Consumer complaint received 2023-11-04
Company: AMERICAN EXPRESS COMPANY
State: NY
Product: Credit 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:
On XX/XX/XXXX I received a pop-up in my online Amex account offering a first-six-month bonus earn of " XXXX points at restaurants and U.S. supermarkets '' with a Platinum Card. I applied on the spot through this link and was approved for the card. After the account was opened, I saw that I was only being credited the standard 1 point per $ at restaurants. I contacted customer support on XX/XX/XXXX providing a screenshot of the offer I responded to, and was told I would hear back within about 10 business days. Since then I have called every couple of weeks ( on XX/XX/XXXX, XXXX, and XXXX ) to try to get to the bottom of this ( they never sent the written communications they promised ) and have been told that the " backend team '' reviewed my account and found that a " different offer '' without the bonus earn was attached to my account when it was opened, and that they would not honor the one I applied through. 

They claimed at various points XXXX XXXX XXXX  that just because someone received a certain sign-up offer doesn't mean that others are eligible for the same offer. I said sure, but I was personally targeted and provided the screenshot as evidence. 
- ... that just because I was eligible for a certain sign-up offer doesn't mean I applied through the right link. ( See above- I clicked the " Go Platinum '' link in the screenshot to apply and took that screenshot precisely because I had already previously tried to apply with a different offer link through an affiliate ( XXXX  ) - I was told I was ineligible for that previous one and that I could withdraw the application without any impact on my credit history or offer eligibility. So when I was targeted with the pop-up just a few days later I was pleasantly surprised, but also wary, and took the screenshot in case I ran into trouble with the welcome bonus later, then applied directly through the pop-up. ) - ... that while I might have applied by responding to a certain offer ( the one with the XXXX bonus earn ), a " different offer '' was applied by their systems when I submitted the application, and that they were " legally bound '' by the offer that was applied by their system. I said, why even bother having a file upload tool on the website for welcome offer mistakes, and ask me to submit a screenshot if they don't have the ability to retroactively apply another offer? 
- ... that sometimes their systems will have a " glitch '' which can cause a different offer to be applied by their systems from the one that was shown to the customer- ... that they had no ability to credit the supposed offer of XXXX bonus points on selected categories in the first six months of the account. But when I spoke to a different phone agent on XX/XX/XXXX they talked specifically about " incremental points '' which is apparently their internal name for these first-six-months bonus earn rates and mentioned that there was no incremental points offer on my account. 
- ... that the reason they have that screenshot upload tool on their website is that they do retroactively change the offer applied if the investigation by their backend team shows the wrong offer was applied to the account vs what was shown to the customer, but that in my case they determined the correct offer was applied. But this isn't even a case of my word against theirs - the whole point of the screenshot is that the wrong offer was applied! 

It seems pretty clear from piecing all of this together that they did in fact have the specific offer that was shown to me ( XXXX points + the XXXX incremental points for restaurants and US supermarkets in the first 6 months ), and that a glitch in their backend systems caused a discrepancy between the offer that was targeted to me and the one that was " applied '' to the account upon application approval. Whether they showed me the offer past the date it was intended to be shown, or targeted the wrong customer segment entirely, I have no idea. Regardless, their choosing not to honor the offer because of their own error is a business decision, not some sort of legal requirement for them. 

I've been a XXXX customer for a long time and was prepared to make the switch for all of my credit card spend, not just travel, because of Amex 's reputation in customer service, but this is ridiculous. It's misleading, it's wrong, and it's something people should know about.

Company response to consumer: Closed with explanation