Reply To: Amex card suspended and then cancelled

[dougzz99]

JDB wrote:

@alig4th re SUBs, plenty in my view is probably different to that of others. Have held BAPP since inception, Tesco Premium when it launched until they stopped Avios, then HSBC WE to replace that and Barclays Avios Plus all still held save Tesco. My wife v similar but took the 40k offer to upgrade gold to Plat. Neither of us has ever asked for or received a retention offer because we haven’t contemplated. Boring, but simple and works for us. Children even more horrified than me re idea of lying for a retention. It’s not difficult to earn buckets of Avios by more respectable means.

That’s an interesting position, I wonder how many this is true of, I suspect the bulk not asking for retention offers are just lazy. I’ve had retention offers on both my Plat and Gold. I was 50/50 on cancelling the Plat, and the call was just to see, the offer did retain me, so far. On the Gold I was 95% certain to cancel, as a result of a complex mix-up with dates that did me out of 5K MR. The final agent I spoke agreed with the date issue, said he couldn’t solve it and since it had gone to back office twice previously to be ignored he couldn’t see what to do. Offered me 20K MR which I accepted and kept the Gold too. I’m uncertain of a long term strategy regarding cards, but the hold and pay strategy is just supporting the ridiculous retention/churn cycles that Amex have self-created. I know leaving the door unlocked doesn’t justify being robbed, but I see no point in being a ‘good’ customer when so little is done to reward good customers versus serial churners. Do I take a position ethically to justify my own behaviour, probably, but I’m flawed.