Amex "I'm going to cancel my card" - bonus points given thread.

[shuuy]

Don't mention the fee being the reason.

Talk about the degradation in services and issues you've had in the last year (e.g., calling me about a potential fraudulent transaction 13 hours after it happened)

 

[Quattro]

So I finally went to cancel the platinum charge card as I wasn't using it:

120,000 points if I keep the card open until January 2026. No spend criteria (I asked given it was a timeline to keep open)

Points received 23/12/25

 

[Catweazle]

Seems like pot luck most of the time, for the majority of us.

 

[Strikes]

No luck here (Platinum Charge). Second year in a row with a no, previously every year prior successful. Probably don't think I'll worry trying anymore. Referenced devaluation etc. Was polite about enquiring, although I definitely feel the service these days at times is often blasé at best.

 

[elogic]

Just called to see if there was an offer , been with Amex for more than 10yrs , putting north of 1.2M /yr on the business card . told there was no offer currently and checking back another time might produce a retention offer , was asked if the devaluation was a reason for my calling today .

Will try again closer to the yearly fee roll over , has anyone else had luck with a similar spend ?

 

[Kimster]

Just called to see if there was an offer , been with Amex for more than 10yrs , putting north of 1.2M /yr on the business card . told there was no offer currently and checking back another time might produce a retention offer , was asked if the devaluation was a reason for my calling today .

Will try again closer to the yearly fee roll over , has anyone else had luck with a similar spend ?

300K points - similar spend. See my post from Nov 25. Points were due to be posted in Jan 26 but received them on the 23rd of this month. Good Luck

 

[Welsh-Kiwi]

Platinum Edge in NZ. No offer of points. $100k spend PA. The operator said retention bonuses were not being offered anymore…..

 

[lovestotravel]

Plat charge
350k annual spend
No retention offers

Overseas agent just reading a script

Pathetic

 

[lovestotravel]

Ill try again for an aussie agent next week

 

[Franko Costa]

Plat charge
350k annual spend
No retention offers

Overseas agent just reading a script

Pathetic

I think they can offer retention on biz cards only. For personal cards, there is some game when you need to cancel, but then open it again to get a retention. I could be wrong though

 

[lovestotravel]

Tried again today

Got through to an Aussie agent straight away after following the cancellation IVR/prompts - Was asked why, mentioned devaluation etc. Said I'd get transferred to cancellation team

Was on hold for about 10 mins, the same bloke comes back and says they are busy but he can read me the cancellation script.

I then paused and said I had a few questions, talked more about all the changes over 12 months, and then suddenly he said the cancellation team was available.

Was transferred offshore/Philippines and the agent couldn't care less and just wanted to read the script.

Oh well no points to be had.

 

[Twister292]

My understanding is the responsible lending criteria that were introduced a few years ago also required card issuers to cancel cards on client request with no impediment or hindrance, including any offers or incentives. The client themselves asking for them is a grey area though.

 

[albyd]

I think that it’s not a grey area. The rules apparently know best to protect us from ourselves and wanting to load up on debt. We as consumers can’t be trusted … yes, I am being facetious but that’s the way the system is now.

 

[MathNerd]

I think that it’s not a grey area. The rules apparently know best to protect us from ourselves and wanting to load up on debt. We as consumers can’t be trusted … yes, I am being facetious but that’s the way the system is now.

This is what happens when you have to cater to the lowest common denominator these days... And there's plenty of them around, trust me - I deal with a majority of them on a daily basis!

 

[sudoer]

My understanding is the responsible lending criteria that were introduced a few years ago also required card issuers to cancel cards on client request with no impediment or hindrance, including any offers or incentives. The client themselves asking for them is a grey area though.

This is why you never directly say "I want to cancel my card".

You say things like "I am considering cancelling my card due to reductions in benefits by Amex. Are there any replacement benefits coming or is there anything else Amex can offer to improve the value proposition?"

 

[lovestotravel]

This is why you never directly say "I want to cancel my card".

You say things like "I am considering cancelling my card due to reductions in benefits by Amex. Are there any replacement benefits coming or is there anything else Amex can offer to improve the value proposition?"

Tried that on both occasions

 

[albyd]

I think they don’t much care now as they’ve met their objective to get us using Amex for everyday spend. Some cancellations at the margin won’t make much difference to Amex so I imagine aside from a mass closure, they’re unlikely to offer us all incentives to stay.

 

[RAM]

Unfortunately the 'great unwashed' are so apathetic they just accept it. Just look at how Q has consistently increased the 'other fees & taxes' component for award bookings.

About a decade (probably longer) ago I looked at the cost of an awards booking (out of interest) for SYD HNL rtn on JetStar. The cash price was around $70ish more than the 'other fees & taxes' on the award booking which itself was 10,000s of points.

..and so the game continues.

A few decades back, Australia's largest (then) life insurance company got outed by a disgruntled ex-employee who'd photocopied the entire procedures manual for dealing with claims. Most media (back then) didn't want to touch it - perhaps due to loss of advertising revenue.

One finally ran with it. The most appalling procedure was along the lines:
"No claim shall be passed onto the claims department until after it has been refused four times. Refusals will be sent from amongst the samples shown in Appendix A."

Eventually they were fined about 1% of their annual profit for 1 year - but their reputation was trashed and became a 'talk back radio' favourite for a few years.