Andrea, an American Express member for over 20 years, is upset because AmEx canceled her cash-back card two weeks before her $500 rebate check was supposed to arrive, and declared the rebate forfeit.
Andrea writes:
I am sure I am not the first one. AMEX canceled my credit card on 01/31/2009. I have been a member since 1986 and always pay my full balance every month. They were supposed to mail me my yearly Costco cash rebate check of about $500 with my 02/14/2009 statement. Since they canceled my card 2 weeks ago they told me that the rebate is forfeited. They tell me Experian provided them with a bad credit report but my credit score is 720 and when I called Experian they told me that AMEX has been canceling many customer with excellent credit scores.
I wonder how much money AMEX has saved by canceling customers who were due rebates? This is outrageous.
That is outrageous. We suggest calling them up and having a chat with someone higher up. Perhaps also try calling Costco, which is generally pretty good about customer service, and would probably like to know that its partner isn’t.
(Photo: Tengaport)
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You did the right thing to report this here. Now, write Costco corporate saying the same thing and then your state’s consumer protection department. Cancelling a card like this just before a promised reward with no real reason would be frowned upon by most lawyers and may be fraud.
One middle finger for AmEx, who I hear about *constantly* from the foreclosure-counseling clients at work — they’re getting downright ridiculous with the Random Banhammer, and it’s really hurting some people.
And another middle finger for credit scores; it wasn’t such a bad idea but it’s really become nothing more than an anti-consumer weapon. Better control and transparency of those scores is urgently needed!!
I cancelled my American Express years ago over a charge I disputed that they wouldn’t take off. Six months later, they finally saw I was right and of course wanted me back. No thanks. And just yesterday I saw them trolling for accounts at Costco.
Sue the bastards in small claims court in the county you live in.
I was considering calling AmEx to have them lower by available credit on Blue Cash to help them out; it’s currently $20.5K, about four times what I actually expect to use.
Perhaps they’ll beat me to the punch and cancel me too since they cut my cash back rebate in July (last year it was almost $700), but then again I use that account for EVERYTHING I can and pay it off every month.
If they close my accounts, big deal. I’ll just move all my purchase activity back to my credit union issued Visa Platinum points rewards card, which was what I was doing already before I got the Blue Cash card.
I am very tired of all the crybabies that claim to be mature adults, but fail to read the contract prior to accepting a credit card. I doubt anyone put a gun to your head and forced you to take a credit card. No. You took it and you probably never read the contract saying what exactly the company can do. By accepting the card, you accept the rules. The same goes for mortgage and auto contracts.
Please, PLEASE post a follow-up when this gets resolved. You would think that Amex would want to have the type of customers that frequent this website. I personally have had an overall good experience with Amex but reading these articles are making me eye a USAA card more and more.
You know what this looks like to me? It looks like AMEX is going back to a primarily charge card business, and only giving to the cards to the upper-middle, upper class again. My family has not had a single problem with the charge cards besides just rechecking our income that shut one of our 4 cards down for 3 days.
@coold8: Looks like I was right:
[online.wsj.com]
My wife has an Amex Blue that she carried a balance on…her FICO is over 800…when we bought our house and got the mortgage her rate went up to 26.something% and they cut her limit to just over the balance. They are trying to cover their asses in the wrong way. Dicks.
My wife and I got scared about amex and our rewards points so we cashed them all in last week just in case they were going to try to pull something like this crap.. Sorry OP, that sucks big time..
amex has denied me a card even though my score is above 762 . thats ok, but costco has to provide me with another way too take advantage of the discounts they offer. If they fail to do so I think they open the door for legal action as coconspirtors in a false advertising and discrimaniton case.Iintend to move foward with this claim. A member since 1982 .just another small business owner.that will not accept amex cards because all the things that they do.I wonder how much money they got from the tax payers?
American Express is still the top performing credit card issuer and they do back their clients to the very best of their ability. Just like you are in a tough spot with this weak economic time so are they. You are not behind the scenes seeing how charge offs are affecting the company.
If you owned a business and you extended lines of credit to clients and during times like now their credit drops or they miss payments would you not do whats best for you and the client? You may think that they are being harsh to you however, when you unfortunately loose your job without notice, later down the road you will thank Amex for not letting you charge 20,000 that is taking you years and years to pay back if you even can.
Half the consumers that post blogs do not tell you the whole story or don’t want to admit that there is a credit issue. They are upset and want to lash out. Her account wouldnt have been cancelled for no reason. Simple as that.
Now line of credit reductions are a different story, they may lower lines of credit before you do become a risk……
Regarding American Express withholding the Costco rebate: I commented earlier they did this to my wife because she cancelled her card in December–after charging $2500 during the year at Costco with the card. I sent the same letter to six Costco executives, starting with Richard Chavez. You can find the names on the web through Google. A week later, I received a call from a flunkie in the Amex executive offices who said that Costco had contacted him. He said Amex will credit the rebate to my wife’s Amex account. Costco has always been excellent and responsive with customer service and anyone who has been subjected to Amex’s unconscionable arrogance should contact them!
Amex is screwed up! I am having the same issues. I have a
Costco Executive Card and Amex Costco Card and Pithlit is correct with the rebates. As of my January 12, 2009 statement I am suppose to get $1,463.61 cash rebates then all of a sudden “due to review of my account” Amex canceled my card and due to that also forfieted my cash rebate. I have called them repeatedly and they have not budged about my rebate. I have paid my balance in full every month.
My wife and I received a notice in the mail that AMEX had cancelled our credit card. We originally were issued a card with a credit limit of $25,000.00. Three months ago AMEX sent a letter saying they were reducing our credit limit to $5,000.00 because after careful review they felt we were a risk. My wife each have a credit score over 765 and pay our AMEX card in full each and every month. Typically our payments are made 10-12 days prior to the due date. It is of my opinion that this is not how you treat customers that have a great track record and pay their bill in full each month. I called Customer service and spoke to a rep by the name of Matt. I asked him hat the issue was and his response was we made our decision, so deal with it. Matt don’t ever cross my path. Mr. Kenneth I. Chenault (CEO) your policy is garbage. In 2007 your compensation was $26,249,876.00. Who the F_ _K do you think you are? You can take your card and SHOVE IT UP YOUR BLACK ASS. The great Donald Trump just filed chapter 11. Did you revoke his AMEX card too? I think not you punk. Do I sound hostile? You bet I am and when more Americans realize that they are being punk’d by these corporate giants, beware.
I received an American Express Business Blue card in October with a $28000 Credit Limit. I used it to start my new business. One of my charges which was approved and I have receipts and approval codes was the sign for my business for $4300 which was made in September. In November American Express lowered my credit limit to what my balance was at the time stating that I wasn’t paying them enough. My payments were always more than the minimum and on time. In Feb. they called the sign company and told them that none of their clients charges were paid to them all the way back to last June and they were to call their clients to have them recharge. They had already lowered our limit to the balance and would not redo the previous approved charge and also stating that they had no copy of the original approved charge nor a record of the phone call to the merchant. Everyone knows that American Express records their calls. They have put me in a credit situation where now the merchant wants their money. I was told by an attorney that the charge was an agreement with American Express and the merchant and that the merchant had to honor us with a payment arrangement that I would have been paying to American Express. Does anyone know what can be done here?
Amex just sent me a notice that they cancelled my card. I had them for 11 years, never late, never overlimit. I have a balance of $400 out of $2800 credit limit. When I called I was told nothing could be done because my credit score was too low (690- I have my mortgage company in Federal court for TILA violations, and the credit reporting agencies list it as disputed), I asked them to report it as cancelled by consumer and I’d pay off the total balance in 30 days. They said no can do, it will remain as cancelled by creditor. So that will cost me 100 points on my score by being “closed by creditor”.
Thanks to the bank bailout, even more people will lose thier homes and credit. American Express Card, you just lost a good-paying customer forever. Good luck finding better, maybe the Federal Corporations will get credit from you. They will need it, since they won’t have the cash money to live on once they lose thier cushy jobs.