That's actually the most I've heard of on retention... well done :)

I answered this in the thread mahasamatman mentioned.

7.500 Starpoints at a value of 3 cents per point is worth about $225! I'd happily pay $65 or $95 renewal in exchange for 7,500 Starpoints . . . .

BenSenise has a profile location of YVR. The Canadian card has a $120 fee, so it's not quite as good a deal as you mention. Still nice though.

I called the customer care number on my bill (800-297-1000) and asked for the "cancel a card" option. I was transferred to a CSR and I told her that I was thinking about cancelling. She touted the benefits of the card & I said that the perks are great but I'm unhappy with the annual fee increase. She pulled up my file and offered me a choice of $50 or 5,000 points. I asked (twice) if she could offer more points and she said no. I opted for the points and said that I would reevaluate next year.

I just called and they offered a $25 credit. i said "is that the best you can do?" and she said "yes" so i just said "okay, thats fine". Perhaps if i had pushed it further and said I still wanted to cancel they would've upped it, not sure. So far I've charged $87k this year and last year i charged almost $200k...You'd think they would care more to keep my business than $25....
This is a business card, FYI, maybe retention offers are less for biz than personal? Who knows. Oh well, still $25 for a 5 min phone call.

The rep told me that "Starwood doesn't give them a lot of room to maneuver", then offered 1K points to keep the card. I gave a small laugh and so did she. She then asked me if I would be interested in the Hilton card instead???? (Already have one.) I closed the account.

How far in advance are you guys calling?

My fee comes this December, when would a good time be to call?

October. If you wait until you get the statement with the fee on it, there's no way to get a points bonus (assuming they even offer you that, vs. a credit or nothing) to post without paying the annual fee.

Mind you, Amex will credit back the fee pro rata if you cancel within a short time frame after the payment due date. (I forget the exact boundaries; certainly, anything within the first month of the new subscription year is OK, and possibly up to 90 days.) So you can wait to the last minute to request a retention bonus, but it may cost you 1/12 of $65.

Another data point.

Personal and biz opened up July 2010 for 30,000 pts after $1500 spend in 3 months. Amex customer since 2006.

Personal spend $2k/mo, offered $10 or 1000 points, cancelled the card.

Biz spend $1k/mo, offered $25 statement credit, I accepted.

Called to cancel my SPG AMEX card this morning. Had the personal card for 1 year...my annual fee will be on next statement. Charged about 25K over past 12 months on thic card. Was going to keep it regardless of offer...they offered me $10 credit or 1000 points. Took the 1000 points. Did not push for a better offer.

On a side note, he did mention to me that he sees I also have an AMEX Platinum card, so I wonder if I only had 1 AMEX card (the SPG one) would I have gotten a better offer....

I've never called on the SPG Amex. I always call on other cards, because none of those are bluffs: if they won't negotiate, I will cancel.

But perhaps I'll call with the request for a "goodwill bonus" due to the annual fee bump. That seems softer and more honest. I mean, I realize that banks are perhaps the most dishonest entities on this planet...it's just that I don't want to make a threat to cancel and have them say "OK, see ya..."

I charge about $50k per year, have held the card for about 7 years, always in good standing. I do have a dormant (but open) HH Amex card sitting there and I've held the DL Amex in the past.

2000 points
 

Had the personal card for 11 months with $11k spend total and called to cancel. First the rep asked me why I wanted to cancel and was being pushy trying to switch me to other cards. Then she offered $20 and I said no. Then she offered 2000 points (I don't know if it was in addition to the $20; I'm guessing not). I closed.

I got a rock
 

Called yesterday, and said I didn't think the card was worth it. CSR (nice guy) said "I understand" and closed the card. No offers whatsoever.

Only spent ~2K on the card in a year.

I'm curious why anyone would turn down 1000 or 2000 no-strings points (absent annual fee being due before the points would post). Why not take the Starpoints and run?