Consumer complaint received 2026-02-12 00:00:00
Product: Credit card — General-purpose credit card or charge card
Issue: Other features, terms, or problems — Problem with customer service
Company: AMERICAN EXPRESS COMPANY
State: FL

Complaint narrative:
I contacted customer service to ask questions about the benefits of my ( and my wife 's separate ) XXXX XXXX American Express account. Here is the transcript : XX/XX/XXXX Hi XXXX, please select one of these options, or in a few words tell me what you need help with. 
XXXX XXXX  I have a question about a XXXX XXXX credit To ensure you get the best support, please select from the following : XXXX XXXX XXXX Card ending XXXX A Customer Care Professional will be with you shortly. 
Hi XXXX, my name is XXXX XXXX, please go ahead with your questions, I'll be happy to answer it for you I want to see if I am eligible for a XXXX XXXX credit of {$120.00} on this account You can earn a {$120.00} statement credit every 4 years for XXXX XXXX or up to {$85.00} for a five-year membership every XXXX years for XXXX Pre Check after you apply through any XXXX official enrollment provider. XXXX Pre Check and Global Entry are available at select airports. 
We will credit you for whichever application is charged to your [ Insert name of eligible American Express Card ] first regardless of whether the application is approved. If approved for XXXX XXXX, you will also receive access to XXXX pre check. 
Additional Card Members may also be eligible if the application fee is charged to their additional Card. 
XXXX XXXX can expedite security screening and XXXX XXXX can reduce wait time at US Customs at select airports. 
My problem is I received the credit in XXXX maybe, so that's why I'm checking... Homeland Security really fumbled my application when I had to cancel the interview due to being sick. They could not find my application to reschedule and then suddenly I received a notice that the application was cancelled. I can not get anyone there to respond to my messages. 
That's correct, you have already received {$100.00} credit. So, you will be eligible to receive the credit after 4 years. 
You card was approved on XX/XX/XXXX XXXX. But what if I add my wife to my account, then charge her XXXX XXXX fee to that card? I am an add ' l card on her Amex XXXX XXXX account as well, so according to the information above, that should work, correct? 
Like, she charged the new fee on the add " l card on my account, and I charge the new fee on the add " l card on her account for me. 
* charges That's correct, additional Platinum cardholder 's are eligible for the benefits Only 1 charge using additional card will be eligible for the benefit So, here 's a question : I currently have my underage daughter on this account with me. Can I still add my wife, or can I put my wife 's charge from Homeland Security on my daughter 's card? 
Please add your spouse as an additional cardholder on the account, then that card will become eligible for the benefit. 
OK. How can I do that, and do I need to cancel my daughter 's card in order to do that? 
You don't need to cancel her card. Let me share online steps to add your spouse as an additional cardholder Please click on Account Service tab -- -> at right you will see option as Add someone to the account Related question : Should either my wife or I add my son as an add ' l cardholder since we travel internationally every year? Like, we can charge his XXXX tickets on his card, and I would assume he would get add ' l miles? 
You are absolutely correct Great. I'll have my wife do that... Sorry, one more question. I'm looking at possibly upgrading to the purple AMEX XXXX card. I know the fee is higher, but what sort of extra miles and perks does that one have over the one we have now? 
Sure, let me share the details of XXXX XXXX XXXX card Key benefits Complimentary XXXX XXXX XXXX  Access Annual Companion Certificate XXXX  Headstart XXXX Boost Up to {$240.00} XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX Up to {$200.00} XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX Presidents Circle Status TakeOff XXXX XXXX miles Per eligible {$1.00} spent on XXXX purchases made directly with XXXX. 

1 point for every {$1.00} spent on eligible purchases.

Can I ask what the " TakeOff 15 '' is? Is that a discount when paying with miles?

Are any of the above NOT available the first year of the card prior to renewal? 
Sorry, I know I'm hitting you with lots of questions! 
XXXX XXXX Members are eligible for a 15 % discount when redeeming miles for a XXXX or XXXX XXXX  flight on XXXX or the XXXX XXXX app. 
No problem, I'm here to answer your questions. 
There is no such offer where annual fee is waived for first year OK. One last one : At what age to we have to pay for the baby 's ticket? 
I'm sorry, it depends on Airline policy. We don't have access to check those details. You may want to contact the Airline to check these details. 
OK. Sorry, I actually have ONE more question : I just added my wife to this account ; Is it possible to make the XXXX XXXX charge BEFORE we receive the card? I'm trying to schedule our interview prior to a trip overseas in XXXX. 
You need to have card details to make the purchases. I also want you to put the charge on the Amex card. 

I would really appreciate your time and patience to wait for the card and then use it to make the charges. 
OK. Thanks. 
That's it. Bye! 


As you can see above, the customer service person clearly told me that the XXXX XXXX credit was available to an additional card on my and my wife 's account and walked me through how to add a card. My wife and I both recently made a charge of {$120.00} for the XXXX XXXX fee to an additional card on both of our accounts based on the explanation of this representative. 

Earlier today, I was told that this was NOT the case. Since the {$120.00} on both of our account is non-refundable, Amex should absolutely credit both of us. My wife will submit a separate complaint due to the misinformation given to me, which I shared with her. 

In the confusion of additional cards on both of our accounts, I believed that I had requested a card for my son, XXXX, who is XXXX. Customer service reps collected information from me and changed the name on one of my additional cards to his -- even though I later learned that he is NOT old enough to request a card ( XXXX minimum ).

Company response to consumer: Closed with explanation