-
Hi,
In June (2023) I upgraded from the free BA AmEx to the BAPP, having previously downgraded! My card year ends in a week. I have now triggered the companion voucher and wish to downgrade again.
The AmEx customer service lady I just spoke to said I couldn’t and that when I upgraded in June I was told so (I don’t recall that at all.) She said I have to wait until June and then cancel the card and reapply.
I’ve just logged into my account and read the customer agreement which clearly states “You can tell us at any time that you want to have a different type of card” in the “Switching you to a different type of card” section.
Am I missing something or was she talking rubbish?
Thank you.
Did you try to HUACA (hang up and call again) or use the live chat? You may also want to ask to speak to Brighton if you don’t get anywhere. Let us know how it goes
Asking to speak to retentions may help, see what they offer you.
I haven’t yet tried HUACA, but that was going to be my first thing to try. In the live chat bot (website) I typed “Downgrade card” and it replied that I needed to speak to someone to do that 🙁
I’ll see how HUACA goes and take it from there, but I have no issue asking for retentions!
In the first instance, I just wanted to check here whether I was missing something and things had changed since I last did this.
I haven’t yet tried HUACA, but that was going to be my first thing to try. In the live chat bot (website) I typed “Downgrade card” and it replied that I needed to speak to someone to do that 🙁
I’ll see how HUACA goes and take it from there, but I have no issue asking for retentions!
In the first instance, I just wanted to check here whether I was missing something and things had changed since I last did this.
I’m not sure why anybody should assume that they are entitled to flit between one card and the other and evade the full annual fee most are expected to pay?
It’s entirely within the gift of Amex which has got rather stricter on the gaming of their products. A number of people have reported being told that they won’t be allowed to do it again. It’s a matter of luck.
Like @JDB, I’m not sure why you think Amex would allow you to gain the primary benefit of the BAPP card whilst only paying a fraction of the annual fee. If they choose to allow it, good luck to you. But you have no cause to complain if they don’t.
I think some of the confusion has arisen with the mention of having to wait until June to cancel – you can cancel whenever you want. However, being accepted for another card is not guaranteed these days, as noted above.
So many people post here complaining that Amex/BA/whoever won’t let them do something without even checking the Ts and Cs, as though previous advice on HFP trumps those 😂
So many people post here complaining that Amex/BA/whoever won’t let them do something without even checking the Ts and Cs, as though previous advice on HFP trumps those 😂
I was merely asking a question of the forum to see if I was missing something. I also searched the forum to see if I could find anything in this area. I also posted an excerpt from the customer agreement that (I believed) says I can downgrade.
Sorry for using the forum in such a manner!
And I answered the point about the June date – you’re welcome!
Also what you posted only suggests that Amex are open to discussing changing cards (no reference to downgrading), not that this is guaranteed.
The main BAPP article on HFP still states you can downgrade for free at anytime (and has been updated with the pro-rate fee refund change). I appreciate that doesn’t specifically address the downgrade/upgrade/downgrade dance specifically, but from what I’ve read, this isn’t an unusual practice. I also appreciate HFP and AmEx are not the same thing and AmEx can do want they want according to their t&c.
Anyway, I will try again on the phone and see what happens. I just wanted to see if the rules had changed, and from I can tell the answer isn’t an obvious yes or no.
I used this link recently to downgrade from the BAPP to the free version without chat/calling…
https://www.americanexpress.com/en-gb/apply/downgrade/personal/credit-cards/ba-classicYou should be logged in first.
The downgrade/upgrade/downgrade dance is usually used to minimise the holding time for the BAPP card. That reduces total fees after pro-rate refunds whilst providing the benefit of the BAPP’s superior voucher and lower spend threshold. Timed right, it may also allow one-off big spend to earn the higher rate of 1.5 Avios/£.
@keithrob91, you say you’ve paid the full annual fee, so I’m not sure why you want to keep upgrading and downgrading? Presumably it’s to maximise your future fee/benefits trade-off? Don’t be surprised if Amex doesn’t want to let you play that game. As I said before, if they let you, good luck. But they don’t have to let you.Ethical or not. OP wants to downgrade or leave, it goes without question he should be allowed to and also get a pro rata refund. Its written in the T&Cs for goodness sake.
use @shub link
@shub Did they give you a prorata refund of the fee using this link?
I used this link recently to downgrade from the BAPP to the free version without chat/calling…
https://www.americanexpress.com/en-gb/apply/downgrade/personal/credit-cards/ba-classicYou should be logged in first.
@keithrob91, you say you’ve paid the full annual fee, so I’m not sure why you want to keep upgrading and downgrading? Presumably it’s to maximise your future fee/benefits trade-off? Don’t be surprised if Amex doesn’t want to let you play that game. As I said before, if they let you, good luck. But they don’t have to let you.
Honestly, I had no intention of re-upgrading, in fact I was going to cancel the card outright. I changed my mind when I then realised there was a good chance I would be able to hit the spend required for the voucher, so upgraded. I now want to downgrade but not cancel (due to the – do you lose the voucher or not after cancelling debate) but with the full intention of cancelling for definite when the voucher is spent.
As I have paid the full fee, I think I’ve earned the voucher and the right to downgrade. AmEx of course may think otherwise. Weirdly though, the app tells me my year end is next week (and I was not expecting any refund), but the AmEx lady said it is June (when I upgraded). I thought the year end stayed the same regardless of upgrade/downgrade.
@Whisper2 Yes
@keithrob91 You can go when you please and get a pro rata refund. theres a good chance you may have issues being accepted for BAPP next time as previously voiced by a poster a few weeks back. But if that doesnt matter to you then, yes, just downgrade and move on.@shub Did they give you a prorata refund of the fee using this link?
Yes, but it was before the 29th Feb. However, it should not matter as prorata refund is still working as per HfP.
I upgraded to the premium plus card last month, and in the occasion the CSR informed be that I would not be able to downgrade in the future anymore. If I wanted to move to the free card I’d have to cancel my current card and reapply.
Fair enough if that’s the case, as I downgraded to the free card 2 years ago and now changed my mind. I understand Amex might put a limit to stop people from gaming the voucher etc.
- You must be logged in to reply to this topic.
Popular articles this week:
