Hi Folks,
I want to share my plight about a recent situation involving American Express. My epic journey began when I was asked by a Centurion customer service rep about whether or not I was satisfied with my Business Centurion card. I told them, "well, since you're asking.... I've actually shifted about 80-90% of my spending to a Signature Visa these days because after accumulating MR points for a couple years I found that I can never find a way to use them". To this she asked what would make me switch back. I told her that I was very happy with the SPG points that I was earning prior to becoming a Centurion cardholder, but was concerned about not getting the better purchase protection/extended warranty benefits of the Centurion card.
She did a bunch of research and called me back about a day or so later and told suggested that I re-apply for a Starwood Amex and that even if I used this card that the benefits of the Centurion would be the ones applied to purchases. So far so good.... So, I applied for the SPG card.
When it came in the mail I was shocked to find out that they gave me a $5,000 spending limit. I called in and talked to 4 different people (was eventually transferred to the new accounts people) and they were very sympathetic to my situation, as my typical spending is about 25K-50K per month, so $5,000 is entirely impractical. One guy said that he'd resolve the issue for me and promised to call me back the next business day (this happened a week ago and I still haven't heard back from him). When I called back to talk to a supervisor she ultimately told me "sorry, but $5,000 is what you get and in 90 days you can apply for an increase and we'll check your credit again and will make a decision at that time".
Man, I feel like I'm being treated like a high school kid with no credit applying for his first credit card (no offense to people who are starting out in the credit world), when approximately 3 years ago they "invited" me to have a Centurion card because I had just spent well over $250,000 during the first 3 and a half months of using
the identical Starwood Amex card (and never carrying a balance)!
In addition, when I said that I wanted to talk to someone else about the matter she said that there was no one else to talk to and that the issue was closed. When I pressed on she told me to write a letter to the CEO of American Express, which I did. Here's the letter which includes more of the details of this ridiculous situation.
Mr. Kenneth Chenault
℅ American Express
World Financial Center
200 Vesey Street
New York, NY 10285
Dear Mr. Chenault,
Please know that I am writing you to inform you of what I believe is a breakdown in the customer service processes at American Express. My problems began recently when I spoke with a Centurion customer service supervisor. It started out as a relatively simple bit of feedback that I was giving to American Express.
The Membership Reward points I had been earning on my Business Centurion card have been fairly useless as each time I'd tried to use them to redeem benefits they were either very costly or not available. So, for the past year I'd switched to using a Signature Visa for about 80-90% of my purchases. When I told the Centurion supervisor this they were surprised and said that they wanted to get me back using my American Express card, a card that I pay $2,500 annually for. I told them that I wanted to earn Starwood points but was concerned about losing the Centurion benefits. They did some research and eventually got back to me telling me that they'd found a solution. They told me to apply for a Starwood Amex card - I would earn those points and yet would retain the Centurion benefits in all purchases. So, I did this.
When my Starwood card came I began the process of notifying all merchants I deal with on a regular basis to switch my billing over to the Amex card. Then, when logging in online I discovered that the card they'd recently issued me was set up with a $5,000 spending limit. When I contacted the new accounts department the representative, Louie Canettieri, reviewed my account and the limit I was given and his response was, "I'm very sorry Mr. XXXXXX, I believe that this amounts to a slap in the face after all of your patronage over the years. I understand why this limit is impractical for you based on your spending and I will see to it that this problem is rectified immediately". Mr. Canettieri promised to speak to his supervisors and to call me back the next business day with an update. Three days later and after multiple calls to try to find out if my issue was being worked on, I ended up speaking to a new accounts supervisor, Ms. Andrea Hopkins, who told me that my matter had been considered and that American Express unfortunately is not able to offer me a solution and recommended that I wait 90 days to request a credit increase as does every other customer. When I asked to speak to her manager or the manager of her division she refused, telling me that the only thing she could recommend that I do is to write a letter to the CEO of American Express, which is why I am contacting you today.
Now, I realize that times are tough and credit is tight, but please let me frame my recent experience within some context:
- I have been an American Express cardholder for over 7 years, and to my knowledge, I have never carried a balance during that entire term (i.e., I consistently pay my bills in full each month)
- I am a Business Centurion cardholder, and before that I had a Personal Centurion card, and before that I was a secondary Centurion cardholder (a friend convinced me to try it out). I also have a corporate Amex (for Microsoft) and a platinum Costco card. About a year ago, I also had the identical Starwood card with a $50,000 spending limit.
- I have $250,000 in a savings account at American Express Bank (account number [.....])
- I have an impeccable credit record and history with American Express.
- I am a stockholder in Berkshire Hathaway (Class A)
- I am a longtime believer and supporter of American Express.
I implore you to look at my situation as an example of how the new rules and regulations, as well as the training of employees have resulted in what I believe to be bad business results. I am considering canceling all of my American Express cards and closing my savings account after the way my legitimate concerns were dismissed by Ms. Hopkins, and for the fact that this whole set of circumstances was brought about by Centurion customer service in the first place. I have now spent nearly 6 hours on this matter.
Please ask yourself if the tightening of credit and the inflexible application of rules should be applied to your best customers or in other areas where they make more business sense. As the operator of a business and an entrepreneur myself, I find detailed feedback of which I am not usually privy to to be invaluable. As a stockholder of BRK-A, I am happy to discuss my experiences with you or anyone appropriate at American Express, regardless of whether or not my original issue is properly addressed or if I remain a cardholder going forward. I hope that American Express weathers the financial storm by applying smart strategies where they need to be applied, rather than applying reactionary tactics across its entire customer base.
Best regards,
XXXX XXXXXX
What do you guys think? Am I crazy or is there something awry here? I don't know what to do. I've already spent an inordinate amount of time on this. I really *want* to continue on with American Express because there are many things that I like about the company, but no matter how I play it over in my head this experience amounts to a direct slap in the face and a strong message that they don't value my business.
I guess the lesson to learn from this cautionary tale is that if you're already using a Starwood (or Visa/MC) card and are generally happy with it, you might NOT want to switch over or shell out that $7,500 for the Centurion card (and $2,500 in every subsequent year). Even in the past 2-3 years I've noticed a rapid deterioration in service, benefits and the general feeling of being a valued customer. Barring a statistically improbable reply from Mr. Chenault himself, I seriously doubt anyone at American Express cares that they're alienating a potentially lifelong Centurion cardholder, bank depositor, equity holder and brand supporter.
Sincerely,
Frustrated