Consumer complaint received 2022-10-06
Company: AMERICAN EXPRESS COMPANY
State: TX
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:
XX/XX/XXXX - I had never applied for Amex Gold card before and I applied for American Express ( Amex ) Gold card for the first time on XX/XX/XXXX. During the application process Amex showed me the following welcome bonus offer. 
" Earn XXXX Membership Rewards Points after you use your new Card to make {$4000.00} in purchases within your first 6 months of Card Membership. Plus, for a limited time if you apply for this Card by XX/XX/XXXX, you can receive 20 % back as a statement credit on eligible purchases made on the Card at restaurants worldwide up to {$250.00} back during the first 12 months of Card Membership. '' I submitted my credit card application, and it was approved instantly. 
Below is the link that I used to apply for this card : https : XXXX? XXXX & XXXX # XXXX XX/XX/XXXX - I received my card in mail on XX/XX/XXXX, and I began using this credit card to meet the {$4000.00} minimum spend. Please note that Amex didnt notify me either during the application process or when I received that card that my Welcome Offer was declined. There was also no mention of this when I received my first Credit Card Statement. I was under the impression that I will be receiving the offer and completed the minimum spend on my new card. 
XX/XX/XXXX - After meeting the minimum spend, I talked to Amex XXXX XXXX at XXXX with XXXX on XXXX XXXX, XXXX, at XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX about the Amex XXXX Welcome Bonus. She confirmed that I will be receiving the XXXX XXXX XXXX in 8-10 weeks and the Statement Credit of 20 % Cashback, up to {$250.00}, on Restaurant Spend. 
XX/XX/XXXX - As per the terms and conditions of the credit card signup bonus offer, I should have been getting the 20 % cashback on restaurant spend, which I didnt. I contacted Amex customer care through their Chat service and the representative informed me that the welcome bonus on this card was declined. Here is their response, It appears that the welcome bonus on the card was declined. Your welcome offer eligibility depends on whether you have had the Card which you are applying for in the past as well as other factors. You mentioned earlier that someone from our customer service team via phone call confirmed with you that you will be getting this offer. With this, we need to refer you back to our customer service team as we are unable to verify any information disclosed over the phone. 
XX/XX/XXXX - As per my conversation with XXXX on XXXX XXXX, I contacted Amex XXXX XXXX again to check on the status of my welcome bonus offer. I called around XXXX XXXX  XXXX time and the total duration of the call was XXXX minutes. The Customer Care Representative also said that my welcome bonus was declined and XXXX, who I talked to XXXX XXXX, might be mistaken. The Customer Care Rep from Rewards section created a case for review and provided me with ID XXXX. She mentioned that it would take around 10 days for Amex to do internal checks about why the welcome bonus was declined.

Company response to consumer: Closed with explanation