Consumer complaint received 2019-03-03
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:
This complaint is with regard to two credit cards I was approved for by American Express - both for which I did not receive the promotion advertised after false communications by their representatives and misleading online application experiences. The two cards include the AmEx Everyday Preferred Card and The Platinum Card : *****On or about XX/XX/2018, I called American Express customer service to obtain information about my then existing accounts. While on the call, the representative stated that I was eligible for an upgrade offer ( upgrading from the no annual fee AmEx Everyday card to the annual fee AmEx Everyday Preferred card ). The offer was that I would receive XXXX Membership Reward points after spending {$2000.00} within 3 months of upgrading. I accepted the offer. 

6-8 weeks later, I called customer service to find out how much more I had left to spend to meet the spend requirement and was told that there was no record of the upgrade offer in my account. The representative submitted an inquiry and requested a recording of the call to confirm the upgrade offer. 

After multiple calls, trying to get confirmation of the offer, I finally received a notification stating that, because I did not have an RSVP number, I was not entitled to the offer. This notification was received on XX/XX/2018. At that point, I decided to discontinue using the card until the issue regarding the bonus was resolved as it made no sense to continue trying to meet a spend requirement for a bonus that I was, according to American Express, ineligible for. 

I filed a complaint with the XXXX and ultimately received a letter from American Express stating that I was in fact eligible for the offer. I received that letter on XX/XX/2018. In that letter, they mentioned, " It is important to note, you have until XX/XX/2018, to meet the remaining spend for the promotional bonus ''. Thus, American Express notified me that I was eligible for the bonus a day after the bonus expired. 

The misleading communications by American Express led to a great deal of confusion about whether I was eligible for an upgrade offer. They advertised the offer with the promise of XXXX points after meeting spend requirements, and that was the reason why I decided to upgrade the card and pay the annual fee. ***** On or about XX/XX/2018, I was approved for The Platinum Card from American Express Exclusively for XXXX XXXX. The welcome offer for that card was XXXX Membership Rewards points after spending {$5000.00} in 3 months. I received email notification of approval, received the card in the mail, and spent over {$5000.00} in 3 months on the card, to ensure I would receive the bonus. 

On a customer service call with American Express, I learned that they would not be granting me the XXXX points because I " have open and closed too many accounts with American Express ''. At no point was I informed that previously opening/closing accounts ( which, to my knowledge, I've only done twice over the course of several years ) would prevent me from obtaining the bonus - not during the application process, not when I was approved for the card, and not at any point while I was spending on the card. 

It is misleading to consumers to advertise that you can earn a certain amount of points after meeting spending requirements, and then, after they meet those requirements, say that they are not eligible for the points.

Company response to consumer: Closed with non-monetary relief