Originally Posted by
stant
Call me pedantic but I'd value 100k USD credit in my account a lot more than the points associated with that sum of money. So again I'll ask the question you didn't answer, at what point would you stop fighting them to rectify the situation? Are you just not going to use your Amex? I assume if you charge $1000 to the card this month they won't let you pay $1000 due to the huge credit.
Originally Posted by
bchandler02
I think this depends on the legal stuff here. No experience with a situation like this, and like the OP I'd not sleep well over this and want to do the honest thing. But, is there a point at which this money legally becomes his/hers, or could AA theoretically come knocking 1-5-10 years later for this?
I do agree with the others - get a check from AMEX to clear that side up, stick it in a HYSA, and sit until you figure out more. This seems like the best way to keep most sides happy until you learn more.
I'm not planning to "withdraw" the 6-figure credit from AMEX for a couple main reasons:
1. It could be misconstrued by AA/AMEX of an attempt to defraud them following their error, especially if this leaves a large negative balance of MR points that is reviewed by AMEX's RAT team. The misunderstanding and lack of common sense I've seen at both companies by giving canned responses and following algorithms to unique situations could lead to shutdowns at both AA and AMEX with no recourse. The only real benefit for me to withdrawing would be that my account balances are normal except for a specially-opened account to hold these funds.
2. As mentioned by other posters, the loss of 500K+ MR points should I have to repay AA by writing a check. While I would value $100K over 500K MR points as someone suggested above, they're not going to let me keep the $100K. The real value comparison is the loss of 500K points compared to interest from $100K in a HYSA for an unknown period of time before AA comes calling (from days to months, let's say ~$4000 if it takes a year to resolve). That comparison would not be worth the value of lost MR points.
I plan on using my AMEX normally by making purchases I can pay off at the end of the billing cycle if the credit is removed. I am not charging $100K+ of purchases that I can't otherwise afford because that credit could be removed at any time (as it should). I guess given the risks I see, the short answer is I'm not going to just let it go, and intend to keep escalating until a resolution. I also don't want AA or AMEX shutting down/freezing my account anytime soon as I'm flying on a big award ticket for an international trip next week.