General retention bonus etiquette?
 

There are various retention bonus threads in the card issuer forums, but I had a general cross-issuer question:

What's the general though process on cancelling a card AFTER given a retention bonus?

Does it change things for you if it was a fee-waiver or points? Immediate bonus or after a spend requirement/challenge?

On a premium card, I was given points on the phone not to cancel a couple months ago... and the more I think about it, the more I still want to cancel... obviously this can be abused...

Just wondering people's opinions both ways, also actual experience - did the CC company "black list" you? Claw back credits/points (assuming you didn't lose your points - i.e., other open cards or transferred out)?

I did this a few montha ago with the Chase BA Visa after earning a retention bonus of 9K Avios (via SM). Haven't seen any repercussions, the Avios are still there and everything seems ok with my other Chase cards.

I think how soon after may matter more than whether or not after.

Some banks (Chase) are known for looking for patterns of "seeking rewards only" on the cards you have, or used to have, with them, when you go to apply for another card. So using the card a little bit at non-retention times, and then cancelling further away from the retention offer, may help with such banks.

Ie, you tried to ask it as a bank-independent question, but it's not completely bank independent. At least at this snapshot in time, some banks care very little about when you cancel cards (the people who applied for Citi Exec AA cards, did the gigantic spend in just a few days, got the bonus posted, and cancelled before the first year AF even hit, and then repeated that multiple times, shows how little Citi cared about that, at least back then), and some banks care much more.

If you want to have a one-policy-fits-all-banks approach, therefore, you have to design each element of it according to the worst-case bank.

Btw, when I cancelled some cards recently after (1) paying an AF for the second year, and (2) getting a retention bonus for it, I got a prorated credit of the AF back when I cancelled later in the year. So you don't necessarily lose it all by waiting, just a part of it. But you may gain "better marks" at the bank by waiting, while risk getting "blacklisted" if you try to push things by doing stuff like getting a retention bonus then cancelling fast enough to get the AF fully refunded anyway.

@KHTravelBitten - thanks for the report - I'm assuming the ability to "claw back" points deposited in another program (I.E. miles to the airline FF, or hotel program) is harder than a bank's own currency (I.E. MR or UR).

@sdsearch - appreciate the perspective - wasn't looking for a one-for-all approach, more just figured I'd throw out and see other's experiences/opinions. The particular card I'm considering is one of those $450 annual fee cards - and I get some of that value back, so I'm actually OK with waiting a few months and doing the "prorating" (I know this issuer has done that for me before on another card).

Hope to get some more experiences, opinions - its a delicate balance - there's a poster around FT , forget the name, that always preaches not "biting the hand that feeds" and I tend to agree - just wondering how far/long people have nibbled :)

I cancel it anyway.

Personally, I don't apply for cards that are not beneficial to me (either reward earning structure or churning). So when I cancel a card, my reason is either the card will be up again for churning, or the reward earning structure has been changed dramatically.

(This is why I have some very old cards and very new cards.)

No. I will rather churn the same or similar cards instead.

This is one of my major concerns. If you mean to close the account, why bother getting some freebies to risk? And seriously - the offers given are usually worse than new card offers anyway.

So I pass the whole retention thing and straight to close.

I would't do this if the bank is one that I care about maintaining a good relationship with going forward. Chase? Amex? It's not worth it to me to possibly burn my bridges with them, IMHO. Yes, I know people do it and they live to tell about it. That's OK. I figure I do enough edgy things already with these banks, I want to stay on the happy side of their line, so I'll forego a handful of points that I might be able to grab and run. We're not talking about a huge number (at least not for me) so I'd rather not risk getting on their list of customers they can do without.