New Third MQM Award Level for Reserve/Plat Cards (targeted)
Sep 6, 2018, 7:38 pm
#166
Join Date: Jul 2014
Location: Madison, WI (MSN)
Programs: Delta Platinum, Hilton & Marriott Plastic Gold, Chick-fil-A Signature
Posts: 441
I was targeted via e-mail earlier in the year, and today I received an e-mail from Amex reading:
Subject: You're on your way to a special Miles Boost
Text: Hello (name)
Keep it up! An extra 15,000 MQMs and bonus miles is in reach.
As of 08/29, you've spent (amount) in eligible purchases.
(Graph showing start of year / 1st Miles Boost / 2nd Miles Boost / Special offer miles boost)
So far, you've earned a total of 30,000 Medallion Qualification Miles (MQMs) and 30,000 bonus miles. But it doesn't have to end here. Keep using your Delta Reserve Credit Card now through December 31, 2018, to earn an extra 15,000 MQMs and 15,000 bonus miles after you reach $90K in eligible purchases.*
Remember, even everyday purchases can count toward this special offer. When you use your Card to pay bills online, every payment for your phone, car, subscriptions, and utilities can count toward your next big boost.
Data point: 2017 spend was approximately $60,400. Literally put the card in the drawer once I reached the threshold.
Subject: You're on your way to a special Miles Boost
Text: Hello (name)
Keep it up! An extra 15,000 MQMs and bonus miles is in reach.
As of 08/29, you've spent (amount) in eligible purchases.
(Graph showing start of year / 1st Miles Boost / 2nd Miles Boost / Special offer miles boost)
So far, you've earned a total of 30,000 Medallion Qualification Miles (MQMs) and 30,000 bonus miles. But it doesn't have to end here. Keep using your Delta Reserve Credit Card now through December 31, 2018, to earn an extra 15,000 MQMs and 15,000 bonus miles after you reach $90K in eligible purchases.*
Remember, even everyday purchases can count toward this special offer. When you use your Card to pay bills online, every payment for your phone, car, subscriptions, and utilities can count toward your next big boost.
Data point: 2017 spend was approximately $60,400. Literally put the card in the drawer once I reached the threshold.
Sep 6, 2018, 7:42 pm
#167
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Oct 2011
Location: ATL
Programs: DL Scattered Smothered Covered Medallion, Some hotel & car stuff, Kroger Plus Card
Posts: 10,745
I don’t get why it’s so offensive to target specific customers for deals like this. And, no, I wasn’t targeted, but I wish I was.
Amex has targeted for years for Amex Offers.
Why can’t they encourage specific behavior in certain circumstances?
This seems completely reasonable to me.
Amex has targeted for years for Amex Offers.
Why can’t they encourage specific behavior in certain circumstances?
This seems completely reasonable to me.
The past three years I've spent as close to $60,496 as possible on my Reserve. Not targeted. Don't care and wouldn't have put another $30k on this card anyway.
Sep 7, 2018, 11:41 am
#168
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Sep 2006
Location: Toledo, OH
Programs: Delta DM & MM, Hilton DM, Marriott gold, Hyatt Globalist, Alaska 75K, Wyndham Diamond,
Posts: 15,398
I don’t get why it’s so offensive to target specific customers for deals like this. And, no, I wasn’t targeted, but I wish I was.
Amex has targeted for years for Amex Offers.
Why can’t they encourage specific behavior in certain circumstances?
This seems completely reasonable to me.
Amex has targeted for years for Amex Offers.
Why can’t they encourage specific behavior in certain circumstances?
This seems completely reasonable to me.
Sep 7, 2018, 12:27 pm
#169
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Oct 2011
Location: ATL
Programs: DL Scattered Smothered Covered Medallion, Some hotel & car stuff, Kroger Plus Card
Posts: 10,745
Agree with what you are saying. But what pisses me off is that someone in an earlier post on this thread, along with at least one travel blog site, posted a link and when I clicked on it, the Am Ex site said I was eligible for the offers. Sounds like it was a glitch on the Am Ex site and eveyrone was getting the message they were approved. Seeing I printed the page off they should honor the offer as a good faith gesture to everyone who clicked on that link and printed the page before it was fixed, I put additional spend on my card that I didn't need to for those bonus Mqm's and that spend would have gotten me a lot better return on another credit card than a lousy 1 skypeso/$.
What I'd more accurately call an oversight is that the page is not stored behind some sort of login that would enable the website to actually verify account eligibility before displaying the information. Instead, the page is publicly accessible with o check for credentials, thus test for eligibility is upon whether someone received the link from Amex directly. Whoever set it up didn't think far enough ahead to realize that customers can and would share the link with each other, and thus the page would be viewed by people who are not actually eligible for the offer. But being able to view the page does not make you eligible.
As a different example, I sometimes use Google Sheets/Forms to say, set up a sign up sheet for a potluck dinner or something. This allows me to get a URL that I can simply send out to all attendees, and they can go in and view the spreadsheet and add stuff to it. The URL, if I set it up a certain way, does not require any authentication - because the information frankly isn't sensitive and it's just one extra step that I don't care about. Plus, I only send the link to people who are invited, and they are the only people who are intended to have the link.
Any one of those people could forward the link to their weird friend from grade school, and Weird Friend would be able to view the list of dishes people are bringing and even add his/her own. But that in no way means that Weird Friend is invited to the party, and I am by no means obligated to let Weird Friend in my house if he/she discovers my address and decides to randomly show up.
Could I have put in the extra effort to hide the Google Sheet and require authentication? Sure. Should I have? Perhaps. Does that mean that anyone who gets the link is invited to my party? Heck no.
Now swap out Google Sheet and potluck party with Amex website and credit card promo.
Sep 7, 2018, 12:56 pm
#170
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Jul 2006
Location: Upper Sternistan
Posts: 10,034
Yes - I certainly agree that their implementation here was pretty sloppy.
And we've all seen offers on blogs where, when you click through to see if you are eligible, you log in (and, for me, uniformly find that you are not eligible).
Anytime I get a deep link to a site that doesn't come from the owner of the site, I'm skeptical. On the one hand, we all know links get shared; on the other, if we don't receive the link from the company or there is no way to access that page from within our account, we should be suspicious.
And we've all seen offers on blogs where, when you click through to see if you are eligible, you log in (and, for me, uniformly find that you are not eligible).
Anytime I get a deep link to a site that doesn't come from the owner of the site, I'm skeptical. On the one hand, we all know links get shared; on the other, if we don't receive the link from the company or there is no way to access that page from within our account, we should be suspicious.
Sep 7, 2018, 7:56 pm
#171
Join Date: Dec 2000
Location: MA
Programs: DL DM/2MM Marriott Platinum, HH Diamond,
Posts: 8,906
There isn't anything wrong with targeting specific customers with specific offers. But with sites like FT, they have to know that they will be pissing off a good percentage of those who were not targets of the offer.
Sep 8, 2018, 5:03 am
#172
Join Date: Jun 2010
Programs: DL Diamond MM, SPG Platinum, Skywards Silver
Posts: 319
There's no glitch regarding that link and if you click on it today (I just did), it still says you're eligible so there was no fix applied to the page.
What I'd more accurately call an oversight is that the page is not stored behind some sort of login that would enable the website to actually verify account eligibility before displaying the information. Instead, the page is publicly accessible with o check for credentials, thus test for eligibility is upon whether someone received the link from Amex directly. Whoever set it up didn't think far enough ahead to realize that customers can and would share the link with each other, and thus the page would be viewed by people who are not actually eligible for the offer. But being able to view the page does not make you eligible.
As a different example, I sometimes use Google Sheets/Forms to say, set up a sign up sheet for a potluck dinner or something. This allows me to get a URL that I can simply send out to all attendees, and they can go in and view the spreadsheet and add stuff to it. The URL, if I set it up a certain way, does not require any authentication - because the information frankly isn't sensitive and it's just one extra step that I don't care about. Plus, I only send the link to people who are invited, and they are the only people who are intended to have the link.
Any one of those people could forward the link to their weird friend from grade school, and Weird Friend would be able to view the list of dishes people are bringing and even add his/her own. But that in no way means that Weird Friend is invited to the party, and I am by no means obligated to let Weird Friend in my house if he/she discovers my address and decides to randomly show up.
Could I have put in the extra effort to hide the Google Sheet and require authentication? Sure. Should I have? Perhaps. Does that mean that anyone who gets the link is invited to my party? Heck no.
Now swap out Google Sheet and potluck party with Amex website and credit card promo.
What I'd more accurately call an oversight is that the page is not stored behind some sort of login that would enable the website to actually verify account eligibility before displaying the information. Instead, the page is publicly accessible with o check for credentials, thus test for eligibility is upon whether someone received the link from Amex directly. Whoever set it up didn't think far enough ahead to realize that customers can and would share the link with each other, and thus the page would be viewed by people who are not actually eligible for the offer. But being able to view the page does not make you eligible.
As a different example, I sometimes use Google Sheets/Forms to say, set up a sign up sheet for a potluck dinner or something. This allows me to get a URL that I can simply send out to all attendees, and they can go in and view the spreadsheet and add stuff to it. The URL, if I set it up a certain way, does not require any authentication - because the information frankly isn't sensitive and it's just one extra step that I don't care about. Plus, I only send the link to people who are invited, and they are the only people who are intended to have the link.
Any one of those people could forward the link to their weird friend from grade school, and Weird Friend would be able to view the list of dishes people are bringing and even add his/her own. But that in no way means that Weird Friend is invited to the party, and I am by no means obligated to let Weird Friend in my house if he/she discovers my address and decides to randomly show up.
Could I have put in the extra effort to hide the Google Sheet and require authentication? Sure. Should I have? Perhaps. Does that mean that anyone who gets the link is invited to my party? Heck no.
Now swap out Google Sheet and potluck party with Amex website and credit card promo.
Sep 8, 2018, 7:09 am
#173
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Oct 2011
Location: ATL
Programs: DL Scattered Smothered Covered Medallion, Some hotel & car stuff, Kroger Plus Card
Posts: 10,745
Although I agree with what you said I don’t see this as the issue. I posted the link. The issue is that whether the page was hidden or not, every targeted offer I’ve ever seen, says that it’s targeted in the fine print. This lacks that language and therefore it is not a targeted offer unless it says so.
But I disagree with your final sentence. My argument (and the one I assume Amex will make) is that whether such language appears or not is a non-issue because non-targeted people were never intended to see the contents of that page at all. If you weren't targeted, you're not the intended audience of that page, thus the language of the page does not need to account for the non-targeted reader.
Going back to my dinner party example - I didn't restrict access and didn't include language explicitly saying who was or was not invited, but that doesn't mean that every Weird Friend who stumbles across my Google Sheet is suddenly invited. They were never intended to see that information and I, the host of the party, did not send it to them.
Sep 8, 2018, 12:12 pm
#174
Join Date: Jun 2010
Programs: DL Diamond MM, SPG Platinum, Skywards Silver
Posts: 319
I get what you're saying and 100% agree Amex could have/should have executed this better and more clearly. And that their targeted offers in the past have indeed been more clear. (Whether we like targeted offers or not is a completely separate discussion.)
But I disagree with your final sentence. My argument (and the one I assume Amex will make) is that whether such language appears or not is a non-issue because non-targeted people were never intended to see the contents of that page at all. If you weren't targeted, you're not the intended audience of that page, thus the language of the page does not need to account for the non-targeted reader.
Going back to my dinner party example - I didn't restrict access and didn't include language explicitly saying who was or was not invited, but that doesn't mean that every Weird Friend who stumbles across my Google Sheet is suddenly invited. They were never intended to see that information and I, the host of the party, did not send it to them.
But I disagree with your final sentence. My argument (and the one I assume Amex will make) is that whether such language appears or not is a non-issue because non-targeted people were never intended to see the contents of that page at all. If you weren't targeted, you're not the intended audience of that page, thus the language of the page does not need to account for the non-targeted reader.
Going back to my dinner party example - I didn't restrict access and didn't include language explicitly saying who was or was not invited, but that doesn't mean that every Weird Friend who stumbles across my Google Sheet is suddenly invited. They were never intended to see that information and I, the host of the party, did not send it to them.
You cant have your cake and eat it too. If a company doesn’t have proper disclosures, and then publicly releases something, they are responsible to honor it. Hence the standard “not responsible for misprints” language in most advertising. Which is also lacking in AMEXs case here.
to your point..sloppy = AMEX retains responsibility to honor.
Sep 8, 2018, 12:38 pm
#176
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Oct 2011
Location: ATL
Programs: DL Scattered Smothered Covered Medallion, Some hotel & car stuff, Kroger Plus Card
Posts: 10,745
Except this isn’t a dinner party this is commerce with rules and laws. If you go to Walgreens, and an item is marked with a price of $5. And when I go to the register they say: “oh sorry that is just for people with our discount card”, I will say that doesn’t indicate that and then you bet I’ll pay $5.
You cant have your cake and eat it too. If a company doesn’t have proper disclosures, and then publicly releases something, they are responsible to honor it. Hence the standard “not responsible for misprints” language in most advertising. Which is also lacking in AMEXs case here.
to your point..sloppy = AMEX retains responsibility to honor.
A non-publicized website accessible only via a link distributed by targeted emails is not something one would stumble upon simply by browsing their online credit card accounts/benefits pages (as others have reported in this thread).
In any case, neither you nor I are the arbiter of this. If someone takes it to court it will be interesting to see the outcome if it ever gets that far.
Sep 8, 2018, 1:48 pm
#177
Join Date: Jun 2010
Programs: DL Diamond MM, SPG Platinum, Skywards Silver
Posts: 319
I still posit that there's as much a difference in my dinner party as there is for your Walgreens example. Those prices at Walgreens are "published" in a way that any customer could see just by going about their normal shopping behaviors.
A non-publicized website accessible only via a link distributed by targeted emails is not something one would stumble upon simply by browsing their online credit card accounts/benefits pages (as others have reported in this thread).
In any case, neither you nor I are the arbiter of this. If someone takes it to court it will be interesting to see the outcome if it ever gets that far.
A non-publicized website accessible only via a link distributed by targeted emails is not something one would stumble upon simply by browsing their online credit card accounts/benefits pages (as others have reported in this thread).
In any case, neither you nor I are the arbiter of this. If someone takes it to court it will be interesting to see the outcome if it ever gets that far.
Sep 8, 2018, 2:39 pm
#178
Join Date: Apr 2015
Location: SFO
Programs: DL Charter DM/DM/2MM, IHG Diamond Elite
Posts: 1,925
A class action lawsuit against AmEx for possible discrimination would be brilliant! If I was a lawyer I would certainly look into it! Any lawyers here know if this would even be possible?
Sep 8, 2018, 8:32 pm
#179
Suspended
Join Date: Nov 2010
Location: MEM
Programs: Starbucks Green Card
Posts: 5,431
Possible to find a lawyer willing to do this for you on contingency? meh... maybe
Possible to win? lol well anything is possible.
Sep 9, 2018, 3:24 am
#180
Join Date: Jul 2012
Posts: 1,079