Consumer complaint received 2022-06-08
Company: AMERICAN EXPRESS COMPANY
State: CA
Product: Credit card or prepaid card
Sub-product: General-purpose credit card or charge card
Issue: Advertising and marketing, including promotional offers
Sub-issue: Confusing or misleading advertising about the credit card

Complaint:
In XXXX of XXXX, I received an upgrade offer from American Express to upgrade my {$0.00} annual fee XXXX  card to an XXXX XXXX  card ( that has a {$95.00} annual fee ). The offer was for XXXX bonus Membership points after meeting a spend requirement of {$2000.00} within three months of upgrading. The spend requirement was met in XXXX of XXXX, after which Amex posted XXXX points to my account. A prorated annual fee ( {$63.00} ) was posted to the account on XX/XX/XXXX. 

On XX/XX/XXXX, a {$95.00} annual fee was posted to my XXXX XXXX account. This prompted me to contact American Express on XX/XX/XXXX about changing back to the XXXX  card, which I [ incorrectly ] thought had now been open for a year, as I [ incorrectly ] assumed the Annual Fee was related to the effective date of the XXXX  Preferred card ( the date I upgraded ) rather than the date I originally opened the XXXX  card. I did not remember when I had upgraded, and the Amex website also does not say when the upgrade occurred. At no point during the downgrade chat with Amex did the Amex rep tell me how long the card had been opened or that the upgrade bonus was at risk of being clawed back. The only language in the disclosure was : " As a result of this downgrade, American Express reserves the right to take away, withhold, or freeze any rewards ( including acquisition and/or upgrade bonuses ) that would have otherwise been earned. '' Had I known the XXXX points would be clawed back, I would not have made the change, as they are worth {$440.00} in cash value - much more than the {$95.00} annual fee. 

On XX/XX/XXXX I received an email from American Express telling me that points had been deducted from my account because : " After careful review, we noticed activity that indicated these points may have been earned or used in a way that doesn't meet the terms and conditions of the Membership Rewards program or of the promotional offer under which you earned the points. '' The email went on to further explain : " The way Membership Rewards points are earned or used may not meet our terms for one or more of the following reasons : If your account was downgraded or canceled within 12 months of acquiring it. '' I phoned Amex to inquire, and opened a case for further investigation. I was told to contact Amex 7-10 business days later to be told the resolution. Two weeks later ( XX/XX/XXXX ) I followed up, and was told by an Amex customer service rep : " I see that investigation has been closed. The team has suggested to reverse the changes. Then, they will be able to reinstate the points. '' I reversed the change accordingly ( went back to the XXXX XXXX card ) and was told by the Rep they'd submit a request to reinstate the points. 

Today ( XX/XX/XXXX ) I followed up with Amex, as I had not yet seen the points posted to my account, and was told " the [ reinstatement ] request was denied '' and that " it was not possible to reinstate the points. ''

Company response to consumer: Closed with monetary relief