International airlines are excluded to get points?

Old May 22, 2015, 8:37 pm
  #1  
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Thumbs down International airlines are excluded to get points?

Spoke with Membership rewards rep (was transferred by a reg rep without any explanation about points not being transferred), who said that because my charge was for a ticket on an international airline, it excludes from receiving points. What??

As far as I know, there is no exclusion list. He refused to give points and refused to transfer me to a supervisor (!) literally arguing with me. AmEx, are you for real??
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Old May 22, 2015, 9:17 pm
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So to clarify, you booked a revenue ticket and paid with your amex, and never received the MR points for it? Any more details you can share, like how exactly you booked it, etc.

I've never not earned MR points/SPG points on that card for a purchase.
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Old May 22, 2015, 9:32 pm
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Originally Posted by krazykanuck
So to clarify, you booked a revenue ticket and paid with your amex, and never received the MR points for it? Any more details you can share, like how exactly you booked it, etc.

I've never not earned MR points/SPG points on that card for a purchase.
And as far as I remember, I previously charged the same card on another international airline and received correct points. That time was an upgrade and in the $US (this time it was a conversion to $US). Both times directly with airlines.
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Old May 23, 2015, 6:31 am
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Originally Posted by Kat007
... points not being transferred), who said that because my charge was for a ticket on an international airline, it excludes from receiving points.
This explanation doesn't include sufficient details. What is the name of the airline, and did the airline process the transaction directly? (Does the airline's name appear on your American Express statement?)

If you purchased anything from any airline anywhere in the world you should receive one base point per dollar. If you have a card which earns bonus points for purchasing airfare (such as Premier Rewards Gold) you would earn those bonus points only if the airline's merchant account is setup to match the criteria that American Express uses. This is explain in the terms of the card:

You will earn: 2 additional points (for a total of 3 points) for airfare on a scheduled flight charged directly with passenger airlines (charter flights and private jet flights are excluded); 1 additional point (for a total of 2 points) for gasoline at gas stations located in the U.S. (superstores, supermarkets and warehouse clubs that sell gasoline are not considered gas stations); and 1 additional point (for a total of 2 points) for purchases at supermarkets located in the U.S. (superstores and warehouse clubs are not considered supermarkets).Eligible purchases are purchases for goods and services minus returns and other credits. Eligible purchases do NOT include fees or interest charges, balance transfers, cash advances, purchases of travelers checks, purchases or reloading of prepaid cards, or purchases of other cash equivalents. Additional terms and restrictions apply.

Merchants are assigned codes based on what they primarily sell. A purchase will not earn additional points if the merchant's code is not eligible. Purchases made through a third-party payment account or on an online marketplace (with multiple retailers) will not earn additional points. A purchase may not earn additional points if the merchant submits the purchase using a mobile or wireless card reader or if you use a mobile or digital wallet.
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Old May 23, 2015, 8:04 am
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Originally Posted by mia
This explanation doesn't include sufficient details. What is the name of the airline, and did the airline process the transaction directly? (Does the airline's name appear on your American Express statement?)

If you purchased anything from any airline anywhere in the world you should receive one base point per dollar. If you have a card which earns bonus points for purchasing airfare (such as Premier Rewards Gold) you would earn those bonus points only if the airline's merchant account is setup to match the criteria that American Express uses. This is explain in the terms of the card:
Not only airline name appears on the statement, it has all the ticket details. That rep said I would not receive ANY points (shocking, not even 1 point!) because it was the international airline. I also had two other tickets with AA with all the details, which he also failed to explain why I didn`t get any points.
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Old May 23, 2015, 9:49 am
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It sounds as if there was a fundamental miscommunication, but your story keeps changing. It may be that the points have not yet posted because it is too soon, Please tell us:

1. What is the exact name of the American Express card that you used to make these purchases?

2. On which date(s) did you make the purchases?

3. On which date did your most recent statement close?

4. What is the name of the "international" airline?

5. What "points" are you expecting to post: base (1 point per $1) or some type of bonus points, or ...?
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Old May 23, 2015, 9:49 am
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Originally Posted by Kat007
That rep said I would not receive ANY points (shocking, not even 1 point!) because it was the international airline. I also had two other tickets with AA with all the details, which he also failed to explain why I didn`t get any points.
"That rep"? One rep?

Any one rep can give you wrong information.

HUCA (Hang up, call again) and speak to another rep (not mentioning the previous conversation).

And have you waited long enough? MR points don't post right away, they don't post in what anyone with experience at other banks would even call a reasonable amount of time. Ie, you may have to wait up to about two months after your purchase to see anything about the points online.

(I have purchases as far back as Apr 3 for which no points show yet online, and my second statement since then was already issued yesterday.)

So when did you make these airline ticket purchases? And how many Amex statements have been issued since those purchases posted to your Amex account?

Last edited by sdsearch; May 23, 2015 at 9:57 am
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Old May 23, 2015, 2:59 pm
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Originally Posted by sdsearch
"That rep"? One rep?

Any one rep can give you wrong information.

HUCA (Hang up, call again) and speak to another rep (not mentioning the previous conversation).

And have you waited long enough? MR points don't post right away, they don't post in what anyone with experience at other banks would even call a reasonable amount of time. Ie, you may have to wait up to about two months after your purchase to see anything about the points online.

(I have purchases as far back as Apr 3 for which no points show yet online, and my second statement since then was already issued yesterday.)

So when did you make these airline ticket purchases? And how many Amex statements have been issued since those purchases posted to your Amex account?
I sure spoke with another one, who said it was too early and that it takes a billing cycle, which is also incorrect for Gold Business card (it applies to Blue card though and I don`t expect them to show up).

Then I spoke to a supervisor, who didn`t know if international airlines were excluded, but after she placed me on hold and came back, she said that all airlines are included. But she didn`t see any points being pending either. She said just to wait (seems like she didn`t know what she was doing either).

On this particular card, bonus points (x 2 or x 3) were posted as soon as a charge was posted, so this time they weren`t posted even after the billing statement closed.

So I am wondering if there were changes made to the card since I checked it last time, or I just need to do HUCAs and hope to get someone who actually knows what they are doing.
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Old May 23, 2015, 7:57 pm
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I have gold business also and my points don't get posted until pass "pay by" date usually. They don't get posted by statement closing date.
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Old May 23, 2015, 8:32 pm
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Originally Posted by guear
I have gold business also and my points don't get posted until pass "pay by" date usually. They don't get posted by statement closing date.
The thing is they don`t even see them being pending. Nothing.
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Old May 23, 2015, 11:19 pm
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Once again, what airline is this?
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Old May 23, 2015, 11:22 pm
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Originally Posted by xolinlevh
Once again, what airline is this?
BA, but the name is irrelevant to the issue.
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Old May 24, 2015, 12:02 am
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Has the charge shown up on your account? I have bought tickets with BA and it has taken weeks for the actual charge to show up. You don't get points until there a charge.
This situation sounds very strange because everything you buy on an amex card earns points, absolutely everything. The only things that don't are cash advance or anything that is treated as a cash advance. I simply can't imagine any agent telling you that purchasing tickets on BA doesn't earn points. There's something that you aren't telling us.
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Old May 24, 2015, 12:07 am
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Originally Posted by BenSenise
Has the charge shown up on your account? I have bought tickets with BA and it has taken weeks for the actual charge to show up. You don't get points until there a charge.
This situation sounds very strange because everything you buy on an amex card earns points, absolutely everything. The only things that don't are cash advance or anything that is treated as a cash advance. I simply can't imagine any agent telling you that purchasing tickets on BA doesn't earn points. There's something that you aren't telling us.
Of course there is a charge, and it was posted three weeks prior to the billing cycle closing date. I`ve been AmEx member for two decades, so I am not expecting the points to be posted before the charge hits.

What exactly "I am not telling you"?
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Old May 24, 2015, 4:50 am
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Originally Posted by BenSenise
Has the charge shown up on your account? I have bought tickets with BA and it has taken weeks for the actual charge to show up. You don't get points until there a charge.
This situation sounds very strange because everything you buy on an amex card earns points, absolutely everything. The only things that don't are cash advance or anything that is treated as a cash advance. I simply can't imagine any agent telling you that purchasing tickets on BA doesn't earn points. There's something that you aren't telling us.
Exactly.

To the OP: Are you sure this wasn't a holding charge, or an authorisation? Or perhaps a debit against a previous credit? The bit about 'international airlines' is wrong and must be some form of miscommunication.
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