Consumer complaint received 2026-03-06 00:00:00
Product: Checking or savings account — Savings account
Issue: Opening an account — Didn't receive terms that were advertised
Company: AMERICAN EXPRESS COMPANY
State: NY

Complaint narrative:
To Whom It May Concern, I am filing this complaint against American Express ( Amex ) regarding their failure to fulfill a promotional {$350.00} cash bonus for a High Yield Savings Account ( HYSA ), and the deceptive, fabricated rules provided by their customer service team to justify this denial. I have met all the necessary requirements outlined in their targeted offer. Here is the exact timeline of my account demonstrating my full compliance with their written Terms and Conditions ( T & Cs ) : The Offer : I opened a new Amex HYSA on XX/XX/year>, using a targeted promotional link. The offer required a deposit of {$25000.00} or more within the first 30 days, and maintaining that balance for 60 days. The Deposit : On XX/XX/year>, my available balance reached {$25000.00}, successfully meeting the funding requirement well within the XXXX window. The XXXX Holding Period : According to official Term XXXX of the offer : " The Holding Period begins on the day that the Threshold Amount requirements are successfully met. '' Therefore, my XXXX holding period officially and clearly began on XX/XX/year>, and ended on XX/XX/year>. My Compliance : I maintained a daily balance above {$25000.00} until XX/XX/year>, when I withdrew a portion of the funds. This means I maintained the funds for 63 days, successfully exceeding the XXXX requirement. When the XXXX week fulfillment window passed and I did not receive my bonus, I contacted Amex customer support via online chat. The representatives ( including a supervisor ) provided mathematically illogical explanations and openly contradicted their own written T & Cs to deny my bonus : Fabricating Rules : When I pointed out Term XXXX, the representative explicitly stated : " The XXXX period does not start on XX/XX/XXXX. It starts after the firstXX/XX/XXXXdays have passed. '' This rule exists nowhere in the official agreement and directly violates XXXX XXXX. Incompetent and Conflicting Explanations : The representatives gave me conflicting dates. They claimed my holding period was " XX/XX/year> XX/XX/year> '' ( which makes no sense even by their fabricated XXXX rule ). Furthermore, a representative falsely claimed I failed because I did not meet a " required end-of-day balance of {$21000.00} on XX/XX/year>. '' The figure {$21000.00} is completely made up and is not part of any Amex promotion. It is a deceptive and unfair practice ( UDAAP ) for a financial institution to solicit a {$25000.00} deposit with a promotional offer, hold the consumer 's funds for over XXXX months, and then retroactively invent unwritten rules to avoid paying the incentive. I have attached screenshots of the original offer terms ( specifically highlighting XXXX XXXX ) and the complete chat transcripts proving the Amex representatives are using fabricated rules to deny my eligible bonus. Thank you for your assistance in holding American Express accountable to their own written agreements.

Company response to consumer: Closed with explanation