Consumer complaint received 2018-11-24
Company: AMERICAN EXPRESS COMPANY
State: CA
Product: Credit card or prepaid card
Sub-product: General-purpose credit card or charge card
Issue: Other features, terms, or problems
Sub-issue: Problem with rewards from credit card

Complaint:
Overall Issue : not receiving the stated and advertised XXXX points / XXXX dollar spent on some US Restaurant transactions for the American Express Gold Card. Have spoken with 5+ customer service agents at American Express over a period of 1 week and have received no resolutions. I believe this is a violation of the card 's terms and conditions. 

On XX/XX/XXXX, I initiated an inquiry into receiving the wrong number of points for XXXX different transactions totaling XXXX {$500.00} via the online chat portal. 

On XX/XX/XXXX, I received a call indicating they need additional information. The information they requested was a list of transactions which I had previously provided in the chat, but I provided the list again. I spent ~1 hour on the phone speaking with multiple different agents and received no resolution. I was told they would follow-up with me within 48 hours, but they did not. 

On XX/XX/XXXX, I called back to further inquire. After spending ~30 minutes on the phone, a representative informed me that several of the transactions I inquired about are food trucks which have different merchant ID codes than restaurants. However, these food trucks qualify under the card 's fine print. There are additional transactions that were not food trucks to which I received no response / resolution. 

Some examples of things Amex Gold is saying are not qualifying as " us restaurants '' are XXXX XXXX  XXXX XXXX, XXXX XXXX, XXXX XXXX XXXX, XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX. A quick XXXX search should clearly indicate that these are restaurants under any possible definition. 

Amex Gold Card Rewards Fine Print : You will earn XXXX point for each dollar charged for an eligible purchase in each billing period on The American Express Gold Card. You will earn : XXXX additional points ( for a total of XXXX points ) for each dollar charged at restaurants located in the U.S. ; XXXX additional points ( for a total of XXXX points ) on the first {$25000.00} of eligible purchases per calendar year at supermarkets located in the U.S. ( superstores and warehouse clubs are not considered supermarkets ) ; and XXXX additional points ( for a total of XXXX points ) for airfare on a scheduled flight charged directly with passenger airlines ( charter flights and private jet flights are excluded ) and airfare charged directly with XXXX. To earn additional points for a restaurant purchase, the purchase must be at a restaurant located in the United States. You will NOT earn additional points for purchases made at a restaurant owned by a U.S. company but located outside the U.S. ( e.g.  XXXX XXXX XXXX in XXXX ). You may not earn additional points for purchases at a restaurant located within another establishment ( e.g. a restaurant inside a hotel, casino, or event venue ). For example, purchases made at a restaurant located within a hotel may be recognized as a purchase at a hotel, not a restaurant. You also will NOT earn additional points for purchases at nightclubs and convenience stores. Eligible purchases are purchases for goods and services minus returns and other credits. Eligible purchases do NOT include fees or interest charges, purchases of gift cards, purchases of travelers checks, purchases or reloading of prepaid cards, or purchases of other cash equivalents. Additional terms and restrictions apply. Merchants are assigned codes based on what they primarily sell. A purchase will not qualify for additional points if the merchant 's code is not eligible. Purchases made through a third-party payment account or on an online marketplace ( with multiple retailers ) will not qualify for additional points. A purchase may not qualify for additional points if the merchant submits the purchase using a mobile or wireless card reader or if you use a mobile or digital wallet.

Company response to consumer: Closed with non-monetary relief