Consumer complaint received 2025-10-17 00:00:00
Product: Credit card — General-purpose credit card or charge card
Issue: Advertising and marketing, including promotional offers — Didn't receive advertised or promotional terms
Company: AMERICAN EXPRESS COMPANY
State: WV

Complaint narrative:
Detailed Complaint Narrative American Expresss handling of my {$250.00} welcome-bonus credit reversal has been consistently unfair, negligent, and deeply frustrating. I relied in good faith on written confirmation from an Amex representative ( XXXX, XX/XX/year> ) that I had successfully earned the bonus after meeting the spending requirement. That confirmation came after all refunds had cleared, and I had no reason to believe it was inaccurate. Yet, months later, Amex reversed the credit and added it as a charge to my account, claiming that I had not satisfied the spending threshold due to a refund, a situation entirely outside my control. At no point during the promotional period did Amex provide any proactive alerts, reminders, or high-priority notices that my qualifying spend was at risk, despite sending frequent promotional emails and billing reminders. Had I received even one clear notification weeks or months in advance, I would have immediately made additional purchases to ensure I qualified. Instead, I was blindsided by the reversal and the {$250.00} charge, which caused significant financial, emotional, and administrative hardship, particularly while I was recovering from a recent car accident. 

Over the course of this dispute, I have repeatedly reached out to Amex for clarification and resolution. Time and again, their representatives provided scripted, impersonal responses and could only escalate the matter to a supervisor who said the exact same thing. Their fake apologies were meaningless, like handing someone a wet paper towel while their house is burning down. They would offer empty corporate phrases such as we apologize for the inconvenience this has caused or other boilerplate language, which did nothing to address the actual harm, confusion, or financial burden I experienced. At the XXXX level, XXXX XXXX, representing XXXX XXXX XXXX, promised in writing on XX/XX/year>, that an update would be provided by XX/XX/year>. That commitment was entirely ignored, leaving me without any communication or resolution past the stated deadline. This is especially egregious because the payment due date for the disputed charge is imminent, creating a real risk of late fees or credit reporting despite my ongoing dispute. 

Adding insult to injury, while Amex has failed to address this serious dispute, they have ramped up promotional emails to my inbox almost to the point of harassment, demonstrating a clear prioritization of marketing over responsible customer service. The cumulative effect of these failures is a pattern of bad-faith behavior : misleading confirmations, lack of timely communication, missed deadlines, and repeated stonewalling when I sought resolution. These actions have wasted countless hours of my time, caused unnecessary stress, and eroded trust, all of which could have been completely avoided with standard good-faith procedures such as timely notifications, proactive warnings, and meaningful executive follow-up. 

I respectfully request that regulators consider the full scope of these failures when reviewing my complaint. I ask that Amex immediately correct the wrongful {$250.00} charge through reinstatement, goodwill adjustment, or another equitable resolution and provide assurance that no negative reporting, late fees, or collection activity will occur while this matter remains unresolved. I also request that Amexs internal processes be reviewed to ensure customers are not blindsided by reversals, that written confirmations are reliable, and that executive-level promises are honored. The combination of missed deadlines, lack of communication, and ongoing promotional pressure demonstrates a systemic failure to treat customers fairly and transparently.

Company response to consumer: Closed with explanation