Amex notary

Old May 21, 2019, 7:49 pm
  #1  
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Amex notary

I tried to transfer 9000 member rewards points to my EY account out of 180k points

Trigger the alert, and asked to call fraud. Did the notary. Now they ask for driver license and SSN.

I don't have access to my SSN in next 3 months as I am traveling.

Now, I get email from my second amex acct about doing notary which I am out of country and not near any embassy (Hong Kong)..

I try to just call to cancel the card and it won't even connect me.

If they cancel my amex play, would I lose all 180k points? Annual fee is due soon (550usd). Is there a risk for me to pay the fee and get acct closure due to amex closing my acct?
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Old May 21, 2019, 8:06 pm
  #2  
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You don't need a U.S. embassy; a U.S. consulate can perform notarial services, and there's one in Hong Kong, but there's a $50 USD fee.

https://hk.usconsulate.gov/u-s-citiz...taries-public/
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Old May 21, 2019, 8:29 pm
  #3  
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I hardly use my 2nd amex account. Amex told me only embassy could work (consulate won't count)

I did notary on my amex plat already but no ssn until agust. What is the that my acct is closed due to unverified identity as i need to pay 550 annual fee?

Thx
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Old May 22, 2019, 2:21 am
  #4  
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Originally Posted by pbd456
Amex told me only embassy could work (consulate won't count)
Did they specifically say you cant go to a US consulate, or did they just say if youre overseas you need to go to a US embassy? Legally there is no distinction between notarial services provided by an embassy vs. a consulate as far as I know. And considering that notarizations in the US can literally be performed by a guy in a van, Id be pretty surprised if Amex were to say a US consulate was insufficient.
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Old May 22, 2019, 9:06 am
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Originally Posted by tonei
Did they specifically say you cant go to a US consulate, or did they just say if youre overseas you need to go to a US embassy? Legally there is no distinction between notarial services provided by an embassy vs. a consulate as far as I know.
Consider that the person the OP spoke to at Amex may not even know what a consulate is, and may be reading from reference material that says "When outside the US, only a notary from a US embassy counts."
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Old May 22, 2019, 12:29 pm
  #6  
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Originally Posted by Steve M
Consider that the person the OP spoke to at Amex may not even know what a consulate is, and may be reading from reference material that says "When outside the US, only a notary from a US embassy counts."
+1.

https://travel.state.gov/content/tra...-Consular.html
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Old May 22, 2019, 12:38 pm
  #7  
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People use the term "embassy" and "consulate" interchangably. The key is to know what services are available and where.

It may even be that Amex won't insist on a US notary.

As to the SSN, I am not sure what OP means. Does Amex want his physical card or the number. If the latter, doesn't he know it or can't he call someone such as an employer who might. Getting past this incident, having that number handy can be important for a broad range of things.
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Old May 22, 2019, 5:21 pm
  #8  
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The issue has resolved. It asked for a physical copy of the social security card (which I dont have access to until August). but i emailed in some other documentation (front and back of driver license, passports etc).

they say that i dont need to respond to the second email from amex about notary in other accounts as they all clear up.

on my call (and all the notary form), it says US embassy for US citizen only -- which I am not. if I do follow the instruction word by word, as a legal resident, i can only do it in US and must be within 15 days of receiving the email. it must be stressful for people who travel a lot. it is probably true that they dont know the difference between embassy and consulate (i explained to them that Hong Kong does not have US embassy as it is not a country, and I even asked them if they know where Hong Kong is...) obviously, i think they are the security guy (as opposed to customer service), they treat everyone questioning their judgement like i am a thief. and they just ignore and told me if i dont do what they say, my account would be blocked and subject to cancellation for forfeit all points.

it has been stressful as all i wanted to do was to transfer 9000 miles to EY to top up an account to book an award.

anyways, the customer service gave me a courtesy statement credit on Saturday night of 180 USD. so i guess that would help paying for my stress.
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Old May 22, 2019, 5:53 pm
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Originally Posted by pbd456
The issue has resolved. It asked for a physical copy of the social security card (which I dont have access to until August). but i emailed in some other documentation (front and back of driver license, passports etc).

they say that i dont need to respond to the second email from amex about notary in other accounts as they all clear up.

on my call (and all the notary form), it says US embassy for US citizen only -- which I am not. if I do follow the instruction word by word, as a legal resident, i can only do it in US and must be within 15 days of receiving the email. it must be stressful for people who travel a lot. it is probably true that they dont know the difference between embassy and consulate (i explained to them that Hong Kong does not have US embassy as it is not a country, and I even asked them if they know where Hong Kong is...) obviously, i think they are the security guy (as opposed to customer service), they treat everyone questioning their judgement like i am a thief. and they just ignore and told me if i dont do what they say, my account would be blocked and subject to cancellation for forfeit all points.

it has been stressful as all i wanted to do was to transfer 9000 miles to EY to top up an account to book an award.

anyways, the customer service gave me a courtesy statement credit on Saturday night of 180 USD. so i guess that would help paying for my stress.
Very glad to hear that you got the matter resolved without the need of a notary. But for future reference, be aware of this language from the link provided in Post #6 :

"Do U.S. Embassies and Consulates provide notarial and authentication services for non-U.S. Citizens?

Yes. 22 C.F.R. 92.4(b) provides that these services may be performed for any person regardless of nationality so long as the document in connection with which the notarial/authentication service is required is for use within the jurisdiction of the United States."

So if a document were going to be submitted to an American Express office in the United States, I would think that a U.S. consular official would provide the required notarization.
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Old May 22, 2019, 10:27 pm
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Originally Posted by guv1976
Very glad to hear that you got the matter resolved without the need of a notary. But for future reference, be aware of this language from the link provided in Post #6 :

"Do U.S. Embassies and Consulates provide notarial and authentication services for non-U.S. Citizens?

Yes. 22 C.F.R. 92.4(b) provides that these services may be performed for any person regardless of nationality so long as the document in connection with which the notarial/authentication service is required is for use within the jurisdiction of the United States."

So if a document were going to be submitted to an American Express office in the United States, I would think that a U.S. consular official would provide the required notarization.

I did get a notary from a bank on Monday. I got another email on Tuesday afternoon about needing another notary for another account under my name. I am going to HK on Wed (boarding soon).


http://www208.americanexpress.com/ax...ngthisform.pdf

in this form that I am asked to fill, it lists the requirement. it is not about the whether US embassy or US consulate can do it or not, the form REQUIRES it to be done in US embassy and that is ONLY for citizens.

amex asks me to fill in this form (i got ONE done on Monday for my amex plat) and got a second request on Tuesday (god knows if I will get ONE notary form for each and every single account!!!)
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Old May 22, 2019, 10:36 pm
  #11  
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How many AmEx accounts do you have? Could that be part of the problem?
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Old May 23, 2019, 6:41 am
  #12  
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Originally Posted by pbd456
....the form REQUIRES it to be done in US embassy ....
It is an American Express form. To my knowledge "Embassy representative" is not a term with a precise established meaning. I think that any US government employee authorized to provide consular services would be satisfactory, and that person could work at the embassy or a consulate.
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Last edited by mia; May 23, 2019 at 10:37 am
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Old May 23, 2019, 10:30 am
  #13  
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Originally Posted by pbd456
I did get a notary from a bank on Monday. I got another email on Tuesday afternoon about needing another notary for another account under my name. I am going to HK on Wed (boarding soon).


http://www208.americanexpress.com/ax...ngthisform.pdf

in this form that I am asked to fill, it lists the requirement. it is not about the whether US embassy or US consulate can do it or not, the form REQUIRES it to be done in US embassy and that is ONLY for citizens.

amex asks me to fill in this form (i got ONE done on Monday for my amex plat) and got a second request on Tuesday (god knows if I will get ONE notary form for each and every single account!!!)
Please re-read Post #9 . The U.S. Government says that non-U.S. citizens may obtain notary services at U.S. embassies and consulates as long as the document to be notarized is to be submitted to someplace within the jurisdiction of the United States. Does the Amex form indicate a mailing address, fax number, or email address indicating that it is to be submitted to someplace within the U.S.?
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Old May 23, 2019, 10:39 am
  #14  
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Originally Posted by guv1976
U.S. Government says that non-U.S. citizens may obtain notary services at U.S. embassies and consulates as long as the document to be notarized is to be submitted to someplace within the jurisdiction of the United States. ....
I think the issue is that the American Express form does not address this possibility.
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Old May 23, 2019, 5:23 pm
  #15  
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Originally Posted by MSPeconomist
How many AmEx accounts do you have? Could that be part of the problem?
3 credit cards under the same login, the newest card was 7 years ago from amex
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