Moderator - I couldn't decide if this should be a CO or Amex thread so feel free to move it.

Even without the deterioration in bennies that come with the Amex Platinum, the CO Presidential Plus card seems like a no-brainer - full PC access, Elite boarding and less expensive. So I called Amex today to cancel.

Keep in mind that I also have an old blue card that hadn't been used in years, that I asked them to transfer all my MR miles to, so that wasn't a problem. The comments on FT about Chase are consistent with my experience over the years, so I planned to continue to use an Amex to rack up MR miles and not expose my self (any more than necessary) to Chase's customer service from hell.

To make a long story a little shorter - be prepared to cancel if you expect them to deal and don't get in a hurry. It was obvious that the agent was working the numbers on the value of my account by his frequent requests to put me on hold so he could talk to his supervisor (right <G>). (He did that at least five times.) First it was $100 or 12k miles then $150 or 17.5k and various other combinations of cards/cash/miles - said he couldn't do both a $ credit and miles, it was one or the other.

Bottom line is I ended up with a Gold card and 25k miles - kept the same account number as the platinum. I might have gotten a little more, but he was trying hard to keep me and being very congenial. There's always next year to wring out a little more.

FWIW, I was looking at my card while on hold and noticed that it said member since 93, although I've actually been doing business with Amex since at least 65 when they ran the military banking facilities in Europe and I was a young GI. Amex hasn't changed a bit in those 40+ years - still frustrating, still trying to be a first class operation and not quite pulling it off. If they ever got their act together they would have no competition. But it is always something with Amex - a website that is down or poorly designed or a confusing slate of charge/credit cards or something - Amex will always be an also ran instead of a leader.

Best,

John