Refund on closed Amex Plat – potential clawback?

[spiceke]

Hi,

I recently took advantage of the 60k MR points sign-up for the Amex Platinum. Quickly did the spend and received the bonus.

I then closed the card for a pro rata refund after transferring out the MR points (into Avios as my Avios balance has taken a huge hit recently)

However, one of the transactions that triggered the bonus, a spend of approx. £3k, may need to be refunded to me – I was not being underhand in any way i.e. doing the spend in expectation of a refund after I received all the bonuses etc. It is a legitimate potential refund.

My question is…….If I am refunded this amount (which I guess Amex will send via a cheque to me as I no longer have the Plat card) what happens with the significant MR bonus that I received and transferred out (and also the £200 travel bonus I used)?

I assume there is no way for Amex to recoup the Avios from BA.

However, will there be a ‘negative’ MR balance applied to me – and therefore, if I open a new Amex card in the future my MR balance starts as a negative 60k? That would not be cost effective to clear and would therefore preclude me from any future Amex cards (apart from my trusty BA card).

Any guidance would be very much appreciated

[Skywalker]

Call Amex.

[NorthernLass]

There’s never been a reported case of Amex clawing back avios, and it’s normally the case that if you close a card, a negative points balance dies with it, as it were. Amex CS staff may or may not give you this info. There’s always the possibility that it might be held against you if you made a new application in future, though.