When your credit card anniversary date is approaching, it’s time to consider the annual fee. Is the card worth keeping? Even if it was a good decision before, your spending habits or travel style could have changed. That’s what happened with several of my American Express cards. I was reminded of this interaction I had with AMEX rep when I called to cancel a card.
I decided that I was canceling my American Express Business Gold card before I called. I wasn’t sure what to expect so I buckled down in case I had a long wait. When I called the number on the back of my card, I was speaking to a representative within a minute.
I was connected with one of the nicest and most considerate phone agents I’ve ever spoken to.
I confirmed that my phone tree choices were correct and that I wanted to cancel my card. She asked why. I answered honestly,
- I don’t use the card
- AMEX offers cards with better earning potential for lower annual fees
She said that those were valid points and she saw I hadn’t been using the card over the past year. She was glad AMEX wasn’t losing me as a client and that I was just closing this card.
We got to the legalese and she said that some of it might not apply to me since she was going to mention losing Membership Rewards………..
She paused for a second. I could almost hear her looking up my account.
She came back and said, “Yes since you have another card that earns Membership Rewards and lets you transfer those points to partners, you don’t have to worry. Your points are totally safe.”
At the time, I had closed most of my Membership Rewards points earning cards. I canceled my Platinum card and now I was getting rid of my Gold Business card. The only card I have left is my Business Green card that I’d downgraded from the Business Platinum card years ago. I’m glad I kept it because I can add authorized users for free and that lets me transfer Membership Rewards into their loyalty accounts with airlines.
But this phone rep, who had no need to check that I wasn’t totally screwing myself over, spent the 45 seconds to check which accounts I have open and if they have full Membership Rewards benefits (including transfer partners.) I was so appreciative of her for that.
Here are AMEX’s Rules for when you cancel your account:
When you cancel your Rewards Account
What happens to the points in your Rewards Account depends on whether you keep another eligible Product linked to your Rewards Account. You will immediately lose all of the points in your Rewards Account if you cancel your last linked Product, whether a Card Account or Checking Account. However, if your last linked Product is a Corporate Card, you may be able to redeem points forup to 30 days after cancellation.
This is a change in policy as you used to have 30 days to use points if you had any non-Membership Rewards American Express card.
When she got to the end of her script, she asked if I was agreeing to cancel the card, which I did.
And that was the end of the call and I don’t know what else to say besides “Thank You to the nicest American Express call rep I’ve ever encountered.”
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