Consumer complaint received 2022-07-19
Company: AMERICAN EXPRESS COMPANY
State: PA
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/Delta Bait and Switch : On XX/XX/2022, I was in the process of deciding whether to purchase a flight on Delta, XXXX an offer popped up on the screen to apply for an American Express Delta SkyMiles Card. Here is the full text of the offer, and please also see attached screen shot of the offer : Earn A {$400.00} Statement Credit And XXXX Bonus Miles* Plus Enjoy Your First Checked Bag Free On Delta Flights {$0.00} Introductory Annual Fee For The First Year, Then {$99.00} *Statement Credit Issued Approximately 8-12 Weeks After You Make A Delta Purchase On Your Card In Your First 3 Months. Bonus Miles Will Be Issued After You Make {$2000.00} In Purchases On Your New Card In Your First 3 Months. Offer Expires XX/XX/2022. Terms And Conditions Apply. 
This helped me to decide to move ahead with the purchase. I applied for the card and was approved within a minute ( I have excellent credit ). I was immediately given the choice of either receiving my new card number instantly or waiting for it to arrive by mail. I chose to receive the instant number so that I could use the card to purchase my Delta flight -- this was the obvious incentive for applying for the card. If I waited for the physical card by mail, the airfare would of course increase so I wanted to make the purchase in the moment. Initially I did not receive any welcoming email, so was unsure how I would receive the new card number to use, so I phoned American Express, who said they were aware of this issue and would resend the email to me. I explained that time was of the essence as Id responded to the offer in the midst and for the purpose of purchasing a flight. The customer service representative offered to expedite the physical card also, promising I would have it within 72 hours ( i.e., 3 days ). I agreed to this. I believe this was a recorded call. 
When I received the welcoming email a few minutes later confirming that my application had been approved, it included a button that said " See my card number now. '' When I clicked on that, it took me to a website with an error message saying " We're sorry, our systems are not responding right now. '' I retried several times but kept getting the same message. I then called and spoke with three different AmEx customer service reps, explaining I could not retrieve my instant number despite having been approved, the last of whom " escalated '' the question to his supervisor, to their customer service team, and finally to their digital team, and ultimately told me that nothing could be done ; I would have to wait for the physical card. I even tried contacting them via chat, and the customer service person confirmed : " I've checked, Instant account number are available to access after you submit the card application for eligible accounts if you choose to get the Instant card details. '' I was approved, did choose to get the instant card details, but then was told I would have to wait for the physical card. 
I then resigned myself to waiting for the physical card to make the transaction, knowing the airfare would likely to increase. Today, XX/XX/XXXX, 5 days after initially applying and being approved for the card, I received an email from American Express saying my card is ready to ship and I will receive it on XX/XX/XXXX! Thats 11 days, not 72 hours, since I first applied and was approved. 
This is a clear case of bait-and-switch. I don't know whether Delta or American Express, or both, is being disingenuous with this offer, but this is also misleading and false advertising, and the offer must either be delivered on as promised, or removed from the Delta website. I would be happy to provide further detail upon request, and at the very least I would like an apology from American Express and acknowledgement of this situation. 
I can provide back-up and screen shots of all pages and emails mentioned above.

Company response to consumer: Closed with explanation