Insurance Payments (i.e. charges State Farm, etc.) Ineligible for MR Points?
Jun 14, 22, 12:20 pm
#1
Original Poster
Join Date: Jun 2004
Location: Queens, NY
Programs: Bonvoy Titanium, OW Emerald, HH Diamond
Posts: 1,065
Insurance Payments (i.e. charges State Farm, etc.) Ineligible for MR Points?
Just had a chat with an Amex representative about my 150k MR points Biz Plat welcome bonus ($15k spend in three months) and was very surprised to learn that all of the insurance payments I charged to my card will not count towards meeting the minimum spend requirement. I am still skeptical on if this is correct or not - I'm transcribing our chats here:
I asked for the T&C's and was given this link.
But reading through it, it did not back up the chat rep's statement. "Insurance" was only mentioned ONCE and not in the context of being an ineligible charge. The list of ineligible charges is pretty clear on page 2 and insurance is not one of them.
Pointed this out to and was then told:
We left off inconclusively and I asked for a case to be opened and requested confirmation that insurance was indeed listed as an ineligible charge in the documents provided during new card account opening. This blows up a big part of my spending strategy to meet the $15k.
Anyone else ever hear of this?
Amex rep: INSURANCE charges are not included in the eligible charges. I see the state farm insurance, Safeco insurance which are not eligible charges for the offer.
But reading through it, it did not back up the chat rep's statement. "Insurance" was only mentioned ONCE and not in the context of being an ineligible charge. The list of ineligible charges is pretty clear on page 2 and insurance is not one of them.
Pointed this out to and was then told:
Amex rep: I do understand, the list that I have provided is pulled through the system and it is the ineligible purchases which is also documented. Further the link shared will have more detailed information on how the points works along with the eligible and ineligible charges. I completely understand and I apologize for the confusion and hassle however the link that I've shared is the brief overview and the list that I've shared is the complete ineligible ones which is also documented."
Anyone else ever hear of this?
Jun 14, 22, 12:30 pm
#2
A FlyerTalk Posting Legend; Moderator: American Express, Capital One, Citi, Chase, Credit Card Programs, Diners Club, Signatures
Join Date: Jun 2003
Location: Miami, Mpls & London
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I have always earned points when paying insurance bills. I made a State Farm payment on June 12, and I can see that it is scheduled to earn points. You can review your points earning transactions by logging in to americanexpress.com > [Explore Rewards] > View All Rewards Activity. You may need to adjust the Filters at the top to find specific transactions if you have more than one card, or if they were made in a previous month. Any transaction which earns points will count toward the new account bonus threshold.
Jun 14, 22, 12:59 pm
#3
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I'll take clueless Amex chat rep for 100 MR points, please Alex. There are endless examples on here, Reddit and elsewhere of chat reps just responding incorrectly, making stuff up on the fly. Just spend and rely on the T&Cs.
If an Amex chat rep told me that the sun rises in the East, I'd still be dubious and look out the window to verify for myself.
If an Amex chat rep told me that the sun rises in the East, I'd still be dubious and look out the window to verify for myself.
Aug 19, 22, 1:30 pm
#4
Join Date: Oct 2016
Posts: 12
I had a similar issue happen with my Amica Mutual Insurance premium transactions. It counted for base 1x points, but I am being told by multiple agents now and a case that I opened that my three separate transactions (home, auto, umbrella premiums) do not count toward the welcome offer. Currently waiting on an update on the case to tell me specifically which excluded category these were considered to be as I was given the same list as above and do not feel insurance premiums fall into any of the exclusions. This must be something new because I know I have earned welcome and/or retention offers on insurance premiums in the past, specifically my exact same insurance company and nearly identical charges.
Aug 19, 22, 1:41 pm
#5
A FlyerTalk Posting Legend; Moderator: American Express, Capital One, Citi, Chase, Credit Card Programs, Diners Club, Signatures
Join Date: Jun 2003
Location: Miami, Mpls & London
Programs: AA & Marriott Perpetual Platinum; DL & HH Gold
Posts: 48,219
Aug 19, 22, 5:44 pm
#6
Join Date: Feb 2011
Location: NYC suburbs
Programs: UA LT Gold (BIS), AA LT Plat (CC SUBs & BD), Hilton Dia (CC), Hyatt Glob (BIB), et. al.
Posts: 3,010
. Sorry I’m late to the party but this is one of the all-time great FT posts. There should be a, and the quote above in the, FT HOF (Hall of Fame). Thank you.Concur, chat rep or phone rep.
Last edited by Dr Jabadski; Aug 19, 22 at 10:11 pm Reason: additional information added
