AMERICAN EXPRESS COMPANY

2018-02-21

FL

Other features, terms, or problems

Credit card or prepaid card: General-purpose credit card or charge card

Problem with customer service
Company Response: Closed with monetary relief

Timely Response

2018-02-21

East Rockaway, NY

Advertising and marketing, including promotional offers

Credit card or prepaid card: General-purpose credit card or charge card

Didn't receive advertised or promotional terms
Complaint: On XXXX, was offered a XXXX point offer on the American Express site as a pop-up for a Platinum card after internet search. Pop-up advised against navigating away from the page. When I applied, I was prompted to log-in due to an existing Corporate card log-in profile. When I logged in, the offer dropped to XXXX points upon log-in. I chatted with Amex online and spoke to AMEX Customer Service and Apply who indicated a potential issue, but had no way to know if I was targeted for the offer, had no way to retrieve and told me to clear my browser cache and apply again. Applied again and got the XXXX point offer via my corporate card login. Applied and my application was put into pending status. Called Amex - application was missing a country code of US despite having NY address on file. Received approval via phone and email. Advised card would arrive within 24-72 hours. Week later and 4-5 hours of calls with Amex ( on 4 days ) I have no card, no card card number, and lower possible rewards. Apparently technical glitch kept card number from generating. Asked to speak to managers multiple times and was sent to voicemails or people hung up. Getting charged {$600.00} card fee anyway. Unfair business practices - lowering offers and manipulating availability.
Company Response: Closed with explanation

Timely Response

2018-02-21

Heidelberg, MN

Other features, terms, or problems

Credit card or prepaid card: General-purpose credit card or charge card

Problem with rewards from credit card
Company Response: Closed with explanation

Timely Response

2018-02-21

Barrett Parkway, GA

Other features, terms, or problems

Credit card or prepaid card: General-purpose credit card or charge card

Problem with rewards from credit card
Company Response: Closed with explanation

Timely Response

2018-02-21

New Iberia, LA

Advertising and marketing, including promotional offers

Credit card or prepaid card: General-purpose credit card or charge card

Confusing or misleading advertising about the credit card
Company Response: Closed with explanation

Timely Response

2018-02-21

Wichita, KS

Closing your account

Credit card or prepaid card: General-purpose credit card or charge card

Company closed your account
Complaint: I was unemployed for 6 months trying to stay above water. I had communicated with each one of my credit cards about the situation and what i was doing to resolve it. I was able to find a job finally and started getting paid and i paid all of my payments. When i went to pay my American Express payment I found out that they had decided to cancel my account. The customer service agent then told me if i paid the account up to date that he could work on getting my account reopened. So i paid a large sum of money to get the account out of the hole and he said he would start working on the rest. I called back today and they told me they won't reopen my account.
Company Response: Closed with explanation

Timely Response

2018-02-21

Lionshead Lake, NJ

Other features, terms, or problems

Credit card or prepaid card: General-purpose credit card or charge card

Problem with rewards from credit card
Company Response: Closed with explanation

Timely Response

2018-02-21

Other features, terms, or problems

Credit card or prepaid card: General-purpose credit card or charge card

Other problem
Company Response: Closed with explanation

Timely Response

2018-02-21

Fort Lauderdale, FL

Advertising and marketing, including promotional offers

Credit card or prepaid card: General-purpose credit card or charge card

Didn't receive advertised or promotional terms
Company Response: Closed with explanation

Timely Response

2018-02-21

Hurricane, WV

Other features, terms, or problems

Credit card or prepaid card: General-purpose credit card or charge card

Problem with rewards from credit card
Company Response: Closed with explanation

Timely Response

2018-02-20

Courtdale, PA

Problem with a purchase shown on your statement

Credit card or prepaid card: General-purpose credit card or charge card

Credit card company isn't resolving a dispute about a purchase on your statement
Company Response: Closed with explanation

Timely Response

2018-02-20

Iselin, NJ

Advertising and marketing, including promotional offers

Credit card or prepaid card: General-purpose credit card or charge card

Didn't receive advertised or promotional terms
Complaint: Amex platinum delta credit card has a refer a friend program where if you refer someone and they get approved, you are entitled to receive XXXX bonus miles. Back in the first week of XX/XX/XXXX ( Amex has the exact date ) i referred my wife by sending her the link provided from americanexpress.com in the email. She clicked on the link and applied for the card, she was approved right away. Couple of days went by and i did not see the referral miles show up in my account. I called Amex and they said it takes about 6 to 8 weeks. I called multiple times after a few weeks and then was told the same story. After a while, i decided to open up a complaint with Amex about this issue and escalate it. They opened the complaint ( Amex has the exact date ). Ever since then i have been calling Amex and they are saying that they are still reviewing, It has been since XX/XX/XXXX that i have been calling Amex and they have not issued what i am entitled for. To everyone who is reading this, i have been a member of Amex since XX/XX/XXXX and i urge you to stop your business with Amex as at this point they are in the very shady business. I have immediately stopped using all my AMEX cards and my wife has also stopped using her card.
Company Response: Closed with explanation

Timely Response

2018-02-20

Burlingame, CA

Advertising and marketing, including promotional offers

Credit card or prepaid card: General-purpose credit card or charge card

Didn't receive advertised or promotional terms
Company Response: Closed with explanation

Timely Response

2018-02-20

Church Point, LA

Struggling to pay your bill

Credit card or prepaid card: General-purpose credit card or charge card

Credit card company won't work with you while you're going through financial hardship
Company Response: Closed with explanation

Timely Response

2018-02-19

Pasadena, CA

Problem with a purchase or transfer

Credit card or prepaid card: General-purpose prepaid card

Card company isn't resolving a dispute about a purchase or transfer
Complaint: Note : All dates referenced below are this year, XXXX. My federal tax return, in the amount of {$3100.00} was direct-deposited into my American Express Serve account on XX/XX/XXXX. That day I received an email from the company notifying me of this and that those funds were immediately available to me. However the company sent another email shortly after the first email stating that because of " unusual activity '' my account was under review. I called their customer service number as the email instructed in order to " authenticate '' and was told that the account indeed was under review and it would take 2-3 business days to resolve. I then learned that not only was the card not usable during this period but that I had been locked out of my account and could not see transaction activity. Here I should add that direct deposit of tax returns was a service that was heavily marketed to me by AMEX. Since that initial call to their customer service I have made several follow up calls and each time have been given new, different or contradictory information. Specifically, the review period moved from 2-3 business days to 3-5 business days during my first follow up call later in the day on XX/XX/XXXX. On XX/XX/XXXX, on another call I was told that my account was " permanently suspended '' because I " violated '' the company 's user agreement and that I should expect a check from the company in 7-10 business days. The company representative would not tell what the violation was instead referring me to the company web site where I could read the user agreement. I dutifully scrolled through the thousands of words in that user agreement and could not identify anything that I had violated. I was baffled, but at least now my check was " in the mail ''. On XX/XX/XXXX, I received an email from the company informing me that my California state tax refund direct-deposit in the amount of {$1000.00}. was rejected by the company and those funds had been returned to the California State Franchise Board ( as of the writing of this complaint the state had not received those funds ). On XX/XX/XXXX, I received a duplicate of the company 's email of XX/XX/XXXX, informing me that my account was under review. I had not yet received the promised check. I called the company 's customer service on the XXXX and this time was told that my account in fact was not permanently suspended but was still under review, and more specifically that I had not violated the user agreement and that the direct deposit of my federal tax refund was the " unusual activity '' subject of the review. It stretches credulity that it would take this long to verify a payment from the United States Treasury. In 43 days I will turn XXXX years old. I'm on a fixed income. This refund money, my money, is not only a significant amount to me, much of it is earmarked for essential expeditures. This has become much more than an inconvience, it is a true hardship. It's possible that my case is an anomaly but I suspect that I am not alone and the issue is an AMEX systemic issue.
Company Response: Closed with explanation

Timely Response

2018-02-19

Greenwood, CA

Problem with a credit reporting company's investigation into an existing problem

Credit reporting, credit repair services, or other personal consumer reports: Credit reporting

Their investigation did not fix an error on your report
Complaint: I closed the account with American Express and I paid the full balance. The amount was XXXX. They are reporting the account in all three credit bureaus as Charge-Off.
Company Response: Closed with explanation

Timely Response

2018-02-19

Midlothian, VA

Other features, terms, or problems

Credit card or prepaid card: General-purpose credit card or charge card

Problem with rewards from credit card
Company Response: Closed with monetary relief

Timely Response

2018-02-19

Santa Barbara, CA

Other features, terms, or problems

Credit card or prepaid card: General-purpose credit card or charge card

Problem with rewards from credit card
Complaint: I have earned over 300,000 Membership Awards points with American Express. My current balance of points is XXXX. On XX/XX/2018 I attempted to redeem points for gift cards. I received a message saying " This action will not be completed at this time because your account is currently being reviewed to make sure all eligible purchases meet qualifying criteria. '' I called American Express on the XX/XX/XXXX to inquire and again today on XX/XX/XXXX. Today they told me it would be an additional XXXX weeks for my purchases to be analyzed. This is an unfair practice by American Express. I earned my points legitimately and now when trying to redeem are blocking me from doing so. I feel this is a bait and switch technique. American Express should release my points immediately or complete what should be a simple review within 5 business days.
Company Response: Closed with explanation

Timely Response

2018-02-19

Orlando, FL

Trouble using your card

Credit card or prepaid card: General-purpose credit card or charge card

Credit card company won't increase or decrease your credit limit
Company Response: Closed with explanation

Timely Response

2018-02-19

WA

Other features, terms, or problems

Credit card or prepaid card: General-purpose credit card or charge card

Problem with rewards from credit card
Complaint: I signed up for the American Express Gold Delta SkyMiles credit card on XX/XX/2018. The credit card offered XXXX bonus miles after spending {$2000.00} plus XXXX bonus miles after spending another {$1000.00}, plus a {$50.00} statement credit after my first purchase with XXXX. American Express reps now tell me that because I had this card before they will not honor the terms of the bonus offers. I have enclosed screenshots of the terms for the application and nowhere does it say that I would be ineligible for the bonus offer on this card because I had the card once in the past.
Company Response: Closed with explanation

Timely Response

2018-02-19

Greenwood, CA

Problem with a credit reporting company's investigation into an existing problem

Credit reporting, credit repair services, or other personal consumer reports: Credit reporting

Their investigation did not fix an error on your report
Complaint: I closed the account with American Express and I paid the full balance. The amount was XXXX. They are reporting the account in all three credit bureaus as Charge-Off.
Company Response: Closed with explanation

Timely Response

2018-02-19

Austin, TX

Other features, terms, or problems

Credit card or prepaid card: General-purpose credit card or charge card

Problem with rewards from credit card
Complaint: American Express cheated me by lying and stealing my XXXX points! XXXX ; XXXX - XXXX customer representative promised me access to my credit card points ( worth {$600.00} ) for 30 days after closing the account and the points instantly disappeared on card termination. I had called American Express customer service on XX/XX/XXXX regarding a late fee on my credit card ( American Express Premier Rewards Gold Card ) and requested to waive it since I hadnt used the card in a while and was not monitoring the monthly statements. Amex representative supervisor XXXX ( ID XXXX ) suggested I could close the account and they would waive the membership fee and the late fee on my account. I had around 64K points ( I had not used any points at all ) and asked her what would happen to those points. She said I will have access to them for 30 days and even specifically mentioned XX/XX/XXXX. I liked the idea and so went ahead and closed my credit card account over the phone with her. After a few days, I noticed my late fee was still there and so I called back, this time the representative XXXX ( ID XXXX ) took care of the late fee and again confirmed saying I will have access to my points for 45 days after closing the account. I was full term pregnant at the time and I had my baby on XX/XX/XXXX and didnt bother looking into any of this until around mid-XX/XX/XXXX. At the time, I noticed that my points were gone. I immediately called them back and they transferred me to the rewards department wherein all the representatives said that you lose points as soon as you close the account. I was very shocked and disappointed that I was lied to and my points were stolen. I complained to them with several follow up calls. They eventually transferred my case to some back office department. XXXX ( badge # XXXX ) called me and explained to me that they will have to request recordings of those phone calls in which the representatives had lied to me and if it was indeed the case then they would give me a gift card worth equivalent of my points. He said he will follow up with me every 3 days to give me an update on my case. I have been waiting for over a month and they call me every 2 weeks saying that they still havent received the recordings. I really can't afford to lose {$600.00} worth of points cuz that was the reason I applied for the card in the first place. I am looking for recommendations on how I can get this resolved and if anyone has experienced this before. PS : I was very skeptical of the Amex customer service from the very beginning and that is the reason why I have their ID and badge numbers noted down.
Company Response: Closed with non-monetary relief

Timely Response

2018-02-19

Brookside, NJ

Problem with a purchase shown on your statement

Credit card or prepaid card: General-purpose credit card or charge card

Credit card company isn't resolving a dispute about a purchase on your statement
Company Response: Closed with explanation

Timely Response

2018-02-18

Jersey City, NJ

Other features, terms, or problems

Credit card or prepaid card: General-purpose credit card or charge card

Problem with customer service
Complaint: I submitted the below complaint to the XXXX with a request for the full amount of the transaction to be credited. In an offensive move, AmEx sent me a letter notifying me they would credit me {$75.00} and then closed the matter with the XXXX I am still fighting for the full credit. ORIGINAL COMPLAINT : I am an AmEx platinum member and pay a hefty fee each year to use their services. XX/XX/XXXX was my fathers XXXX birthday which we celebrated in XXXX. Late that day our dinner reservation was cancelled by the restaurant. I immediately rang AmEx concierge to see if they could help and I had two options in mind. One restaurant we were not able to get into and the other we made a reservation but later cancelled due to us not being able to make it in time from where we were. I rang concierge back to see if there were other options for our first preference ( wait list etc ) and the rep said she would put me on hold and call the restaurant to see. Whilst on hold the call dropped and I immediately rang back and got such an inexcusable response from the next rep. He basically told me I had already made a reservation and the previous call I had didn't exist. When i refuted him we went back and forth for over 30min and alls i wanted was to see the outcome of the call. After spending appprox two hours on phone with concierge we ran out of time and just had to go to the nearest restaurant for dinner. A complete and utter shame for such a large event as a XXXX birthday. It also meant we had to overspend as we were limited with our options partly due to the cancellation of the original restaurant but also due to the incompetence of the concierge service and then amount of time i had to be on the phone with them for a simple task. I then put in a complaint with AmEx and received an call back from a XXXX, he went to say there was an investigation as there was no record of my call to them and that there were no notes in my file. I again get another call from XXXX to say they have located the call and it came out of another office and so a team leader from there would call me to resolve and see what they can do for me. I then get a voicemail from XXXX saying she'll try again today that day. I did not get another call. Then on XX/XX/XXXX I get an email stating everything I had raised in my complaint was true and they are looking into it further. However please call us if you have any further reservations you would like to book through us. This is unacceptable, for the amount I pay each year and for such a simple task and to get just an email saying sorry but keep using our service is completely ridiculous. Why does it take multiple phone calls to get them to admit they were in the wrong yet no consequences to them and I, as a customer have to resort to last minute decisions based on their actions. The whole asset of concierge they advertise is to help with tasks like restaurant bookings, ordering and so forth. Due to the inept behavior by AmEx in this situation, I think its only fair that they issue a credit for the amount of the dinner to my AmEx. The details are as follows : XXXXXXXX XXXX XXXXXXXX XXXX - XXXX, FL {$480.00}
Company Response: Closed with monetary relief

Timely Response

2018-02-18

Bohemia, NY

Advertising and marketing, including promotional offers

Credit card or prepaid card: General-purpose credit card or charge card

Didn't receive advertised or promotional terms
Complaint: I am an Amex Platinum card holder since XXXX. Sometime earlier this month I was informed about a new Delta Skymiles Amex gold card promotion which waived 1st year fee and XXXX Delta miles after charging {$1000.00} in 3months. The promotion was relayed to me when I asked to exchange the airline incidental fee reimbursement from Delta to a different carrier I was convinced to apply ( XXXX XXXX, XXXX ) for new card and was approved for a new card on application submission. I received the new card a few days later. I started to make qualifying charges of several hundred dollars. This morning I called Amex when I noticed the new card had a different Skymiles number than my current Delta number. When I called Amex to combine my 2 Skymiles accounts and I asked for update of my total points and when the promotional points would be available to purchase a new airline ticket.. It was at this point ( XX/XX/XXXX ) I was told that I am not eligible for promotion because I had closed the Delta card a few years ago. Amex could not/would not provide me any details of the previous account that disqualified me for current promotion. If I knew or had seen terms I certainly would not have applied for the new Skymile card and would not have to combine 2 accounts and would have accumulated bonus points on my Amex Platinum card. This appears to be a variant of a classic bait and switch of the promotion,
Company Response: Closed with explanation

Timely Response