May 31, 2013, 3:32 am
Last edit by: mia
For discussion of retention bonuses on Starwood Amex cards, see Annual fee retention bonus for Starwood Amex card.
Retention's department:
(800) 452-3945
Everyday Preferred
10/13/15
2.5K points not to cancel, and 5k points for 1K spend within three months, Total 7.5K points, or in the alternate, a $75 statement credit or gift card.
1/15/16 - 16k spend - first renewal - offered $50, no MR offer - accepted
3/14/16 - 98k spend - first renewal - offered $100 or 15k MR - took the 15k.
11/18/16 -50k spend - first renewal - offered $100 or 15k MR - took the 15k.
Platinum OPEN/Business
6/11/15 - 8.5k spend - 2nd renewal - offered $100 or 10k MR - deferred on offer (see post #314)
8/18/2015 - 90k spend - 2nd renewal - first two times I called, no offer. Final time I asked explicitly to cancel, was offered $350 statement credit.
12/18/2015 - 10k spend, first renewal. Offered 10k MR, cancelled.
1/6/2016 - 10K spend, about 8 weeks after account opening - offered $50 credit or 7.5K MRs, took MRs.
4/29/2016 - 15k spend, 3 months after opening. No offer other than downgrade to BGR.
6/16/2016 - 15k spend to get signup bonus (in Jan 2016). Minimal spend after. Took a lot of nudging - including explicit request to cancel card -- but was offered 10k MR to keep open. No spend requirement.
9/29/2016 - offered $100, didn't catch whether there was a spend requirement, i canceled as I have a personal Platinum card and the go-go passes weren't worth having two.
Business Gold Rewards
10/10/15 - Offered 10K MR. declined and closed
12/26/15 - Offered 10K MR or $100 Credit, counter offered $150 or 15K MR. They offered me 15K MR..accepted.
1/26/16 - Offered 15k MR, counter offered $150 and 15k MR, offered either but not both. Accepted 15k MR. $20k annual spend. Opened account 1/2015.
2/2/16 Offered 15k MR. Accepted 15k MR. $40k annual spend. Opened account 3/2015.
2/4/16 Offered 15K MR. Accepted 15K. About a $15K annual spend.
3/5/16 Offered 15K MR or $100 credit. Took the 15K MR. Minimal spend.
5/23/16 Offered $50, then $100, then 15k MR. Accepted 15k MR. Also let me change the 3x category in the middle of the year.
6/9/16 7500 MR offer, even pushed for 10k or 15k. Minimal spend. AF just posted. Left as-is, going to wait till closer to 60 day mark.
6/11/16 7500 MR offer, about 30k spend. AF due in two weeks. Took it.
6/20/16 No offer. ~$10k spend. Wanted to close the card anyway so did it.
9/30/16 Offered $50 statement credit. (<$5K spend) That was all. Didn't take it and cancelled card
10/04/16 Offered $50 statement credit or 7,500 points or pay the annual fee of $175 with 17,000 points instead of 25000 points. (<$9K spend) Didn't take it any of them and cancelled card
Personal Platinum
1/11/16 - 5K points immediately, 15K points for 3K spend within three months. $22K spend in 2015.
1/17/16 - 5K points immediately, 10K points for 2K spend within two months. $560 spend in 2015.
1/26/16 - $200 "loyalty credit" without requirements. $18k spend in 2015 (~50k total Amex spend in 2015). Cardholder for 3 years.
1/27/16 - 5K points immediately + 10K points for 2K spend within 60 days, or $100 credit. Took the points.
1/29/16 - 5K points immediately + 10K points for 2K spend within 60 days, or $100 credit. Took the points. Cardholder 3 years; $17k spend last year.
2/3/16 - 5K points now and 10K points after $2K spend in 60 days. Rep had to "dig deep" into my account to find this "unique and very special" offer (Yeah, right). Accepted.
3/31/16 - Only offer was $100 statement credit. $15k spend last year.
04/19/16 - $200 statement credit for being loyal to amex (cardholder for 2 years $65k spend).
4/29/16 Initial offer $200. HUCA 5k MR immediately, 15k MR after 3k spend in 60 days.
8/12/16 - 40K MR immediately. Card holder for 7 year, $55K spend in 2015 (Post #1015)
8/19/16 - 5K points immediately, 15K points for 3K spend within three months or 200$ statement credit. Card holder only for 1 year but amex customer for 8 years
8/19/16 - called before AF hit, offered $200 credit, accepted, not a ton of spend after hitting minimum spend for signup bonus, Amex customer since 2013 with 3 other cards but generally don't spend that much on Amex (maybe $10k/year)
8/25/16 - $200 Statement credit or 20k points for 3k spend within 3 months. Amex for 6 years, plat for 1 year. 40k spend across all amex.
9/9/16 - $200 Statement credit, $20k spent on this last year
9/9/16 - $200 Statement credit. ~$14K spend this year.
9/10/16 - 25k MR (no spend req). $11k in spend last yr. Tough sell from AX.
9/12/16 - 15k points after $2k spend in 3 months. ~$7k in spend
9/21/16 - 25k points or $200, no spend req. ~5k spend
9/29/16 - 25k points, no spend req. ~$20k in spend during past year
10/6/16 - 40k points, no spend req. ~$35k in spend during past year
10/7/16 - 25k points, no spend req. ~$22k T12 spend
10/8/16 - 25k points or $200, no spend req. ~$10k spend during past year
10/17/16 - 25k points or $200, no spend req. ~$5k spend during past year. took the points.
10/29/16 - 25k points or $200, no spend req. ~$11k spend during past year. took the points.
11/14/16 - 25k points or $200, no spend req. ~$15k spend during past year. took the points.
11/19/16 40k points or $400, no spend req. ~$45k spend during past year.
Platinum Mercedes Benz
9/30/15 - 5K points immediately, in addition to 15K points for 3K spend within three months. 20K points Total to retain card.
Platinum Ameriprise
7/21/16 Offered $200 or 20k MR. Accepted $200 statement credit to offset the $450 AF for all 4 cards in the account. 35K spent
SPG Personal
12/4/15 - $25 loyalty statement credit
2/3/16 - $25 loyalty statement credit but did allude to a potential bonus when the SPG card goes away; referenced the $200-300 bonus offered to Costco Amex holders being asked to convert to Sams Club Amex products
3/1/16 - $25 loyalty statement credit
6/14/2016 - $25 plus 3,000 SPG points - Had to ask Supv for the addl. 3,000 pts.
7/6/2016 - $25 or 1500 points after $1000 spend. Canceled card. $25k spend last year.
7/15/2016 - $25 loyalty statement credit. HUCA, HUCA, declined, cancelled card. $10K spend last year, less recently.
8/10/2016 - Paltry $25 or 500 points + additional 1000 points after $1000 spend (total of 1500) in 3 months. I have another ~60 days for af to lock in, so will call again in ~30 days. $35k spend last year, but less than $1000 / month this year.
8/16/16 - Offered $50 or 7,000 SPG points, $48K spend, took the points.
8/24/16 - Offered $50 or 7,000 SPG points, $13K spend YTD, took the points.
8/25/16 - $25 loyalty statement credit, $5K YTD spend. HUACA resulted in the same offer (even with a symethic agent that noted my 15 years of membership).
9/13/16 $95 credit with +- $40K spend. Fast & easy
9/17/16 $25 or 1500 SPG points after $1K spend. Cancelled the card
9/17/16 Called after renewal fee posted. Offered 5,000 SPG points - $40K spent on this card.
9/18/16 $50 or 7k. ~$80k spend.
10/1/16 $25 offer ~$15k spend. Cancelled card.
10/7/16 $50 or 7k. ~$76k T12 spend.
10/27/16 ($7K spend in last 12 months, first renewal) $25 statement credit OR 500 Starpoints + 1,000 Starpoints for $1,000 spend in next 3 months
11/11/16 ($4k spend this year) We respect your decision. Goodbye.
12/16/16 Member since 1995, spent $25k in 12 months, was offered 7k points. Love SPG points so didn't enquire about any of the other credits.
SPG OPEN/Business
8/3/15 - called with intent to cancel, $18k spend last year, offered $100 one-time statement credit - accepted.
8/12/15 - called with intent to cancel, $15k spend last year, offered only $50 one-time statement credit - accepted
12/14/15 - called with intent to cancel, $15k spend last year, AF hit 90 days ago with $0 spend since then. Offered $100 one-time statement credit.
1/14/16 - called with intent to cancel or product change to no fee Simply Cash card, $10-12k spend last year, $65 AF hit 30 days ago with $0 spend since then. Offered $100 one-time credit to keep card.
8/29/16 - called to cancel & they didn't offer any retention bonus so we canceled it. Only had min. spend last year.
10/1/16 - retention offered 5K SPG pts.
10/19/16 - offered $25 credit. Spend last year ~$15k.
DL Skymiles Platinum OPEN/Business
5/28/15 - called with intent to cancel, card opened 9 months, initial min spend (1.3k) only - offered simply cash open, declined, closed.
03/10/15- the date is date of miles post, do not remember original request date, no offers until reaching the retention department, 15k miles offered with 50k spend
11/4/15 - called to see what retention offer would be $60K spend offered nothing. sm
12/10/15 - Called again to actually cancel, got 25K skymiles. Kept card open. sm
04/26/16 - Called again, 3k bonus as good will to keep open. Will HUCA for 3rd time.
10/23/16 - called to cancel told me they have nothing to offer as I took advantage of the 25K miles last year. Said also they will remove the companion travel cert in my account if I cancel. I have until mid Nov and will call again
Premier Rewards Gold
6/12/15 - 1st renewal. Called 5 days after fee posted stating not happy about losing 15k bonus. Offered 10k MR now and 10k after $3k spend in 60 days. Accepted. $40k spent last year.
11/2/15 - Offered 20K MR. $130K spend in previous year.
1/14/16 - Offered $50 statement credit + $50 credit if meet $500 spend in 60 days. ~$8k spend previous year.
1/21/16 - Offered 5k MR + 15k MR with $3k spend in 60 days or $75 credit + $75 credit if $1k spend in 60 days. ~$25k in spend last year
2/11/16 - Offered 2.5k MR + 5k MR with $1k spend in 60 days or $50 credit + $50 credit if $500 spend in 60 days. ~$25k in spend last year
2/23/16 - Offered 5k MR + 15k MR with $3k spend in 60 days . ~$33k in spend in my first year
4/12/16 - Offered $50 statement credit + $50 credit if meet $500 spend in 60 days. ~$10k spend previous year.
4/22/16 - 1st offer - $50 statement + $50 credit after $500 spend in 60 days. 2nd offer - 2.5k MR + 5k MR with $1k spend in 60 days (took 2nd offer) ~10k spend previous year.
6/9/16 No offers. Minimal spend. AF just posted. Left as-is, going to wait till closer to 60 day mark.
6/26/16 - Offered $175 or 25k MR. $135k spend.
6/20/2016 Phoned and requested transfer to retention dept. After a brief explanation of benefits, I was offered $50 statement credit and $50 additional statement credit after $500 spend in 60 days. Took the offer.
7/25/2015 1st anniversary, 25k spend. Offered upgrade to platinum with 10k + 50k MR. Lengthy talk with Retention who finally offered only 7.5k MR for $1k spend in 92 days. Very disappointed. Declined. HUCA. 2nd call on the 60th day: offered and took the 50+50 offer.
8/19/2016: Presented with 2 offers: (1) $50 statement credit now and $50 statement credit after spending $500 within 60 days (2) 2,500 MR points now, and 5,000 MR points after spending $1,000 within 90 days.
11/2/2016: $100 credit no spend needed
DL Skymiles Gold
6/2015 - Have had card since 1991 and have never asked for a retention offer. $30k spend annually except for the last year with $1k spend. Flat out denied hard for any retention. Paid AF b/c my oldest card.
1/2016 - Have had card for ten years+, usually around $10,000/year spend. Never asked for retention bonus before. Given two choices: 1) 1000 miles immediately and 2000 more miles for $1000 spend in 60 days or 2) $75 statement credit. Took the $75.
5/2016 - Had card for 3 years, never asked for a retention. Spend is probably only around $2K/year. Was not offered any miles or credit.
6/15/2016 - 15k offer. Have had card since 1995. <1k spend last year. Took 15k
DL Skymiles Gold Business
9/24 - under $1k spend in last 12 months, no offer. They said they don't have a retention department.
4/18/2016 - Had card for 1 year with 2K spend. Asked for the nature of my small business, what expenses and travel requirements I have for my business. Given two choices: 1) 7,500 miles immediately to offset $95 AF or 2) switch to a generic no fee Amex. Took the 7,500 miles.
Hilton HHonors Surpass
1/2016 - spend > $40k, 2nd year had card, offered $50 statement credit or 5000 points
4/2016 - Offered $75 statement credit or 10k points. Took the credit.
6/2016 - Offered 500 HH points now and another 1K after spending 1K or $25. Took the $25.
9/2016 - spend > $40k, 2nd year had card, offered $50 statement credit or 5000 points. Took the credit.
11/2016 - Spend $5k on this card, $55k in last year across all Amex accounts. 1st anniversary, offered $25 statement credit or 1,000 points. Cancelled.
Retention's department:
(800) 452-3945
Everyday Preferred
10/13/15
2.5K points not to cancel, and 5k points for 1K spend within three months, Total 7.5K points, or in the alternate, a $75 statement credit or gift card.
1/15/16 - 16k spend - first renewal - offered $50, no MR offer - accepted
3/14/16 - 98k spend - first renewal - offered $100 or 15k MR - took the 15k.
11/18/16 -50k spend - first renewal - offered $100 or 15k MR - took the 15k.
Platinum OPEN/Business
6/11/15 - 8.5k spend - 2nd renewal - offered $100 or 10k MR - deferred on offer (see post #314)
8/18/2015 - 90k spend - 2nd renewal - first two times I called, no offer. Final time I asked explicitly to cancel, was offered $350 statement credit.
12/18/2015 - 10k spend, first renewal. Offered 10k MR, cancelled.
1/6/2016 - 10K spend, about 8 weeks after account opening - offered $50 credit or 7.5K MRs, took MRs.
4/29/2016 - 15k spend, 3 months after opening. No offer other than downgrade to BGR.
6/16/2016 - 15k spend to get signup bonus (in Jan 2016). Minimal spend after. Took a lot of nudging - including explicit request to cancel card -- but was offered 10k MR to keep open. No spend requirement.
9/29/2016 - offered $100, didn't catch whether there was a spend requirement, i canceled as I have a personal Platinum card and the go-go passes weren't worth having two.
Business Gold Rewards
10/10/15 - Offered 10K MR. declined and closed
12/26/15 - Offered 10K MR or $100 Credit, counter offered $150 or 15K MR. They offered me 15K MR..accepted.
1/26/16 - Offered 15k MR, counter offered $150 and 15k MR, offered either but not both. Accepted 15k MR. $20k annual spend. Opened account 1/2015.
2/2/16 Offered 15k MR. Accepted 15k MR. $40k annual spend. Opened account 3/2015.
2/4/16 Offered 15K MR. Accepted 15K. About a $15K annual spend.
3/5/16 Offered 15K MR or $100 credit. Took the 15K MR. Minimal spend.
5/23/16 Offered $50, then $100, then 15k MR. Accepted 15k MR. Also let me change the 3x category in the middle of the year.
6/9/16 7500 MR offer, even pushed for 10k or 15k. Minimal spend. AF just posted. Left as-is, going to wait till closer to 60 day mark.
6/11/16 7500 MR offer, about 30k spend. AF due in two weeks. Took it.
6/20/16 No offer. ~$10k spend. Wanted to close the card anyway so did it.
9/30/16 Offered $50 statement credit. (<$5K spend) That was all. Didn't take it and cancelled card
10/04/16 Offered $50 statement credit or 7,500 points or pay the annual fee of $175 with 17,000 points instead of 25000 points. (<$9K spend) Didn't take it any of them and cancelled card
Personal Platinum
1/11/16 - 5K points immediately, 15K points for 3K spend within three months. $22K spend in 2015.
1/17/16 - 5K points immediately, 10K points for 2K spend within two months. $560 spend in 2015.
1/26/16 - $200 "loyalty credit" without requirements. $18k spend in 2015 (~50k total Amex spend in 2015). Cardholder for 3 years.
1/27/16 - 5K points immediately + 10K points for 2K spend within 60 days, or $100 credit. Took the points.
1/29/16 - 5K points immediately + 10K points for 2K spend within 60 days, or $100 credit. Took the points. Cardholder 3 years; $17k spend last year.
2/3/16 - 5K points now and 10K points after $2K spend in 60 days. Rep had to "dig deep" into my account to find this "unique and very special" offer (Yeah, right). Accepted.
3/31/16 - Only offer was $100 statement credit. $15k spend last year.
04/19/16 - $200 statement credit for being loyal to amex (cardholder for 2 years $65k spend).
4/29/16 Initial offer $200. HUCA 5k MR immediately, 15k MR after 3k spend in 60 days.
8/12/16 - 40K MR immediately. Card holder for 7 year, $55K spend in 2015 (Post #1015)
8/19/16 - 5K points immediately, 15K points for 3K spend within three months or 200$ statement credit. Card holder only for 1 year but amex customer for 8 years
8/19/16 - called before AF hit, offered $200 credit, accepted, not a ton of spend after hitting minimum spend for signup bonus, Amex customer since 2013 with 3 other cards but generally don't spend that much on Amex (maybe $10k/year)
8/25/16 - $200 Statement credit or 20k points for 3k spend within 3 months. Amex for 6 years, plat for 1 year. 40k spend across all amex.
9/9/16 - $200 Statement credit, $20k spent on this last year
9/9/16 - $200 Statement credit. ~$14K spend this year.
9/10/16 - 25k MR (no spend req). $11k in spend last yr. Tough sell from AX.
9/12/16 - 15k points after $2k spend in 3 months. ~$7k in spend
9/21/16 - 25k points or $200, no spend req. ~5k spend
9/29/16 - 25k points, no spend req. ~$20k in spend during past year
10/6/16 - 40k points, no spend req. ~$35k in spend during past year
10/7/16 - 25k points, no spend req. ~$22k T12 spend
10/8/16 - 25k points or $200, no spend req. ~$10k spend during past year
10/17/16 - 25k points or $200, no spend req. ~$5k spend during past year. took the points.
10/29/16 - 25k points or $200, no spend req. ~$11k spend during past year. took the points.
11/14/16 - 25k points or $200, no spend req. ~$15k spend during past year. took the points.
11/19/16 40k points or $400, no spend req. ~$45k spend during past year.
Platinum Mercedes Benz
9/30/15 - 5K points immediately, in addition to 15K points for 3K spend within three months. 20K points Total to retain card.
Platinum Ameriprise
7/21/16 Offered $200 or 20k MR. Accepted $200 statement credit to offset the $450 AF for all 4 cards in the account. 35K spent
SPG Personal
12/4/15 - $25 loyalty statement credit
2/3/16 - $25 loyalty statement credit but did allude to a potential bonus when the SPG card goes away; referenced the $200-300 bonus offered to Costco Amex holders being asked to convert to Sams Club Amex products
3/1/16 - $25 loyalty statement credit
6/14/2016 - $25 plus 3,000 SPG points - Had to ask Supv for the addl. 3,000 pts.
7/6/2016 - $25 or 1500 points after $1000 spend. Canceled card. $25k spend last year.
7/15/2016 - $25 loyalty statement credit. HUCA, HUCA, declined, cancelled card. $10K spend last year, less recently.
8/10/2016 - Paltry $25 or 500 points + additional 1000 points after $1000 spend (total of 1500) in 3 months. I have another ~60 days for af to lock in, so will call again in ~30 days. $35k spend last year, but less than $1000 / month this year.
8/16/16 - Offered $50 or 7,000 SPG points, $48K spend, took the points.
8/24/16 - Offered $50 or 7,000 SPG points, $13K spend YTD, took the points.
8/25/16 - $25 loyalty statement credit, $5K YTD spend. HUACA resulted in the same offer (even with a symethic agent that noted my 15 years of membership).
9/13/16 $95 credit with +- $40K spend. Fast & easy
9/17/16 $25 or 1500 SPG points after $1K spend. Cancelled the card
9/17/16 Called after renewal fee posted. Offered 5,000 SPG points - $40K spent on this card.
9/18/16 $50 or 7k. ~$80k spend.
10/1/16 $25 offer ~$15k spend. Cancelled card.
10/7/16 $50 or 7k. ~$76k T12 spend.
10/27/16 ($7K spend in last 12 months, first renewal) $25 statement credit OR 500 Starpoints + 1,000 Starpoints for $1,000 spend in next 3 months
11/11/16 ($4k spend this year) We respect your decision. Goodbye.
12/16/16 Member since 1995, spent $25k in 12 months, was offered 7k points. Love SPG points so didn't enquire about any of the other credits.
SPG OPEN/Business
8/3/15 - called with intent to cancel, $18k spend last year, offered $100 one-time statement credit - accepted.
8/12/15 - called with intent to cancel, $15k spend last year, offered only $50 one-time statement credit - accepted
12/14/15 - called with intent to cancel, $15k spend last year, AF hit 90 days ago with $0 spend since then. Offered $100 one-time statement credit.
1/14/16 - called with intent to cancel or product change to no fee Simply Cash card, $10-12k spend last year, $65 AF hit 30 days ago with $0 spend since then. Offered $100 one-time credit to keep card.
8/29/16 - called to cancel & they didn't offer any retention bonus so we canceled it. Only had min. spend last year.
10/1/16 - retention offered 5K SPG pts.
10/19/16 - offered $25 credit. Spend last year ~$15k.
DL Skymiles Platinum OPEN/Business
5/28/15 - called with intent to cancel, card opened 9 months, initial min spend (1.3k) only - offered simply cash open, declined, closed.
03/10/15- the date is date of miles post, do not remember original request date, no offers until reaching the retention department, 15k miles offered with 50k spend
11/4/15 - called to see what retention offer would be $60K spend offered nothing. sm
12/10/15 - Called again to actually cancel, got 25K skymiles. Kept card open. sm
04/26/16 - Called again, 3k bonus as good will to keep open. Will HUCA for 3rd time.
10/23/16 - called to cancel told me they have nothing to offer as I took advantage of the 25K miles last year. Said also they will remove the companion travel cert in my account if I cancel. I have until mid Nov and will call again
Premier Rewards Gold
6/12/15 - 1st renewal. Called 5 days after fee posted stating not happy about losing 15k bonus. Offered 10k MR now and 10k after $3k spend in 60 days. Accepted. $40k spent last year.
11/2/15 - Offered 20K MR. $130K spend in previous year.
1/14/16 - Offered $50 statement credit + $50 credit if meet $500 spend in 60 days. ~$8k spend previous year.
1/21/16 - Offered 5k MR + 15k MR with $3k spend in 60 days or $75 credit + $75 credit if $1k spend in 60 days. ~$25k in spend last year
2/11/16 - Offered 2.5k MR + 5k MR with $1k spend in 60 days or $50 credit + $50 credit if $500 spend in 60 days. ~$25k in spend last year
2/23/16 - Offered 5k MR + 15k MR with $3k spend in 60 days . ~$33k in spend in my first year
4/12/16 - Offered $50 statement credit + $50 credit if meet $500 spend in 60 days. ~$10k spend previous year.
4/22/16 - 1st offer - $50 statement + $50 credit after $500 spend in 60 days. 2nd offer - 2.5k MR + 5k MR with $1k spend in 60 days (took 2nd offer) ~10k spend previous year.
6/9/16 No offers. Minimal spend. AF just posted. Left as-is, going to wait till closer to 60 day mark.
6/26/16 - Offered $175 or 25k MR. $135k spend.
6/20/2016 Phoned and requested transfer to retention dept. After a brief explanation of benefits, I was offered $50 statement credit and $50 additional statement credit after $500 spend in 60 days. Took the offer.
7/25/2015 1st anniversary, 25k spend. Offered upgrade to platinum with 10k + 50k MR. Lengthy talk with Retention who finally offered only 7.5k MR for $1k spend in 92 days. Very disappointed. Declined. HUCA. 2nd call on the 60th day: offered and took the 50+50 offer.
8/19/2016: Presented with 2 offers: (1) $50 statement credit now and $50 statement credit after spending $500 within 60 days (2) 2,500 MR points now, and 5,000 MR points after spending $1,000 within 90 days.
11/2/2016: $100 credit no spend needed
DL Skymiles Gold
6/2015 - Have had card since 1991 and have never asked for a retention offer. $30k spend annually except for the last year with $1k spend. Flat out denied hard for any retention. Paid AF b/c my oldest card.
1/2016 - Have had card for ten years+, usually around $10,000/year spend. Never asked for retention bonus before. Given two choices: 1) 1000 miles immediately and 2000 more miles for $1000 spend in 60 days or 2) $75 statement credit. Took the $75.
5/2016 - Had card for 3 years, never asked for a retention. Spend is probably only around $2K/year. Was not offered any miles or credit.
6/15/2016 - 15k offer. Have had card since 1995. <1k spend last year. Took 15k
DL Skymiles Gold Business
9/24 - under $1k spend in last 12 months, no offer. They said they don't have a retention department.
4/18/2016 - Had card for 1 year with 2K spend. Asked for the nature of my small business, what expenses and travel requirements I have for my business. Given two choices: 1) 7,500 miles immediately to offset $95 AF or 2) switch to a generic no fee Amex. Took the 7,500 miles.
Hilton HHonors Surpass
1/2016 - spend > $40k, 2nd year had card, offered $50 statement credit or 5000 points
4/2016 - Offered $75 statement credit or 10k points. Took the credit.
6/2016 - Offered 500 HH points now and another 1K after spending 1K or $25. Took the $25.
9/2016 - spend > $40k, 2nd year had card, offered $50 statement credit or 5000 points. Took the credit.
11/2016 - Spend $5k on this card, $55k in last year across all Amex accounts. 1st anniversary, offered $25 statement credit or 1,000 points. Cancelled.
American Express retention offers [2008 - 2016]
Oct 6, 2015, 1:53 pm
#1996
Join Date: Nov 2008
Location: YYC
Programs: Hilton Diamond, Fairmont Plat, IHG Spire, SPG Gold, WS Gold, Hertz PC, National E Elite,
Posts: 2,771
Im doing about 100-150K on my Amex (canada) Plat per year. Think I should try this?
Oct 6, 2015, 2:40 pm
#1997
Join Date: Jul 2011
Programs: AA & DL / SPG & HGP
Posts: 1,723
Doesn't matter what your spend is, all should get their AF waived or credited (with points/miles/other) if it's available to be done (which it seems it is).
Oct 7, 2015, 11:09 pm
#1998
Join Date: Mar 2015
Location: MSP
Programs: UR, RR, MileagePLus, Dividend Miles (R.I.P), AAdvantage, HHonors, IHG, Skymiles
Posts: 108
Delta Gold 1 for 2
I called a few months ago to cancel my AMEX Delta Gold, citing AF. Got no offers whatsoever. I didn't use card much after initial spend. I also hadn't been a skymiles member before the card.
My wife, on the other hand, called this April to cancel her AMEX Delta Gold. I coached her beforehand and told her there was almost no chance of an offer, but to take anything worth the AF or more, unless it required a lot of spending. To my amazement she was offered 10,000 skymiles for making one spend of any amount and paying the AF. She also didn't spend much more than the bonus spend, but she's been a skymiles member for years, with a small balance. Maybe it had something to do with her getting an offer...maybe not.
We do plan on flying Delta in the next year, so hopefully the 10k skymiles is worth the $95 AF. Somehow I'm not keeping my fingers crossed.
My wife, on the other hand, called this April to cancel her AMEX Delta Gold. I coached her beforehand and told her there was almost no chance of an offer, but to take anything worth the AF or more, unless it required a lot of spending. To my amazement she was offered 10,000 skymiles for making one spend of any amount and paying the AF. She also didn't spend much more than the bonus spend, but she's been a skymiles member for years, with a small balance. Maybe it had something to do with her getting an offer...maybe not.
We do plan on flying Delta in the next year, so hopefully the 10k skymiles is worth the $95 AF. Somehow I'm not keeping my fingers crossed.
Oct 9, 2015, 11:53 am
#1999
Join Date: Jul 2011
Programs: AA & DL / SPG & HGP
Posts: 1,723
A domestic RT on DL typically costs 40-60k miles (sure, there's 25k mile tix out there, but they're difficult for a non-expert to find), and that ticket probably costs at least $400. So, $100 for 10k miles is about break even for the non-aspirational and non-expert traveler.
Oct 9, 2015, 5:46 pm
#2000
Join Date: Aug 2014
Location: Sacramento, CA
Posts: 97
No offer for personal platinum
Signed into my account online and did a live chat, asking to cancel the card. No retention offer of any kind. Total spend for the year of card ownership was just under $5K. Previously, we had called in before the annual fee was about to hit and they said they had no retention offers for us at that time... so it seems for us, we weren't a customer they wanted to keep whether before or after the annual fee was assessed. Probably didn't spend enough on the card to make it worth their while.
Oct 10, 2015, 11:00 am
#2001
Join Date: Jun 2014
Location: DFW
Programs: AA Lifetime Gold, Admirals Club, Global Entry
Posts: 1,143
I think it's considerably more complicated than just "spending."
I also spent roughly $5K on my new personal Platinum card and, as I noted last month here, I got 40K points for renewing. Since I have no debt of any kind, my credit score also isn't so great (a truly weird artifact of credit scoring, by the way).
I also spent roughly $5K on my new personal Platinum card and, as I noted last month here, I got 40K points for renewing. Since I have no debt of any kind, my credit score also isn't so great (a truly weird artifact of credit scoring, by the way).
Oct 12, 2015, 6:48 pm
#2002
Join Date: Mar 2014
Programs: Marriott Platinum, AA Executive Platinum
Posts: 17
Called to cancel my Platinum card I got last year with the Ameriprise promo (not an Ameriprise member). Hardly used it other than for Amex Offers, probably about 5K spent. Was offered 40k miles or $400. Took the miles.
Oct 13, 2015, 11:39 am
#2003
Join Date: Jan 2010
Location: NYC
Programs: IHG, RC, HH, AA, QF, UA, Aeroplan
Posts: 2,692
Called to ask for a retention bonus for the Everyday Preferred product.
I was offered 2.5K points not to cancel, and 5k points for 1K spend within three months, Total 7.5K points, or in the alternate, a $75 statement credit or gift card.
I was offered 2.5K points not to cancel, and 5k points for 1K spend within three months, Total 7.5K points, or in the alternate, a $75 statement credit or gift card.
Oct 13, 2015, 11:49 am
#2004
Flyertalk Posting Legend Moderator: Credit Card Programs, American Express, Capital One, Chase, Citi, Diners Club, Signatures.
Join Date: Jun 2003
Location: Miami, Mpls & London
Programs: AA & Marriott Perpetual Platinum; DL & HH Gold
Posts: 48,982
Oct 13, 2015, 12:06 pm
#2005
Join Date: Jan 2010
Location: NYC
Programs: IHG, RC, HH, AA, QF, UA, Aeroplan
Posts: 2,692
Oct 13, 2015, 5:22 pm
#2006
Join Date: Jan 2009
Location: LHR (sometimes CLE, SFO, BOS, LAX, SEA)
Programs: UA 1K
Posts: 5,896
Hmm. I have an AmEx Plat card with about $20k of spend in 2015 which was opened with a 100k MR bonus offer.
Called to ask whether there are any retention offers for keeping the card: "No, I don't see anything, let me call my internal department … [hold] … No, we don't see anything."
Well, it's been fun.
Edit: called the Cancellation line and asked to cancel my Plat card because the fee isn't really worth it given that I also have a Gold card. The agent said there are no retention offers in their system, but offered a CS gesture of 20K MR points if I agreed to keep the Plat card open, which I agreed to do. "You'll get your 20,000 membership rewards points and your $200 airline fee credit, so it's like you're paying $50 for the card." Fair enough.
But, uh, when I log in to my americanexpress.com account right now I see that my Membership Rewards balance has not changed and my Platinum card shows up as 'canceled'. Umm??
So I called Amex CS back about half an hour later — hi, weird question, can you tell me if my account is open? Agent says, this Plat card is now deactivated. I say, ok, I just called the cancellations line about potentially closing this account about half an hour ago and was offered 20k points to keep the card open, which I agreed to do, so you can imagine my confusion at logging in online and seeing it closed. Agent puts me on hold for a minute then comes back with "I just reached out to the department that was helping you. They say once the card is canceled they can't reverse it. I'll have my supervisor pull the tape of the call to verify the actions taken; can we call you back in the next 24 hours?" I say, sure, no problem, it's about an 11 minute phone call and it was placed at 8:01pm Eastern, so it'll probably take a while for you guys to find and review the tape; please let me know if you need any more info.
Called to ask whether there are any retention offers for keeping the card: "No, I don't see anything, let me call my internal department … [hold] … No, we don't see anything."
Well, it's been fun.
Edit: called the Cancellation line and asked to cancel my Plat card because the fee isn't really worth it given that I also have a Gold card. The agent said there are no retention offers in their system, but offered a CS gesture of 20K MR points if I agreed to keep the Plat card open, which I agreed to do. "You'll get your 20,000 membership rewards points and your $200 airline fee credit, so it's like you're paying $50 for the card." Fair enough.
But, uh, when I log in to my americanexpress.com account right now I see that my Membership Rewards balance has not changed and my Platinum card shows up as 'canceled'. Umm??
So I called Amex CS back about half an hour later — hi, weird question, can you tell me if my account is open? Agent says, this Plat card is now deactivated. I say, ok, I just called the cancellations line about potentially closing this account about half an hour ago and was offered 20k points to keep the card open, which I agreed to do, so you can imagine my confusion at logging in online and seeing it closed. Agent puts me on hold for a minute then comes back with "I just reached out to the department that was helping you. They say once the card is canceled they can't reverse it. I'll have my supervisor pull the tape of the call to verify the actions taken; can we call you back in the next 24 hours?" I say, sure, no problem, it's about an 11 minute phone call and it was placed at 8:01pm Eastern, so it'll probably take a while for you guys to find and review the tape; please let me know if you need any more info.
Last edited by mherdeg; Oct 13, 2015 at 6:45 pm
Oct 14, 2015, 1:04 pm
#2007
Join Date: Sep 2013
Posts: 6
Called to cancel my platinum, told them I was just going to go with my Chase Sapphire Preferred card since the fee is only $95 and I'm using my Everyday Preferred card to maximize point accumulation, they offered 15,000 points.
5,000 of the points will post immediately and another 10k within 60 days, as long as I spend $2k within the 60 days.
2014: $230k spend, 50k point retention offer.
2015: $23k spend, 15k point retention offer.
5,000 of the points will post immediately and another 10k within 60 days, as long as I spend $2k within the 60 days.
2014: $230k spend, 50k point retention offer.
2015: $23k spend, 15k point retention offer.
Oct 14, 2015, 2:03 pm
#2008
Join Date: Sep 2013
Posts: 6
Decided to give it a shot with my Everyday Preferred as well, given yesterday's post about someone being offered 15,000 points.
They also made an offer of 15,000 points or a $100 statement credit. The representative said it was one of their highest retention incentives and he was only offering because of my "spend" during the last year. I took the 15,000 points.
YTD: $81k spend.
They also made an offer of 15,000 points or a $100 statement credit. The representative said it was one of their highest retention incentives and he was only offering because of my "spend" during the last year. I took the 15,000 points.
YTD: $81k spend.
Oct 14, 2015, 7:49 pm
#2009
Join Date: Jan 2009
Location: LHR (sometimes CLE, SFO, BOS, LAX, SEA)
Programs: UA 1K
Posts: 5,896
Edit: called the Cancellation line and asked to cancel my Plat card because the fee isn't really worth it given that I also have a Gold card. The agent said there are no retention offers in their system, but offered a CS gesture of 20K MR points if I agreed to keep the Plat card open, which I agreed to do. "You'll get your 20,000 membership rewards points and your $200 airline fee credit, so it's like you're paying $50 for the card." Fair enough.
But, uh, when I log in to my americanexpress.com account right now I see that my Membership Rewards balance has not changed and my Platinum card shows up as 'canceled'. Umm??
So I called Amex CS back about half an hour later — hi, weird question, can you tell me if my account is open? Agent says, this Plat card is now deactivated. I say, ok, I just called the cancellations line about potentially closing this account about half an hour ago and was offered 20k points to keep the card open, which I agreed to do, so you can imagine my confusion at logging in online and seeing it closed. Agent puts me on hold for a minute then comes back with "I just reached out to the department that was helping you. They say once the card is canceled they can't reverse it. I'll have my supervisor pull the tape of the call to verify the actions taken; can we call you back in the next 24 hours?" I say, sure, no problem, it's about an 11 minute phone call and it was placed at 8:01pm Eastern, so it'll probably take a while for you guys to find and review the tape; please let me know if you need any more info.
But, uh, when I log in to my americanexpress.com account right now I see that my Membership Rewards balance has not changed and my Platinum card shows up as 'canceled'. Umm??
So I called Amex CS back about half an hour later — hi, weird question, can you tell me if my account is open? Agent says, this Plat card is now deactivated. I say, ok, I just called the cancellations line about potentially closing this account about half an hour ago and was offered 20k points to keep the card open, which I agreed to do, so you can imagine my confusion at logging in online and seeing it closed. Agent puts me on hold for a minute then comes back with "I just reached out to the department that was helping you. They say once the card is canceled they can't reverse it. I'll have my supervisor pull the tape of the call to verify the actions taken; can we call you back in the next 24 hours?" I say, sure, no problem, it's about an 11 minute phone call and it was placed at 8:01pm Eastern, so it'll probably take a while for you guys to find and review the tape; please let me know if you need any more info.
They did not call me back today (although CS said they would).
My Platinum account did mysteriously become re-opened at some point during the day (and I even used it for a purchase).
I do not see the promised 20,000 Membership Rewards points in the MR account associated with my Gold card (I no longer see a MR point balance when viewing my Plat card online).
Pretty weird, like an anti-retention offer.
Oct 15, 2015, 4:23 pm
#2010
Join Date: Dec 2009
Programs: UA*S A3*G TK *G EY G AA G RJ Gold IHG Spire Amb HH DIamond Marriott Gold BW DIAMOND SELECT
Posts: 60
SPG Personal $10k spend
received credit for full $95 after complaining about 2 month delay in receiving replacement card
received credit for full $95 after complaining about 2 month delay in receiving replacement card