American Express Membership Rewards - 20K Starwood Points From Barry Arnold's Office

Once again I was not targeted for this year's Starwood Amex double points promotion. A month ago I called the Amex customer service - the CSR said there was nothing he could do, but said I might try writing to:

Mr. Barry V. Arnold
Senior Vice-President, Customer Relations
777 American Express Way
Ft. Lauderdale, Florida 33337

Since I threatened to cancel the card last year after getting hosed, I decided not to push it and wrote the letter instead. All I asked for was to be included in the promotion - I didn't threaten to cancel any of my cards. It was more of a venting process than anything - I never thought I'd hear from them.

Ten days later I got a call on my cell. Someone claiming to be from Mr. Arnold's office said they were sorry, I was a very good customer, it's up to Marketing as to who gets targeted so they couldn't help me with that, but they were going to give me 20K Starpoints as a goodwill gesture. She followed up with a letter 10 days later, and included her business card with her direct number.

Today the points posted on my SPG account from my card - the 20K points were included.

Now I know I put more on Amex cards than the average bear, but if you're a fairly big Amex user and you weren't targeted, it might be worth a shot.

p8riotsfan,

Just out of curiosity, did you accidentally forget to include a commentary to singlemalt's post, or did you like his post so much that you had to ensure that we all read it for the second time? :)

Thanks for posting this. I wrote a polite letter and just got a call offering 15K *W points. Gratefully accepted.

I received a letter today from Mr. Arnold saying that he has passed the matter on to his underling who will "research" it. Whatever that means. We'll see if I get anything out of it. In any case, thanks.

I was unhappy about how Starwood's handled a matter and wrote Barry. Will let you know how it works out. I don't want free or extra points, just what I should have had originally. Thanks for sharing his name.

I received a letter today from Mr. Arnold saying that he has passed the matter on to his underling who will "research" it. Whatever that means. We'll see if I get anything out of it. In any case, thanks.

I got that exact same response. Will be curious to see how quickly his assistant tends to it and if the cumulative effect of all of us here writing him does anything to impact the policies of targeting.

Just got a call from a very nice representative in Mr. Arnold's office. She told me that those targeted for promotions are usually randomly chosen. She acknowledged some points I made in my letter and credited me with 11,500 Starpoints. Thanks for the idea!

I once had an issue with the he card and was given 6000 points... took a letter and a phone call but it was worth it... actually the issue had to do with 6000 points which AMEX said they would give me... for what reason I do not know.... when I called and asked, no body seemed to have the answer... I wrote a letter to Barry Arnold's office who acknowledged it was a mistake but gave the 6000 points anyways...

Wrote a letter, haven't spoken yet with the woman from Mr. Arnold's office - we've traded a couple of voicemails, but points have already posted to my account. :cool:

I was unhappy about how Starwood's handled a matter and wrote Barry. Will let you know how it works out. I don't want free or extra points, just what I should have had originally. Thanks for sharing his name.

Mr. Arnold's office called and indicated that an adjustment which I found very fair would be made. They also said that they had requested Starwood to include me in future promotions. Don't hold your breath on that!

Sorry to ask such a newb question, but could anyone refer me to the details of the AMEX/SPG double points offer the OP missed? It sounds like something I missed and would like to receive in the future as well.

Sorry to ask such a newb question, but could anyone refer me to the details of the AMEX/SPG double points offer the OP missed? It sounds like something I missed and would like to receive in the future as well.

Unfortunately there's no way to control whether or not you receive these offers. That's my big complaint- they're "targeted" and I'm never the target! Information about the recent promotion is here:

http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/showthread.php?t=337342

Mr. Arnold's office called and indicated that an adjustment which I found very fair would be made. They also said that they had requested Starwood to include me in future promotions. Don't hold your breath on that!Only THEY are the ones that target the Amex spend promos, NOT Starwood!

Got a response from Arnold's assistant, Brian Fogelman. I complained about the threshold, not the inclusion. They said sorry, no can do, but gave me $100 "goodwill credit." Nice, but I would have loved points!

I sent my letter concerning missing MR points on 8/30 and am yet to receive a response. How long has it normally taken from sending the letter to getting some sort of acknowledgement?

It was around 2 weeks for me. If you don't hear back from them, you could always call the corporate office at (800) 297-6197.

thanks for the tip. i send a letter 3 days ago and got a call today and they are going to post 5000 spg points.
you guys have been great

Funny how everyone gets a little different result- they must be throwing darts at a board!

thanks for the tip. i send a letter 3 days ago and got a call today and they are going to post 5000 spg points.
you guys have been great

3 Days??? Damn. It's been a couple of weeks on my letter but no response. Of course, I was complaining about a different issue where I didn't get some MR points I was entitled to from a promotion back in December 2003.

I should send a letter about the Starwood promotion too!

I don't know if I just inadvertently missed any postings on this subject but has anyone actually seen their double *wood points credited yet? I thought that up to 5000 points would show up by mid-Sept.

I just found other postings that said be patient and wait until mid-Oct.

Moderator: Please delete my posting.

I wrote to Barry and outlined that I switched to the Platinum card based on an offer I saw in the Membership Rewards catalog, but never got the miles, despite sending in my request and the offer and the offer code to their office 3 times.

Within 2 weeks I got a letter from him apologizing and a call from his assistant and the 12,500 mls I was owed in the first place. They did not offer me anything special or any compensation, but they gave me what they promised me

thanks for the info :) OP

Sorry to resurrect an old thread, but I've had a quite a few PM's on this subject.

Funny how everyone gets a little different result- they must be throwing darts at a board!

I've read more success stories from PM's on this than have been posted on this thread. In many of the PM's, people were a little more willing to share their spending levels. It appears that there is a strong correlation between spending levels and the amount of points awarded (which, I think, most of us would have assumed). One individual has received a whole lot more points than he could have earned from the promotion (I agreed not to publish any details) - but he put a lot more on the the card in two months than I could ever hope to for a similar period.

Say what you will about Amex customer service, but they way they came through on this issue is a big plus in my book.

I have two reasons for resurrecting this thread (again):

1) I received a call this evening from the Sr. VP's Customer Relations office. Again, they're comping me 20K starpoints for getting hosed on this year's 50% bonus:

http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/showthread.php?t=477749

If you were skipped by the promo, it can't hurt to spend a few minutes to write to them.

2) This person said that Barry Arnold is no longer the Sr. VP of Customer Relations - he said the new person in charge is Doria Camaraza. A quick search indicates she was formerly the president of American Express Establishment Services, Latin America and Carribean. I couldn't find anything official on Google on the change.

Thanks for the prompt, I've sent my own complaint letter as well. I was given a bunch of points last summer, hopefully they'll continue to value my (not insubstantial) business...

What is phone # and email address for Doria? Or for Customer Relations?

Well, looks like my efforts paid off. I got a call from the executive offices and was offered a substantially less then acceptable offer. I indicated my dissatisfaction and reluctantly accepted, but indicated this was not acceptable and the representative should review this with her superiors. The rep met with Doria Caraza who apparently recognized the $1 million a year in spending and graciously met my requests.

Jim

$1M. They should pay you to take the black card.

Candyman: they should be paying you for lot's of different things. They should start by asking you a list of things that you would prefer.

^ Thanks,
writing my letter tonight. i got some points last year.

From lack of responses: AE Customer Relations does not accept emails or faxes or initial calls( unless you write to them and they call you)?

Well, we very politely sought the 20K, but were firmly told by a gentleman in the executive office that (Amex never would give that many points.) Of course we know this to be false. So we ended up getting 5K points. I'm less than thrilled, since I spent more than $10K in the promotion period already.

We spend about $60-70K a year through them. Perhaps not enough to get the 20K? I think someone said they spend a million (wow).

What is the annual spend for some of you folks who have been getting the 20K?

Candyman: they should be paying you for lot's of different things. They should start by asking you a list of things that you would prefer.


I always find it interesting how CSR's treat you until you talk to a supervisor, or have them talk to one and they review my account. They usually come back with a whole different attitude when they see my spending habits. Curiously they asked me how I even found out about the promotion and I told them on flyertalk and reminded them of my discussions on forums on this promotion.

Jim

Just got call from the corporate office regarding my letter. They said they will give me the 50% bonus on my nov and dec SPG statement.
:)

I got the same response. I only got 50% of my expenses for oct & nov. oh well. not bad.

Got the letter and a voicemail saying thanks for contacting us, but that's all. We won't give you anything. (Spending level $300K+/annual).

Got the letter and a voicemail saying thanks for contacting us, but that's all. We won't give you anything. (Spending level $300K+/annual).


Contact corporate, I did via mail and pushed the issue until I got what I felt was fair. 300k is valued, I would insist the CSR speak to her supervisor before forming an opinion of the value of my business. Dont forget to mention you are an active contributor to forums like FT and like to share your experiences with them. They took care of me and I am happy to share this positive experience.

Jim

What is the specific promotion you are referring to? I spent $40,000 on my SPG card in NOV alone...(more than normal), but I don't remember any promos. Should I be getting a benefit?

Contact corporate, I did via mail and pushed the issue until I got what I felt was fair. 300k is valued, I would insist the CSR speak to her supervisor before forming an opinion of the value of my business. Dont forget to mention you are an active contributor to forums like FT and like to share your experiences with them. They took care of me and I am happy to share this positive experience.

Jim

Jim

I did.
The response was from an assistant to the new VP of services.

Jim

I did.
The response was from an assistant to the new VP of services.

Who is the new VP of Services?

Who is the new VP of Services?



2) This person said that Barry Arnold is no longer the Sr. VP of Customer Relations - he said the new person in charge is Doria Camaraza. A quick search indicates she was formerly the president of American Express Establishment Services, Latin America and Carribean. I couldn't find anything official on Google on the change.

Singlemalt,

One thousand thank you's for posting this thread. I wrote my letter last month. I got the call yesterday. My 20,000 miles posted today. Unreal !!^ :)

Me too

A million thank yous!

I'm thanking singlemalt for posting too, although I admittedly feel a little miffed at not getting anything....

20K Starwood Points From Barry Arnold's Office
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------



Thanks for posting this.

Barry will get a letter from me ... see what happens.

Was advised by Camaraza's office that this was only for personal cards. Nothing for business or corporate cards. Does this ring true?

To my utter shock. I came home later today to find a bouquet of flowers from the customer service person who had gave me the 20,000 miles. He was wishing my family happy holidays. ^ Way to go Amex!!!! :)

Well...I sent a letter to Barry's office, even though he's no longer the guy. Why wouldn't I be included in this? Is this only for people spending below a certain limit?

Like many others before, I sent a letter, got 50% of my spend as a bonus. I was specifically told that the promotion is targeted to low spenders in order to get them to spend more. Those who spend enough (no idea how enough is calculated) are purposefully excluded from the promotion.

singlemalt:

Thanks for posting this....

Today Kathy from Barry Arnold's Office called. Mrs. USAFAN and I will each get 10,000 points. :)

Thanks again ^

thanks for the tip. i send a letter 3 days ago and got a call today and they are going to post 5000 spg points.


How long did it take that the points posted ... a day, some days, a week ...?

When they called, they told me "..it will post today .." I don't have the points by now ... :(

Anyone have suggestions for verbiage to use in a letter? I spent about 10k...how much do you think I should ask for?

Just got a call from Camaraza's office. They gave me 15K Starpoints. My spending on the SPG card in total is about $25K for the last 4 months. A nice New Year present indeed!

Thanks a million for this thread!!!

ok - how do I sign up for the bonus...I mean, where do I send my complaints :confused:

ok - how do I sign up for the bonus...I mean, where do I send my complaints :confused:

I thought "Original Member" knows everything :D . I must be spending too much time on Flyertalk ;) .

Take a look at the first post of this thread for the address. ^

I thought "Original Member" knows everything :D . I must be spending too much time on Flyertalk ;) .

Take a look at the first post of this thread for the address. ^

How long do you think one has to have a Starwood card to send a "complaint"? I just got mine about a month back, so I doubt they would give me anything :)

How long do you think one has to have a Starwood card to send a "complaint"? I just got mine about a month back, so I doubt they would give me anything :)

I got my SPG card since August of this year and racked up about $25K so far on the card. However, I have been Amex card holder for 13 years and have several other Amex cards as well. Not sure if it makes any difference.

How long do you think one has to have a Starwood card to send a "complaint"? I just got mine about a month back, so I doubt they would give me anything :)


You definitely would have needed to have the card when they launched the promo :)

You will only get "appeasment points" if you have a pattern of significant spend on the card. If you avg'ed at least several thousand a month for at least a year that is probably about the bare minimum to have a hope for appeasment from the exec office. And at that level they might throw you 5K points or something. Figure 15K points is costing them around $150+ so they're not throwing it at you unless you've already made them a nice chunk of change ;-)

And while anyone who really spends enough to deserve AMEX's return loyalty should write letters, let's please not have everyone who's ever charged a movie ticket on their SPG AMEX writing the exec offices or in time they'll stop responding to everyone.

You definitely would have needed to have the card when they launched the promo :)

You will only get "appeasment points" if you have a pattern of significant spend on the card. If you avg'ed at least several thousand a month for at least a year that is probably about the bare minimum to have a hope for appeasment from the exec office. And at that level they might throw you 5K points or something. Figure 15K points is costing them around $150+ so they're not throwing it at you unless you've already made them a nice chunk of change ;-)

And while anyone who really spends enough to deserve AMEX's return loyalty should write letters, let's please not have everyone who's ever charged a movie ticket on their SPG AMEX writing the exec offices or in time they'll stop responding to everyone.

Hmm..I've spent about 16K since August-it would have been higher except I also have the Merrill+ card and wanted to get my spending up to a certain level (although they cut benefits on that card for 2006 so I'm probably going to just get enough points for a ticket then stop using it).

At any rate I did the math for the last year and my average monthly bill came to $2650...wonder if that's enough to get anything.

Actually I'm the AU on the account heh, but I do 90% of the spending (and pay the bills).
Perhaps I should write the letter in the primary holder's name!

Uh, yeah -- definitely primary cardholders name. Not sure what $2650/mo in avg spend will net you from the exec offices. I'd be curious though.

Exec offices gave me a lump sum points deposit AND manually figured the bonus I would have earned had I been targeted. So I was basically DOUBLY compensated. :D

But my avg spend is a little bit higher . . . ;)

Uh, yeah -- definitely primary cardholders name. Not sure what $2650/mo in avg spend will net you from the exec offices. I'd be curious though.

Exec offices gave me a lump sum points deposit AND manually figured the bonus I would have earned had I been targeted. So I was basically DOUBLY compensated. :D

But my avg spend is a little bit higher . . . ;)

I am actually a little frustrated with AMEX on this current promo and am sort of thinking about transitioning to another card. We spend about $65-80K a year on the AMEX card.

I really believe that the treatment you get is dependent on who you get assigned to at the Amex offices. We got unlucky and got assigned to Mark Newberg. If you get assigned to this gentleman, seriously, try to get someone else.

He initially lowballed us with an offer of a flat 5,000 (our 50% of the spend alone would have been about 9,000). We figued it was due to a low spend, however we kept reading on FlyerTalk that everyone was getting 20,000, sometimes 15,000, then in exceptional cases 20,000 twice or like Gleff, 20,000 plus 50% of the amount you spent. So clearly, we were getting the worst offer of any FlyerTalker who contacted them. That alone makes us feel pretty crummy.

After reading that people with a 25K annual spend were getting 20,000, I decided to call back today. First I got a nice lady who I explained the situation to - she said "I would have given you 20,000, however since this started handling with Mark Newberg, its our policy to let him finish handling your account." So back to him.

After having to literally plead our case (against some pretty silly arguments: "sir, don't believe everything you read on FlyerTalk [i.e., people here are lying about what they got], etc.), he finally "relented" and offered us 3,000 more points.

I just don't understand why American Express treats its customers so differently. Aren't they supposed to be endearing us with loyalty here? Now they have spent 9,000 worth of points on us, and we've ended up angry and frustrated, where they could have just offered us 15,000 or 20,000 like everyone else and we'd have been happy. What a bad taste in my mouth this is. In any case, seems to me it is wholly dependent on who in the Executive Offices you get assigned to. If you get Mr. Newberg...RUN! :mad:

So clearly, we were getting the worst offer of any FlyerTalker who contacted them. That alone makes us feel pretty crummy.

Actually i got nada, and I spend $300K/yr.

Actually i got nada, and I spend $300K/yr.

So you wrote them, and they actually wrote or called you back and said "you're getting nothing"? Or, you mean you just didn't get offered the promotion?

I really believe that the treatment you get is dependent on who you get assigned to at the Amex offices....I just don't understand why American Express treats its customers so differently.I hate to play Captain Obvious, but here goes: you give the best treatment to your best customers - that's why airline and hotel programs have various elite levels with different benefits. CandymanJim and gleff (and anyone in their spending league) should expect extraordinary service. For $65-80K/yr. (or the $60-70K you listed two months ago), I would think you'd be happy that they even bothered to call and didn't dump your case on some Indian call center.

Aren't they supposed to be endearing us with loyalty here? Now they have spent 9,000 worth of points on us, and we've ended up angry and frustrated, where they could have just offered us 15,000 or 20,000 like everyone else and we'd have been happy.Since its sound like your understanding of the business world is somewhat limited, here are two more points regarding customers:

1) The customer is NOT always right; and
2) Some customers are not worth keeping.

You weren't targeted, you're not that good of a customer - they really shouldn't have done anything for you. But you heard some people were getting extra points, you wanted some, but you're not happy with the amount they gave you that you didn't deserve. Waaaahhhh.

After reading that people with a 25K annual spend were getting 20,000...I went through this entire thread and didn't see where anyone said that. The closest I found to your quoted figure was $25K in four months.

...or like Gleff, 20,000 plus 50% of the amount you spent.Again, I question your reading comprehension. I find no instance of where gleff says he got the original 20,000. Based his spending level, my guess is that he got 3-5 times that amount (+ the 50%). That should make you feel better about the points you got.

Hey Cap'n Obvious,

I don't bother complaining too much, but at $300K+ I figure I can't be among their worst customers...

Since its sound like your understanding of the business world is somewhat limited ... Again, I question your reading comprehension.

These are the types of personal attacks which ought to get the attention of the moderators. At least I got my grammar right.

You weren't targeted, you're not that good of a customer - they really shouldn't have done anything for you.

Wrong on all fronts. Our spend (according to another party in the executive offices) is in the top 10% of Amex customers. And, if you had taken the time to read other posts about this promotion, you'd know that they are offering it only to those customers who have not spent a lot (also what EO said to me). The big spenders didn't get an offer. While you may agree or disagree with this approach, your analysis is nonsensical, poorly thought out, and contrary to the evidence presented herein. (See how you do that - you critisize the analysis, not the person.)

It is also a little suspicious to me that (A) you are the guy who started telling everyone to write in to try and get 20K and (B) now the American Express rep I spoke with claims nobody ever got that much and says "don't believe everything you read on FlyerTalk." Is your personal attack on me a response to someone at American Express basically calling you a liar? Why would you say in this thread and others "hey everyone, I got 20K, you should write too!" and then, when someone does write and gets an offer of 5K and posts their dissatisfaction, take issue with them? This raises my suspicions on your motives in framing your frontal attack.

We figued it was due to a low spend, however we kept reading on FlyerTalk that everyone was getting 20,000, sometimes 15,000, then in exceptional cases 20,000 twice or like Gleff, 20,000 plus 50% of the amount you spent....

Not everyone was getting 15,000 or 20,000!
Mrs. USAFAN and I each got 10,000, and we are happy with this gift. I spoke with two lady agents at American Express. Both were very polite, friendly and professional ... I hope, that all agents at American Express would be like the agents at the executive bureau.
Thanks again to the OT ^

Not everyone was getting 15,000 or 20,000!
Mrs. USAFAN and I each got 10,000, and we are happy with this gift. I spoke with two lady agents at American Express. Both were very polite, friendly and professional ... I hope, that all agents at American Express would be like the agents at the executive bureau.

Fair enough, and in line with my comment that 5K was low (and even the 9K we eventually got after having to dicker with a basically rude agent is lower than your initial offer).

Fair enough, and in line with my comment that 5K was low (and even the 9K we eventually got after having to dicker with a basically rude agent is lower than your initial offer).


I got a call from Amex today after I sent my letter on 12/30/05. They explained the promo was targeted and that there was a formula that Amex used but she could not tell me exactly how it worked. She did thank me for being a cardholder (had various amex cards since 1991, now holding Corp Plat, Plat Opt, and just got the Starwood Amex in Oct). She gave me just under 7000 points, which would have been the number of bonus points i would have received from the promotion for my Nov and Dec spending. Not bad. Still, I hope they don't keep leaving me off the promos.

I might not be spending as much as others here, but I did explain in my letter that the $14,000 I have spent since i got my card in late Oct was all personal spending and not business spending. And I told them to look at my spending history for the past 14 years. I think that helped.

I'm getting ready to fire a letter off at Amex. Like you guys, I'm not really thrilled that I have never received any kind of promotion from them.

Quick question: should I still address this bad boy to the office of Barry Arnold? I see a few other names listed above, but is Mr Arnold still the big dog to whom I address this?

If they give me any meaningful percentage of my annual spend on this card, it'll be a nice chunk of Starpoints. And I actually do plan on doing a Cat 4 five-nighter in the allotted time period, so I don't feel like a total mooch asking for the points. (Just a partial mooch.) If Amex and Starwood have decided that some cardholders should get the 20k off, then I feel perfectly entitled to at least try and get my piece of the action.

Is it logical that I both love and hate playing this game at the same time?

The lady who called from Barry Arnold's office said my points would be posted right away. Iy's been more than a month...I've now lost her number. How long did it take for people's points to post after the callback from AMEX?

UPDATE: I actually think I got them on 12/22...my activity report is a little confusing..., but I think the bonus is listed as follows: SPG AMEX CC SPEND OR BONUS PTS.

[QUOTE=pinniped]I'm getting ready to fire a letter off at Amex. Like you guys, I'm not really thrilled that I have never received any kind of promotion from them.

Quick question: should I still address this bad boy to the office of Barry Arnold? I see a few other names listed above, but is Mr Arnold still the big dog to whom I address this?

[QUOTE]
I wrote to Barry Arnold in November...which worked fine. FYI: I was told that the promo applied to OCT & NOV spends.

The lady who called from Barry Arnold's office said my points would be posted right away. Iy's been more than a month...I've now lost her number. How long did it take for people's points to post after the callback from AMEX?

UPDATE: I actually think I got them on 12/22...my activity report is a little confusing..., but I think the bonus is listed as follows: SPG AMEX CC SPEND OR BONUS PTS.
My points posted with 48 hours. And that's EXACTLY the notation of how the points posted... same as how my regular monthly Amex points post.

My points posted with 48 hours. And that's EXACTLY the notation of how the points posted... same as how my regular monthly Amex points post.

Our experience was different. In both cases, the points were added to the immediately subsequent monthly batch drop, and came in with our regular spending points.In one case that mean a wait of about 20 days, and in the second case about 10 days.

I wrote to Barry Arnold in November...which worked fine. FYI: I was told that the promo applied to OCT & NOV spends.

So, to be clear, it sounds like some of us are writing about two different promos: one for double points on purchases in Oct & Now and second for the 20,000 point discount on a Cat 4 award in Spring '06. (I didn't get targeted for either of them.)

Thanks!

Thanks. Will that be the place to contact about any targeted promotion. I am trying to find information about the 50% Redmption discount promotion that was sent this Christmas.

Ever since I got the Starwood card over two years ago I was never targetted for any promotion. So I wrote to Mr. Arnold's office asking why. The answer was that I was on the no solicitations list. I am now off the list and should have the opportunity to participate in some future promotions. I hope the opportunities are as frequent as the solicitations. I also received a personal phone call and was awarded some points since I had lost the chance for a second year to earn bonus points. A plant arrived a few days later.

So those of you who are not getting promotions ought to see if you are on Starwood's no solicitation list. If so, that is likely the problem.

Thanks to all who have kept this thread active. Without you I would have never known that I was missing out on promotions or how to address the matter.

Sorry. Does this mean that one could sign up for the solicitation list on their website?

Ever since I got the Starwood card over two years ago I was never targetted for any promotion. So I wrote to Mr. Arnold's office asking why. The answer was that I was on the no solicitations list. I am now off the list and should have the opportunity to participate in some future promotions. I hope the opportunities are as frequent as the solicitations. I was also award some points since I had lost the chance for two years to earn bonus points.

So those of you who are not getting promotions ought to see if you are on Starwood's no solicitation list. If so, that is likely the problem.

Thanks to all who have kept this thread active. Without you I would have never known that I was missing out on promotions or how to address the matter.

Sorry. Does this mean that one could sign up for the solicitation list on their website?

No idea.

Greetings All,

After two weeks of waiting I got a call from AMEX about my complaint letter that I was not included in the 50% off an SPG award promo. I was offered 25,000 points which I happily accepted.


And behold today my points posted

SPG AMEX CC SPEND OR BONUS PTS Feb 14, 2006 25000

Is there a fax number or email for the Custumer service office?

Perhaps one should just simply not opt out from getting their emails for marketing purposes?

Ever since I got the Starwood card over two years ago I was never targetted for any promotion. So I wrote to Mr. Arnold's office asking why. The answer was that I was on the no solicitations list. I am now off the list and should have the opportunity to participate in some future promotions. I hope the opportunities are as frequent as the solicitations. I also received a personal phone call and was awarded some points since I had lost the chance for a second year to earn bonus points. A plant arrived a few days later.

So those of you who are not getting promotions ought to see if you are on Starwood's no solicitation list. If so, that is likely the problem.

Thanks to all who have kept this thread active. Without you I would have never known that I was missing out on promotions or how to address the matter.

Are these requests still to be addresses to Mr. Arnold-wasn't there a change?

At AMEX contact:

Doria M. Camaraza
Senior Vice President
Card Operations
American Express Cards
777 American Expressway
Fort Lauderdale, FL 33337

I just received a call from someone today about my letter, which was addressed to Barry. I got 5k points. Not as good as others but I only spend about 60k / year with Amex. No complaints from me. :)

Nice response letter form AE, but: nothing.

I received 10,000 points.