Consumer complaint received 2025-10-15 00:00:00
Product: Credit card — General-purpose credit card or charge card
Issue: Other features, terms, or problems — Other problem
Company: AMERICAN EXPRESS COMPANY
State: MD

Complaint narrative:
To Whom It May Concern : I am submitting this complaint against American Express National Bank regarding the unlawful and retaliatory closure of my credit card accounts, specifically my American Express XXXX XXXX and American Express XXXX XXXX, and the subsequent confiscation of earned Membership Rewards points without reimbursement or notice. 



I. Background and Chronology XXXX. I am a long-standing American Express customer and maintained both a XXXX and XXXX account in good standing. 
XXXX. In XXXX, I exercised my right under the Fair Credit Billing Act ( FCBA ), 15 U.S.C. 1666, and Regulation XXXX, 12 C.F.R. 1026.13, to dispute several unauthorized or inaccurate charges on my XXXX XXXX. 
XXXX. American Express investigated those disputes, and each was validated and resolved in my favor, confirming that the disputes were legitimate. 
XXXX. Shortly thereafter, I received a letter from American Express stating that my XXXX XXXX account was being closed due to high dispute activity. 
XXXX. I was never notified that filing valid disputes on XXXX card could result in closure of another, nor was I given any prior warning or chance to appeal the decision. 
XXXX. Upon closure, American Express partially refunded my XXXX annual fee but did not return or credit the monetary value of my accrued Membership Rewards points for either card, which had real redeemable value at the time of closure. 
XXXX. The closure and forfeiture occurred without any adverse-action notice explaining specific reasons, contrary to federal consumer-protection requirements. 



XXXX. XXXX Grounds for Complaint XXXX. Violation of the Fair Credit Billing Act ( XXXX ) and Regulation XXXX  Under 15 U.S.C. 1666 and 12 C.F.R. 1026.13, a consumer has the right to dispute billing errors. 
Creditors are prohibited from retaliating against a consumer for exercising this right. 
Closing my account after validating my disputes constitutes retaliatory action and violates the intent and protections of the FCBA. 

XXXX. Unfair, Deceptive, or Abusive Acts or Practices ( UDAAP ) Consumer Financial Protection Act of XXXX ( 12 U.S.C. 5531 ) American Express engaged in conduct that meets the statutory definition of unfair and deceptive : Unfair : The closure caused financial harm, including loss of credit availability and confiscation of valuable reward points, which was not reasonably avoidable by me and served no legitimate benefit to consumers. 
Deceptive : Marketing of Membership Rewards as earned and redeemable value while reserving the ability to confiscate them without due process is materially misleading. 
Such conduct falls squarely within the CFPBs UDAAP enforcement jurisdiction. 

XXXX. Violation of the Equal Credit Opportunity Act ( ECOA ) and Regulation XXXX  Under 15 U.S.C. 1691 ( d ) and 12 C.F.R. 1002.9, creditors must provide a written adverse-action notice specifying the reasons for closing a credit account. 
I received no formal adverse-action notice explaining the specific factors that led to the closure of my accounts. 
High dispute activity is neither a legitimate nor a lawful reason to deny or close credit when those disputes were resolved in the consumers favor. 
Failure to provide a compliant notice constitutes an additional Reg XXXX  violation. 

XXXX. Deprivation of Earned Rewards Deceptive Practice American Expresss seizure of accrued Membership Rewards points without providing their cash or equivalent value breaches the principle of good faith and fair dealing implied in every consumer contract. 
Points have tangible redeemable value ( e.g., travel, statement credit, merchandise ). Confiscating them without due process or disclosure is a deceptive retention of valueeffectively misappropriation of consumer funds. 

XXXX. Transparency Gaps XXXX XXXX terms of service permit account closure but fail to disclose that validly exercising billing-dispute rights may trigger termination. misleading and contrary to the consumers expectation of fair treatment.

Company response to consumer: Closed with explanation