Amex cancelled my new credit card application!

[Magarathea]

Two weeks ago, I applied for a new Amex Platinum everyday cashback credit card using a referral from my partners Amex card. At the end of the application process, I got a message which said “Our system shows that you have previously submitted an application for this card. We have therefore cancelled this duplicate application”. I phoned Amex immediately and they said there was only one application and it looked like a glitch on the part of their systems. The CS operator said they would get the back office to see if they could re-establish my application and would get back to me in 3-5 days. No response. Phoned them again and they said they would get a supervisor to phone me in 2 days. No response. Phoned again this morning and the CS rep said the only thing they could do was to message the back office again. Very poor Amex customer experience. I do 2 – 3 Amex applications per year and put approx. £20k of spend through them every year. Has anyone else had this response to a card application? Have I been put on a black list?

[Shazza12]

I have had the same experience, currently only a supplementary card holder but have done a few applications in the past to get the sign up bonus and then cancelled.

[Magarathea]

Hi Shazza12. After 3 phone calls I eventually spoke to a very helpful CS rep who said that this was a known Amex technical system glitch which they were working on. They hoped to have it resolved by the end of this month and would come back to me to let me know when it was fixed.

[alig4th]

Whenever I call AMEX, before I even bother trying to explain why I’m calling, I ask if I’m speaking to a rep in Brighton or overseas. If the latter, I ask to be transferred to a UK rep. Overseas reps say they have the same access and permissions, but I’ve had a UK rep confirm they don’t. Overseas reps need to refer to “back office” a lot. UK reps seem to be able to deal with most things there and then.

It may not have helped you this time, but in future I’d always suggest this course of action.