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Phoned up to cancel/downgrade to the green card. Brighton offered 10K MR points for £1,000 spend in 3 months. Just paid the annual £650 fee. I’m thinking about it.
I was also offered the Gold Card free for a year as an alternative. However, £120 of Deliveroo (or any other delivery company) credit just isn’t my thing. I don’t do takeaways and if I did I’d walk to the store using my own two legs!
Apparently the Green Card has an annual fee of £60.The Green Card no longer has the extended warranty benefit, which makes me wonder if I should switch to the free membership rewards credit card instead…
Called up to cancel. No offer other than the sales pitch for an ARCC. I haven’t spent much or held the card long so just cancelled.
The generosity is drying up, at least for me. Previously had 50k, 30k, and 30k. This years offer: 10k MR points for spending £1k in 3 months.
It makes sense! I’ll take it and make a decision. Curious to see if anything replaces the Harvey Nichols credit or if they consider the changes to the dining credit to be the replacement.
Has anyone been offered higher?
25,000 points for £5K spend in 3 months
Has anyone been offered higher?
25,000 points for £5K spend in 3 months
Out of interest how does £5k over three months compare to your usual spending on the card?
Trying to guage whether these new retention bonus offers actually encourage additional spend through the card or if they are just in line with usual activity.
Has anyone been offered higher?
25,000 points for £5K spend in 3 months
I got offered 40k for £10k spend in 3m earlier this year. Thought about it. Called back a few weeks later and was offered £25k for £5k in 3m, following a couple of large refunds (>£3k) hitting my account. So recent net spend clearly a factor here.
Has anyone been offered higher?
25,000 points for £5K spend in 3 months
I got offered 40k for £10k spend in 3m earlier this year. Thought about it. Called back a few weeks later and was offered £25k for £5k in 3m, following a couple of large refunds (>£3k) hitting my account. So recent net spend clearly a factor here.
So these retentions are now both way off previous peaks and conditional! That’s a big change of policy.
Renewal month this month (May 2025): I got offered 50,000 MR last year but this year, I was only offered 10K for £1K spend in three months. I asked if I could get the 25MR for £5K spend in three months but was told by Brighton retention’s that the offer is tied to your card.
As such, it does seem Amex are expecting people to pay the full fee this year with little opportunity for offset and the offer is fairly conservative based on monthly spend history.
As such, it does seem Amex are expecting people to pay the full fee this year with little opportunity for offset and the offer is fairly conservative based on monthly spend history.
What a shocker!
I am more optimistic @JDB. These retention bonuses kept people from considering a two-year break from amex with a hope for a decent SUB at the end of the tunnel. Now, with the retention bonuses are practically gone, more people may opt in for a two-year break.
I am more optimistic @JDB. These retention bonuses kept people from considering a two-year break from amex with a hope for a decent SUB at the end of the tunnel. Now, with the retention bonuses are practically gone, more people may opt in for a two-year break.
Retention bonuses on the scale previously offered for Plat are just a short term sticking plaster to make up for the inadequacy of the product. Nobody else offers them; the product has to live or die by its value proposition. Retentions are expensive in one way, but cheaper than improving the benefits of the card for all. The funding for such bonuses comes out of the rewards and benefits pot, so there are trade offs with the overall benefits for everyone. The costs also obviously impact customer service.
Retention bonuses have hardly “practically gone”. They are still ridiculously generous and in a spirit of fairness shouldn’t be offered at all, especially on the selective basis used.
They don’t even seem to be at all effective. I’m not sure Amex is too bothered about those willing to sit it out for two years. Amex doesn’t seem to have worked out what Barclays quickly did – the more you offer, the worse the calibre of customer you get.
I am more optimistic @JDB. These retention bonuses kept people from considering a two-year break from amex with a hope for a decent SUB at the end of the tunnel. Now, with the retention bonuses are practically gone, more people may opt in for a two-year break.
Amex doesn’t seem to have worked out what Barclays quickly did – the more you offer, the worse the calibre of customer you get.
I’m not sure what you mean by ‘calibre’ of customer. I took out Platinum for the travel benefits. Let’s see what I get. I get travel insurance I can’t use due to minor pre-existing not being covered, forcing me take out a different policy. Hotel status that has been diluted over the year (Hilton Gold in the US for example), I do use the UK restaurant benefit but not the overseas benefits. There is nothing else of benefit. I do get charged a 2.99% foreign currency fee, in addition to the fee I expect AMEX charges the merchant.
It seems AMEX is attracting exactly the sort of customer they deserve – those that want to get the MR bonuses and not use the card.
Platinum is due for renewal next week, asked to be downgraded to the Green card, no retention bonus was offered, downgrade request was processed immediately via Chat.
Platinum is due for renewal next week, asked to be downgraded to the Green card, no retention bonus was offered, downgrade request was processed immediately via Chat.
Was thanked for being a valued member for 16 years though, LOL
Got offered 10k MR for £1k in 3 months, decided to downgrade to Gold as my circumstances have changed and I won’t be doing that much travelling in the near future anyway.
Has anyone been offered higher?
25,000 points for £5K spend in 3 months
I’ve also been offered, and accepted this – this was 3 weeks AFTER my renewal too! I forgot to ask before, but the chat person offered this up straight away.
Has anyone been offered higher?
25,000 points for £5K spend in 3 months
I’ve also been offered, and accepted this – this was 3 weeks AFTER my renewal too! I forgot to ask before, but the chat person offered this up straight away.
Pro-rata refunds are still a thing, so it’s in their interest to retain you. My 12 months from last retention is up tomorrow, will have a go over the weekend and see what happens….
… and it’s 10k for a £1k spend for me. I have taken it, but think I’ll try again in a few months.
I just received 25k points for a £5k spend in 3 months. I usually spend about £4k per month, so not sure how linked this is.
I am going to downgrade to the Gold from the Platinum in a few days regardless. I am not using all the Platinum benefits this year and feel somewhat enticed by the bonus 12.5k points.
Renewal due mid June. No retention bonus offered via chat and thanked for 13 years as a valued member. Gave me links to other products. If I downgrade to amex Gold, do I get the first year fee free?
Think the theme is annual retention bonuses have essentially gone.
If I downgrade to amex Gold, do I get the first year fee free?
Yes.
If I downgrade to amex Gold, do I get the first year fee free?
Yes.
So the whole year following the Platinum renewal date is free Gold?
err, refer to @soloflyer’s question and my answer above. 🙄
The question and answer were not wholly clear which is why I restated it. It also makes zero sense why Amex would do this.
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