While I don’t like to deal with people on the phone, in some instances it’s necessary. This is most often when what you want to do is not possible to accomplish online. This is exactly what happened when I needed to add Sharon as an authorized user on my American Express Platinum Card.
While it costs $175 to add authorized users to an AMEX Platinum card, I wasn’t able to do this online. That’s because I already added Sharon as an authorized user to my account. At the time, I added Sharon as an authorized user with a no-annual-fee Gold Card. However, I now wanted to upgrade her to a Platinum Card, even if that meant paying the $175 extra fee.
Based on my past phone calls with AMEX, the only way to accomplish this was to call. I picked up the phone and called the number on the back of my Platinum Card. It only took a minute before I was talking to an AMEX rep.
She asked what I needed and I explained that we have an upcoming trip and I’d like for Sharon to be able to enter Delta SkyClubs and AMEX Centurion Lounges without paying guest fees. It would be worth the $175 for her to have her own card instead of paying $50 for each guest entrance.
The AMEX rep was very understanding. She said that paying $50 for guest fees could be easily saved by adding an authorized user. She said that it could take up to 2 weeks to receive a new card. However, the upgrade would show up on the AMEX account in 1 day.
Her next question was which lounges we needed to enter and if they were Priority Pass locations. I said that we’d be entering Delta SkyClubs or AMEX Centurion Lounges. She assured me that if we had any problems, the lounge will be able to call AMEX and confirm that Sharon does have a Platinum Card and therefore has access to the lounges.
I thanked her for that assurance. She then added that for the $175 fee, I could add three additional members to my account. While I knew this, I asked if the additional users had to be members of my household. She said that they did not. In addition, I could set a minimum spending amount for authorized users so they can get the advantage of lounge access yet not the ability to charge large amounts to my Platinum Card.
At this point, I added that I wasn’t worried about that. If our travel buddies charged a large amount to my AMEX card, we’d simply stop being friends.
We had a good laugh. She said that I’d be surprised at what people can do when they’re given a Platinum Card with no credit limit.
While Sharon has an aversion to speaking with phone reps, I often find these conversations delightful. That’s because the people I’m talking with often have just finished difficult conversations with other people and I have the opportunity to lighten up their day. During this call, I was able to accomplish my goal of upgrading Sharon’s authorized user card to a fully functional AMEX Platinum card. During that call, I was also able to be a decent human being and bring a moment of normalcy to someone else during their workday.
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