10,000 bonus points per 20 transactions

[Soundguy]

Without Prejudice

For All AFF’s Information

I just got off the telephone from my mate at Gordon and Slater... In the interim they are putting together a list of aggrieved card holders to analyses the possibility of putting forth a Class Action against AMEX for breaches under the Trade Practices Act...

Typical of such ambulance chasers. How much better off this country would be without these coughroaches IMO. :evil: Pure greed.

 

[skeltonl]

You would want some tolerance.

For example I went to Myers over the weekend. They actually prefer you to buy from the register in each department.

And indeed if you are buying items on special it is often a pain if you don't as the staff in another area may not be briefed on it.

I know what you mean about people from different areas in MYER being clueless about what's happening in a section less than 5 metres from them - it drives my wife crazy during there end of year sales.

 

[warrenkole]

Oh sorry my mistake - I foolishly thought
A. that someone would only pay their rates bill on their AMEX bill in $10

Here we go again.

Have you heard of something called a council rate payment plan? It's where council's allow people to pay their rates in small amounts every week rather than quarterly or annually. Most utility companies also have similar arrangements where you can smooth out your bills payments rather than pay a lump sum every 3 months. I even have a friend that is paying off parking fines at the rate of $5 a week.

So yes, I did pay my parent's council rates under their payment plan as they are pensioners on fixed incomes. And yes, I did it to maximize my potential bonus points, but it never happened.

 

[diesmile]

It seems some folk have lied (by claiming on the phone to AMEX to have received the postcard offer when they didn't) to sign up, I don't know how AMEX will handle this but effectively the offer is closed if you don't have the card.

it is pretty easy for amex to check their database and see who got the postcard sent. i guess at the end of day, if amex really want to find out, they will.

Current mood: Sad



Guess I'll just have to be one of the unlucky ones who missed the boat.

Good luck to all those that will get points. And remember, some points are better than none

it takes about 2 days for the points to be posted, just wait a few days, if not, then bad luck.

 

[oz_mark]

Typical of such ambulance chasers. How much better off this country would be without these coughroaches IMO. :evil: Pure greed.

I wonder if this website will feature in proceedings

(As far as I know, no-one has received any written notification of a change to the T&C's)

 

[lovetravellingoz]

Here we go again.

Have you heard of something called a council rate payment plan? It's where council's allow people to pay their rates in small amounts every week rather than quarterly or annually. Most utility companies also have similar arrangements where you can smooth out your bills payments rather than pay a lump sum every 3 months. I even have a friend that is paying off parking fines at the rate of $5 a week.

So yes, I did pay my parent's council rates under their payment plan as they are pensioners on fixed incomes. And yes, I did it to maximize my potential bonus points, but it never happened.

Now I am confused.

Firstly you said that you had just paid your rates.
Now it is your parents.

Next you said they were paid and it did not work. But now you say it is a payment plan. As this would be weekly, monthly...or whatever and therefore apart from at most one payment would not have been paid...how do you know that it did not work as the multiple payments would not have occurred yet?

My apologies for not being able to follow your posts.

 

[skeltonl]

I wonder if this website will feature in proceedings

Forget the proceedings - I want to know if it will feature in the movie. It was a story of naked greed torn from the pages of history. They loved their points but their love was shattered by the decision of the evil multinational .

They could get John Grisham to do the script.

 

[LordGarlic]

Will we get to see 1000 posts by the end of this week??

 

[lovetravellingoz]

Forget the proceedings - I want to know if it will feature in the movie. It was a story of naked greed torn from the pages of history. They loved their points but their love was shattered by the decision of the evil multinational .

They could get John Grisham to do the script.

Well if nothing else this is shaping up as the biggest FF thread ever

 

[oz_mark]

Well if nothing else this is shaping up as the biggest FF thread ever

Maybe enough material for a mini-series

 

[beardoc]

it is pretty easy for amex to check their database and see who got the postcard sent. i guess at the end of day, if amex really want to find out, they will.

Yes, but this was a public promotion.

Amex advertised this on the main page of their website (link here) and it linked to a publicly available webpage (link here).

This was not an offer that was limited only to those that received the postcard.

 

[PaulZ]

Will we get to see 1000 posts by the end of this week??

If the end of the week is Sunday... I reckon it is an Absolute Certainty...

Especially with the current discussion on points being removed from people's accounts....

I estimate 1102 by Monday 0000

 

[benhadi]

WHat AMEX is trying to combat now is abuse.

They still want people to spend (that's the idea isn't it?)

So IMO there is a very simple solution to address the abuse, without upsetting the spirit of the promotion.

....add in the condition of a minimum spend.

People are less likely to make multiple spends of $50 or $100 as opposed to making multiple spends of cheap ticket items.

Amex gets to put the pressure on merchants through us, they still get the same commission (as it is based on % of spend rather than per transaction), and most importantly they still reward the cardholders with the points = happy customers, happy merchants, happy AMEX, less abuse.

I'd rather this than capping the points at 40k. Really dumb of them to do that. It'll only antagonise the genuine spenders resulting in 5 transactions of small ticket items, then nobody will use the card anymore in protest = Amex loses revenue from commission, has to pay everyone 40k in points, nobody pressures merchants to accept amex, cardholders get angry in the long run. In other words a failed attempt/promotion on their part.

What do you all think?

 

[skeltonl]

Will we get to see 1000 posts by the end of this week??

Yes - post 876

 

[skeltonl]

WHat AMEX is trying to combat now is abuse.

They still want people to spend (that's the idea isn't it?)

So IMO there is a very simple solution to address the abuse, without upsetting the spirit of the promotion.

....add in the condition of a minimum spend.

People are less likely to make multiple spends of $50 or $100 as opposed to making multiple spends of cheap ticket items.

Amex gets to put the pressure on merchants through us, they still get the same commission (as it is based on % of spend rather than per transaction), and most importantly they still reward the cardholders with the points = happy customers, happy merchants, happy AMEX, less abuse.

I'd rather this than capping the points at 40k. Really dumb of them to do that. It'll only antagonise the genuine spenders resulting in 5 transactions of small ticket items, then nobody will use the card anymore in protest = Amex loses revenue from commission, has to pay everyone 40k in points, nobody pressures merchants to accept amex, cardholders get angry in the long run. In other words a failed attempt/promotion on their part.

What do you all think?

But is it the aim of AMEX to change my behaviour and look for additional opportunities to use the card at places I haven't before and for different amounts = i.e I have changed where I buy lunch (usually around $10) to a place that takes AMEX because the other place only lets me use Visa or MC. If so capping at too high a level would be self defeating for them.

 

[ejb]

When will the "Guess the time of the 1000 post" thread start?

ejb

 

[skeltonl]

When will the "Guess the time of the 1000 post" thread start?

ejb

Do I get AMEX points for guessing right :mrgreen:

 

[benhadi]

But is it the aim of AMEX to change my behaviour and look for additional opportunities to use the card at places I haven't before and for different amounts = i.e I have changed where I buy lunch (usually around $10) to a place that takes AMEX because the other place only lets me use Visa or MC. If so capping at too high a level would be self defeating for them.

Yes of course it is, but by allowing small transactions to count it is subjecting itself to too much abuse, as is the case now i suspect (hence the reaction from them to find ways to limit their "losses"). In the ideal world it would be just that...ideal. But unfortunately good things like these will always be subject to abuse, hence SOME limits have to apply. $50 may be too much as a minimum spend to change people's spending habits, but say $30 should be middle ground.

I'm speculating here of course, as i do not have any figures to work with. But considering AMEX's response, i won't be surprised if they've figured out that it's costing them more than they're gaining at the moment. People's spending will change as a result of this promo, but they will also make the extra effort to split payments to maximise earning potential - this is where the problem is.

 

[nlagalle]

Without Prejudice

For All AFF’s Information

I just got off the telephone from my mate at Gordon and Slater.

He advises me that they have been informed by AMEX of the change to the terms and condition to the promotions IE 40,000 cap for the promotion period.

They are now awaiting written confirmation of this.

In the interim they are putting together a list of aggrieved card holders to analyses the possibility of putting forth a Class Action against AMEX for breaches under the Trade Practices Act (Cth) in addition they would also look to represent card holders in relation to complaints lodged with the Local Regulators IE ASIC ACCC and Dept of Fair Trading in each state and territory.

I will let you know the website once they have loaded onto the web.

This email is just to keep you informed of events and options that you may wish to take. No Legal Advice is provided nor promises of a compensation payout.

I still find this hard to believe. If AMEX were changing it, why is there still nothing on their website?

 

[skeltonl]

Yes of course it is, but by allowing small transactions to count it is subjecting itself to too much abuse, as is the case now i suspect (hence the reaction from them to find ways to limit their "losses"). In the ideal world it would be just that...ideal. But unfortunately good things like these will always be subject to abuse, hence SOME limits have to apply. $50 may be too much as a minimum spend to change people's spending habits, but say $30 should be middle ground.

I'm speculating here of course, as i do not have any figures to work with. But considering AMEX's response, i won't be surprised if they've figured out that it's costing them more than they're gaining at the moment. People's spending will change as a result of this promo, but they will also make the extra effort to split payments to maximise earning potential - this is where the problem is.

I agree with what you are saying in that it was foolish of AMEX to not set a minimum spend - I just think that there is a perception in the broader community that AMEX is the card you use for "bigger" purchases and not your everyday expenses. When I got my postcard I kept turnng it over and over looking for the minimum spend amount small print - in my head I kept expecting something like $10.