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Cancelled via app chat. Didn’t ask for and wasn’t offered any retention bonus.
They offered a downgrade to Gold which I declined.A family member cancelled after taking out the Plat at the end of last year for the sign up bonus. The 10K spend target was reached, and a couple of weeks later after asking to cancel, they were offered 50MR points to stay.
On the other hand, I asked about cancelling and was my loyalty was thanked and they said they could downgrade me. Not surprising as I’ve hardly put any spend through it of late. I’m tempted to just cancel all together and re-start the cycle.
Looks like the gravy train is going, as we come closer to 29 Feb
Looks like the gravy train is going, as we come closer to 29 Feb
29th Feb is no longer ‘a thing’. Read todays article.
A family member cancelled after taking out the Plat at the end of last year for the sign up bonus. The 10K spend target was reached, and a couple of weeks later after asking to cancel, they were offered 50MR points to stay.
On the other hand, I asked about cancelling and was my loyalty was thanked and they said they could downgrade me. Not surprising as I’ve hardly put any spend through it of late. I’m tempted to just cancel all together and re-start the cycle.
It’s quite funny how thick Amex seems to be. They see spending so offer a retention seemingly without realising that the higher recent spend was to reach a SUB so they pay the cardholder twice. Great for the recipient, rubbish for all the other cardholders who subsidise the MR confetti.
A family member cancelled after taking out the Plat at the end of last year for the sign up bonus. The 10K spend target was reached, and a couple of weeks later after asking to cancel, they were offered 50MR points to stay.
On the other hand, I asked about cancelling and was my loyalty was thanked and they said they could downgrade me. Not surprising as I’ve hardly put any spend through it of late. I’m tempted to just cancel all together and re-start the cycle.
It’s quite funny how thick Amex seems to be. They see spending so offer a retention seemingly without realising that the higher recent spend was to reach a SUB so they pay the cardholder twice. Great for the recipient, rubbish for all the other cardholders who subsidise the MR confetti.
Agreed.
It would make some sense if they put further spend targets to earn the retention bonus, but just giving them away for a few more months of the fee seems a little blinkered@JDB Precisely. Mrs MacK got Plat in Nov and spent the £10k by December, with me as a supp card holder. I then thought I could spend the £10k by end of Feb, so she referred me. I then spent the 10k by late Jan, with her as a supp on my account – so no spending on hers in January.
She got turned down for a retention bonus a few weeks ago, I got one the other day, she got turned down again today – so we cancelled her card. (never applied for retention bonuses before)
I sincerely believe Amex are not biased towards her being a woman (she actually earns 2-3k more than me) or being a foreigner.
So the only other explanation is recent spending – yet they know what she has spent as a supp holder on my card!
Bonkers!
MrSpeedbird676II was offered 35k membership rewards points today to retain his Platinum Card for a second year.
I signed up for the 75k+25k welcome bonus in January so no chance of him retaining the card.
Is there a limit to how many retention bonuses can be received in 6/12/18 month period for the same card?
A family member cancelled after taking out the Plat at the end of last year for the sign up bonus. The 10K spend target was reached, and a couple of weeks later after asking to cancel, they were offered 50MR points to stay.
On the other hand, I asked about cancelling and was my loyalty was thanked and they said they could downgrade me. Not surprising as I’ve hardly put any spend through it of late. I’m tempted to just cancel all together and re-start the cycle.
It’s quite funny how thick Amex seems to be. They see spending so offer a retention seemingly without realising that the higher recent spend was to reach a SUB so they pay the cardholder twice. Great for the recipient, rubbish for all the other cardholders who subsidise the MR confetti.
Agreed.
It would make some sense if they put further spend targets to earn the retention bonus, but just giving them away for a few more months of the fee seems a little blinkeredIt’s worse than that. As soon as the MR points clear then people are closing the card. Amex aren’t even getting ‘a few months of the fee’.
Make hay while the sun shines.
No offers available on my card except a downgrade to gold
Make hay while the sun shines.
That has to be the right message! Grab as much as you can while you can as it’s not sustainable long term and rather like the Covid and energy handouts, there’s going to be a bill for all cardholders to pay!
Make hay while the sun shines.
That has to be the right message! Grab as much as you can while you can as it’s not sustainable long term and rather like the Covid and energy handouts, there’s going to be a bill for all cardholders to pay!
Although unlike taxes, you can just leave Amex if you don’t want to pay that bill.
@Andrew J – that’s a very good point and Amex is doing a great job of driving customers away once they have squeezed the max out of them.
I abhor the whole thing, but with those clever Amex bosses offering people a 75k SUB and then 75k retention in three/four months plus whatever spending points you have earned, two years of dining/HN credits, so £600 and £100 HN (for two periods) all for c. £200 of fee, one would be mad not to take their money and ditch the card that is otherwise of limited value. I wonder how many people will stay to collect the poxy remaining 25k SUB next year.
I am finding this debate very interesting indeed.
I took out the card late in Q4 and obtained the initial 75k SUB with a subsequent retention “ask” last week granting me a further 50k points, all within three months. I added my wife as a free supplementary holder and she also gets the lounge card.
I managed to use 2023 allowances for HN £50 and UK Dining £150, and a £200 off £1000 Luxury Escapes cash-back for a recent mini break which included lounge access (in krakow) with food for 4 ahead of our flight back. 2024 HN and dining usages pending.
We have some travel out of LHR this year in PE and I hope to be able to access the T5 decent Priority one, and a couple of flights from Southampton which have the lounge too.
Booking commmuter trains via LNER is giving me 10% back for work trips to London on a completely different rail network, too.
I am most definitely quids-in for the moment however per one of the articles on here, “most people holding this card put their spend on another card and just hold it for the benefits”. With that being the case (and I am now putting my spend on other cards), I can’t see Amex dishing out nice retention deals if indeed people aren’t really using it as their primary CC once they have got hold of the SUB.
It’s almost like you pay for access to a club with associated benefits, with the CC being part of the proposition (and not the other way around).
I can’t see Amex dishing out nice retention deals if indeed people aren’t really using it as their primary CC once they have got hold of the SUB.
Whether you see or can’t see something is irrelevant now.
Grab the points and close the card. You’ll be able to sign up in 2 years for a bigger bonus.No offers available on my card except a downgrade to gold
I would argue that’s more of an upgrade.
Has anyone successfully received a retention bonus while still having an outstanding balance on the card? I.e is a nil balance a requirement for the system to generate a retention offer (other than a downgrade to Gold).
Has anyone successfully received a retention bonus while still having an outstanding balance on the card? I.e is a nil balance a requirement for the system to generate a retention offer (other than a downgrade to Gold).
Yes
I’ve tried a couple of times and no dice this year after paying fee. Odd system where I now feel almost entitled to one as if it’s part of the benefits…
Yes, that’s the problem Amex has created for itself, making retentions into part of the card benefits. I imagine they are cheesing off quite a lot of people when they read of 50k and 75k retentions being offered to those who only took out the card for the 75k SUB around four months ago.
35k is a decentish chunk of MR but when there are 50k and 75k retentions flying around it almost seems like being given two fingers.
Card holder since October 2022 – just been given two fingers LOL (to clarify, that’s a 35k retention two fingers offer)
I’ve tried a couple of times and no dice this year after paying fee. Odd system where I now feel almost entitled to one as if it’s part of the benefits…
Yes, that’s the problem Amex has created for itself, making retentions into part of the card benefits. I imagine they are cheesing off quite a lot of people when they read of 50k and 75k retentions being offered to those who only took out the card for the 75k SUB around four months ago.
35k is a decentish chunk of MR but when there are 50k and 75k retentions flying around it almost seems like being given two fingers.
Card holder since October 2022 – just been given two fingers LOL (to clarify, that’s a 35k retention two fingers offer)
How generous of them to offer more than 50% less than the offer they’re dishing out to new cardholders!!!
How generous of them to offer more than 50% less than the offer they’re dishing out to new cardholders!!!
The KPI must be something like holding period of new customers. So they screw over loyal customers to prop up the above.
Had the card since November, hit the spend. No retention offers available. Explained how Dining Credits are a wasted benefit for me as nothing provided for Ireland – made no difference, system deems me unworthy of an offer.
Will keep for now and reconsider what to do in a few months.
Had the card since November, hit the spend. No retention offers available. Explained how Dining Credits are a wasted benefit for me as nothing provided for Ireland – made no difference, system deems me unworthy of an offer.
Will keep for now and reconsider what to do in a few months.
Finally!!!
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