Originally Posted by
VegasGambler
I have used credit cards for a long time and never once payed a late fee. I just pay on time.
They brought up late fees in your retention conversation? In what context? That seems strange. Were they offering you some reduction of late fees or something? If so, that has to be the worst retention offer ever.
I also find it strange that you had all these issues. I've had the card since about September, and I've used it all over the place (in stores and restaurants, buying VX tickets, online, recurring charges, at hotels) and have not had a single issue. I use the card, all my pts post as soon as the statement closes, and I pay it off. This is the best card that I have in terms of rewards on regular spending.
When they told you that they could not waive the AF you should have asked for some large number of pts, like 15k. Even 10k pts is worth more than the $150 AF on the premium card. If they refused that, you should have asked if you can get some bonus pts after some minimum spend. If they still said no, then you should have asked what they could give you.
They brought them up to ask what they could do to keep me. If there were any late fees they could waive. They brought up the late fees, not me, as I don't have any, my balances are always paid in full before statement closing. Asking about the annual fee got me nowhere.
Keep in mind, you've had this card 4 months, I've had it 13 now. I got it when it launched with the poorly made card. I never received my replacements when everyone else did. They "sent" me new ones which I never got. When I finally called they had to claim the old ones were lost and create new account numbers, I even had to answer questions about if I knew where the card was, and confirm that there were no recent charges that I did not authorize. I then got the new cards with the old account numbers, which they told me initially wasn't possible. I then had to get 4 cards (for me + 3 AUs) resent again. So I've had 12 total cards from them in 1 year.
As far as asking for points, you know how when you start a conversation you can tell what direction it's going to go? As soon as I asked, the CSR let out a large sigh, and his tone of voice changed dramatically, like I was bothering him. I'm not particularly attached to this card, so it wasn't a huge loss to me. I like my VX points, but not enough to keep dealing with this company. The value I get out of them vs DL/AA/US points isn't enough to make me jump through hoops, but YVMV (your value may vary).