Originally Posted by
SP03
I don’t think we should assume that AMEX and Chase won’t follow suit. This is typically how it happens. When contract renewal comes up each issuer looks at the competitive environment and makes a decision on whether to continue the current contract or make adjustments (usually cuts).
We started with losing restaurant benefits, then some cards lost spa experiences, then number of guests. I wouldn’t be surprised if Amex or Chase were to make the same change when their contracts are up.
maybe, but I don’t think at DOUBLE the AF it would be very smart of them. Seems like a losing proposition at fees that are climbing toward 4 figures/year. As I said upthread, Chase/Amex are inheritlently different strategy (high-fee, high-benefit pricing), where Cap1 trying to keep costs low to appeal to a broader segment, and limiting benefits to keep the fee lower (obviously, Cap1 could raise the fee at some point but they seem to be trying to not, so I’d expect it to be a smaller increase when they do to continue appeal to a higher share of the broader market and those who travel just enough to benefit). I’ll miss the C1 lounge in DEN starting in Feb - but in a market without one, travel through DEN usually a couple of times a year but typically with 3 others, and it being a nicety vs. necessity, just ain’t worth the AU with access fees or even one-time guest access fees to continue using.