-15 business days. I waited, contacted them again, and was told my purchase did not satisfy the offer as it was not purchased directly with XXXX, even though I was explicitly told my purchase satisfied the offer requirements. I escalated my issue to a supervisor and was told the same thing.

Company response to consumer: Closed with explanation