Amex (USA) refuses to honor signup bonus [Consolidated]

Were you told at all that you did qualify, then were denied after the fact?

Yes, I was told that I was eligible and had met all the requirements. However, since the bonus didn't post, I was transferred over to Membership Rewards and that's when I was told about their interpretation of "applicant."

I was told the system automatically does it and the MR reps can't change it.

Fwiw, I was trying to get one of those 75k MR sign up bonuses for the Business Gold Rewards card.

I would have to say no. The Costco Amex is a completely different category of product compared to SPG, any airline cards, any MR cards.

If you have a Costco membership the Costco Amex would be the most logical card to keep as your base Amex card so that you retain your "Members since XXXX" date.

You dont need to. The XXXX is associated with your SSN it so seems.

We went a period of years without a single AMEX card, yet when we rejoined, the XXXX is the SAME as if we had never left.

Did you , or your "other" business have a Business Gold / Plat within the 12 months prior to the current card?

My understanding is, AMEX only differentiate the business cards and personal cards in the Membership Reward bonus earning. All varieties of MR earning personal cards got lumped as Similar Products, ditto on the Biz cards side.

For example if one has a PRG, it would not preclude one to get bonus on the BRG.

However if one has a PRG, it would preclude one to get bonus on the Personal Plat card.

Same is true with the BRG and Biz Plat Card.

Business A has a Business Platinum, Business B has never had an AmEx charge card, only a credit card.

I was denied because I personally was deemed the "applicant." I thought it was odd because I wasn't asked for my SSN on the BRG app and didn't use it.

Fwiw, both businesses have 10+ year histories with American Express.

Does anyone know a fax number or email address for executive customer service or the like that actually elicits a response?

Before I move on to a demand letter I want to give Amex every opportunity to make matters right but so far I can't even get an acknowledgment they received my correspondence.

So I'll try to keep this as short as possible. I am a part owner in two different corporations. One of my older corporations has had a gold card for years now.

A couple weeks ago I received an offer to my other corporation for 100k bonus points to sign up and spend 10k in 3 months.

I signed up online through the RSVP code and everything went smoothly. Right after signing up and getting approved, I gave the AMEX application number a call to confirm the promo. The person on the phone confirmed that this application was approved and that the promo was for the 100k points. Great.

a couple days ago I received my card and opened an online account. The first thing I noticed is I already somehow have points on this account. I realized that it merged my account with my other corporation.

I'm not even going to try and go into the liability concerns I have about this (these are two separate corporations and need to be so for liability reasons).

I was told that I didn't get the 100k offer because I already have a gold card. I explained my situation, and that I don't have anything, its a spate corporation that has the gold card. I told the agent that I even called to confirm this right after signing up.

Long story short, she told me she can't personally do anything about it. She opened an investigation that will take 6-8 weeks and they will give me a final outcome. I had a feeling that through our conversation that the investigation was even more about what the person over the phone said to me about me getting the promo, rather than I should have received it since this is separate accounts.

So what's the deal here? I absolutely know that I can't get bonus points if I signup to a platinum while I have a gold. However these are two separate corporations. Am I screwed?

You answered your own question.

Not to mention these are not Corporate cards, they are personal cards for Business Expenses. Your personal credit backs up the charges, not a Corporation.

Also not sure how having Membership Rewards points, which have no cash value, in the same account is a liability concern. I think you're over reacting a little bit.

From my understanding, the applicant is my business. Nothing else for the businesses are mixed, so why would this? The name on the letter was my business name. The name on the top of the application is my business name. What about this leads someone to believe that they are 'the applicant' as opposed to the business that everything is addressed to, which is considered a separate entity from any other businesses or the owner.

You are the applicant. The application is evaluated based on your personal creditworthiness. You are personally responsible for the debt, although American Express also asserts a claim against the company's assets.

This is a recurring misunderstanding of American Express policy. See this POST to read a summary of another member's discussion with American Express. You may be able to negotiate an exception, but it won't happen at a low level.

All I see that saying is that I am liable for any payments on the card. That's understandable, and that's why my SSN is asked.

So what you guys are saying is that this is a lost cause, even if I escalate it? If what the customer service rep told me doesn't matter, and this is happening to a lot of people... I'm sure they aren't going to all of a sudden change their minds. Is there someone I should write a letter to, that might be able to help.

Keep in mind, I'm not trying to play somekind of points game here. I know many on here try to work the system. I just 'innocently' signed up for an offer that I received and understood as being valid. Now I just feel scammed.


I also have two slightly off topic questions then.
1. If I cancel both mine and my employee's business card how big of an effect does this have on credit score? I don't care if it dings it by 20 points for a month or two, or is this something that dings the score for a while (year+)?

2. If I cancel right after finding out the verdict, the agent said I will be refunded my $700 signup fee I paid for the cards. Does anyone know what happens to the services I already used.. What I mean is if I already used part of the airline credit and the global entrance reimbursement, will they end up taking away the credit that they gave me?

relax... you are going to get your if you just relax and wait and if necessary escalate. But more important relax

I'm part of a group that owns & manages commercial real estate. For every property, there is at least one corporation (LLC) and sometimes 2 or 3. All together, we have well over 200 distinctly separate corporations, with the same president & treasurer, and support staff. If we could get a card for each corp, with a sign-up bonus, that would be millions of bonus miles.

My guess is someone like us tried to do this in the past, and that's why they link via SSN to prevent multiple sign-up bonuses.