Consumer complaint received 2017-05-20
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: Didn't receive advertised or promotional terms

Complaint:
Attention : CFPB  Re : AMEX BLUE FOR BUSINESS   XXXX  Back in  XXXX ,  Am  ex Blue  ran a promotion that offered  XXXX  points after first purchase and  XXXX  for the first {$2000.00} spent in restaurants in the first 6 months. I was not familiar with this card initially but when I saw the generous offer advertised online, I applied for it and eventually got approved. For the past  XXXX  months, I had been spending a lot of money towards restaurants ( almost {$1 000.00} ) w ith the intention of maximizing this bonus. A few weeks ago, I decided to check my profile to monitor the bonus that I had received so far. To my dismay, I learned that I was not getting the restaurant bonus I expected to receive. I made a total of  XXXX  attempts to rectify the issue, including requesting for the case to be escalated and explaining to a supervisor my concern. All attempts have been futile.  AMEX  kept on telling me that I applied for an inferior bonus, which only provides  XXXX  after the first spend. I had tried to explain where I am coming from.   a. First off, why would I, with my intact judgment, apply for a much inferior bonus? I know the credit card that I applied for. I would not have applied for this credit card and risk impacting my  XXXX   XXXX  if I were only getting the  XXXX  bonus. It was just not worth it. However, with the generous bonus, I felt compelled to sign up.   b. If I applied for the inferior bonus of  XXXX  after the first spend, why did I continue to spend a lot of money the next  XXXX  months in restaurants? I could have easily just bought a bottle of water, get the bonus, and sock away the card. My spending behavior points to the fact that I was under the impression that I am getting the  XXXX  points/dollar in restaurant spend because that was the credit card I applied for. I have a few other credit cards that would have given me a restaurant bonus but I still chose to use this card.   c. I applied for this credit card during the promotion period, which ran until the end of  XXXX . As I had mentioned, I am not familiar with this card and had no idea they offered multiple versions. I know for a fact that I applied for the generous bonus because I would not have done it if I were only receiving the paltry  XXXX  points after the first spend, when there are other superior offers available out there.   d. I have been applying for credit cards for many years. I know what I applied for. I have no idea what happened with my application but  AMEX  kept on telling me I applied for the same credit card with a significantly inferior bonus. That was so difficult to understand, but evidently, something occurred that was beyond my control between my online application and the system that approved it.   e. I will not be devoting so much time, calling 3 times and writing this letter advocating for this cause if it were not the right thing to do.   Thank you so much for protecting us, CFPB.

Company response to consumer: Closed with explanation