10,000 bonus points per 20 transactions

[lovetravellingoz]

I am not sure why there is shock and horror about letters confirming that people will not receive points from all three bonuses...it is afterall what is clearly stated in the amended T&C which has been on-line for a while:

Can I enrol in the promotion more than once?
No, only one registration is permitted per eligible Cardmember.

American Express will be tracking instances of multiple enrolments and for those cases identified your Membership Rewards account will be amended to reflect one enrolment.

I do understand the agst about people being put into a different bonus category that they would like...but Amex has always had the right to vary T&C and are obviously enforcing that. Cardmembers agreed to this condition when they first gained their Amex Card.

To me the main issue that until that T&C and was changed (and there is a sub-issue about whether that should be Sep 20 or Sep 27)...that people should probably get what they registered for whether that be a single bonus or all 3.

If Amex "moves" someone...then they should get the original bonus rate until the date of that change. There was a statement somewhere about non- postcarded people being assigned the bonus rate that they would have gained if they had been sent a postcard.

However I would note that the promo runs till Dec31....and that the period from Sep 20 (or 27) till Dec 31 is a much greater period than Sep 16/17 (or whatever date you joined) till Sep 20(27).

Given that Amex can vary T&C as per the general MR T&C is it really worth worrying about the pre-Sep 20 (27) period......unless of course you are in that group of people that registered on Sep 20 till Sep 27 and thus may have a case to escape the cap?

 

[ColinP]

Colinp: They can charge 50% if they wish, it does not concern me, as I always pay my debts off before they gain any extra. Credit cards are meant to be used merely as a convenience, if people choose to spend beyond their means, that is their own fault.

You seem to have missed my point.
You accused some posters of being greedy.
I pointed out that I believe that Amex too is greedy.
Are you saying that you do not believe a rate of 25.99% (or in fact 50%) per annum is greedy?
The fact that you or I pay our account in full every month does not alter the fact that Amex are willing to charge an excessive (greedy) rate of interest.

You say that if people choose to spend beyond their means, that is their own fault and I agree with that up to a point, but If Amex allow people who are not targeted to enter multiple promotions that have ridiculously lax T&Cs, that is their own fault.

 

[lovetravellingoz]

, buy many ultra cheap items etc, to gain more transactions is greedy, and, amoral.

.

I cannot agree at all on this point.

The whole thrust of this promo was to encourage spending on "everday" items such as a cup of coffee....and a cup of coffee is clearly a cheap item. I dare say it is also why the bonus is flat value per 5/10/20 transactions rather than a per $ spent bonus.

We mean the types of legitimate purchases that you make everyday, like buying a coffee, picking up lunch or a movie ticket.


Elsewhere on the main Amex site at present Amex is extolling one to use the card for everyday spend instead of cash.

A senior Amex official came on this forum via a mod encouraging us to get out and visit (spend) at the thousands of new businesses that they have signed up.

So using your Amex to buy a coffee, or a pie, or a sandwich or whatever is all fine...and what Amex wanted us to do (and no doubt wants us to keep doing post-promotion).

 

[file51]

I cannot agree at all on this point.

The whole thrust of this promo was to encourage spending on "everday" items such as a cup of coffee....and a cup of coffee is clearly a cheap item.

We mean the types of legitimate purchases that you make everyday, like buying a coffee, picking up lunch or a movie ticket.


Elsewhere on the main Amex site at present Amex is extolling one to use the card for everyday spend instead of cash.

A senior Amex official came on this forum via a mod encouraing us to get out and viist (spend) at the thousands of new businesses that they have signed up.

So using your Amex to buy a coffee, ora pie, or a sandwich or whatever is all fine...and what Amex wanted us to do (and no doubt wants us to keep doing post-promotion).

All you need to do is look at the 5000 for 5 transacs card that was sent to Sydney cardholders, very nice white mug full to the brim of coffee (actually, more like a capuccino) with 5 sprinkled on the top with choc powder.

i.e. bit suggestive maybe??? coffee anyone???

I will call a spade a spade pomjim, and it looks like a case of jealousy at potentially missing the boat with this promo (i.e. registering when some real T&C were published)

 

[oz_mark]

All you need to do is look at the 5000 for 5 transacs card that was sent to Sydney cardholders, very nice white mug full to the brim of coffee (actually, more like a capuccino) with 5 sprinkled on the top with choc powder.

I would have much preferred the picture of a 5 rather than the 10 that was sprinkled in the coffee on my card.

 

[vet]

amex, y'Honour, is a fairy godmother. She was coffee mugged by greedy people on her way to the Piggy Bank. She is not, sir, stealing points in the night like some $anti-Clau$e.

I have a vague recollection there's a historical anomaly that encourages corporates to be incorporated in Delaware. I wanna know why the fairy godmother lives there instead of Lichtenstein, Monaco or the North Pole.

 

[Mal]

25.99% is the new rate on amex from 8th October according to a little note at the bottom of my list of transactions.

Which Amex? None of mine show this type of interest rate increase.

I suspect that Amex have put your account into "penalty" status, and you should follow up with them as to why.

Normally 25.99% applies to accounts that have missed repaying the minimum payment for a month, and is not paid by the following month; or four or more missed minimum payments in a rolling twelve month period.

Alternatively, they penalise accounts that have missed three minimum payments in a twelve month period with an additional 4% interest - which would bring some Amex cards up to a 25.99% rate.

It's all documented in their T&C's.

 

[vet]

no default rate, I pay the blue card once or twice a week by both cheque and e-transfer (which I'm new to). I have a tiny limit of $1500 - hence the regular payments - because I never bothered using the card except in emergencies because, well, I thought qff seats were nigh on impossible to get and few businesses accepted amex.

I will take up the tiny notification of the pending new rate with Amex.

 

[vet]

Re: 25.99%!!!

Checked again. The online statement for October definitely says the interest rate is increasing on 8th Nov to 25.99%. In contrast my rarely used Virgin Money card ,which doesn't give any points, says interest is 14.74%.

That's a whopping 11.25% difference.

'Too generous to be true' were Amex's words. I'm certain too Amex isn't recouping the cost of this promo from the many customers who aren't on the promo scheme and can't repay the card in full every month.

 

[oz_mark]

Here is an article on the interest rate policy of Amex from 2006.

Cardholders dealt a very poor hand - moneymanager.com.au

As Mal says, it does appear that this is the rate you have been put on.

 

[Mal]

Here is an article on the interest rate policy of Amex from 2006.

One of the Amex blurbs sent out with cards is here: http://www.americanexpress.com/australia/pdfs/customerservice/crd_Intrst_rt_plcy.pdf (It has a date in 2006, so I'm not sure it's the current version)

Although, when I was doing some checks earlier saw that "Blue" had a pretty high Interest rate earlier this year compared to other cards in the Amex series. So perhaps it really is now 25.9% :shock:

 

[oz_mark]

On the surface it looks as that is where the 25.99% has come from. Given that vet, has been making weekly payments then it would seem difficult to fathom why and will need a call to Amex to understand the reasons.

The only thing I can think of is that somewhere along the way some payments haven't been creditted between the Statements date and the due date. But if there are weekly payments being made, hard to see how this could be the case.

I had a collegue in a situation once of having a large balance due on his CC, so he decided that he would work it off by making payments on pay day. Good idea you would think, but his statements typically were issued two days after pay day, so he was not actually making payments between the statement date and the due date, he was actually paying early. Kept getting hit with fees for not making the payments!

 

[simongr]

Simongr: Sorry, but I do not believe that anyone who signed up for all three promos believed they were in fact eligible for all three. The fact that some people signed for all three and expected points from them all, and then get upset/angry because they don’t get that, is, in my opinion, simply greedy.

I am not sure why there is shock and horror about letters confirming that people will not receive points from all three bonuses...it is afterall what is clearly stated in the amended T&C which has been on-line for a while:

I think you will find that myself and others complaining about the letters are complaining about being on the 10T/5K promo rather than not being eligible for all three promos.

I expected to end up on one promo after the first information from Amex and if this had been 5K/5T then I would have been happy.

As Amex are not playing ball and if I don't go on the 5K/5T then I will push the all three promos line.

If I call tomorrow and am put on 5K/5T and bonus points are reinstated to the correct level then this is a non-issue for me.

 

[JohnK]

Received a letter stating that I signed up for all promotions and have been put on the 10 transactions/5,000 MR points promotion. It also mentins that this is the promotion I would have been eligible for had I been targetted. No mention on cap of points and that transactions are valid from 17 September 2008.

Now as far as I remember I was not targetted. Cannot confirm as I mentioned that junk mail sometimes gets lost in the house. I am not complaining as I only had 17 transactions in September and so far in October I have <20 transactions which I may push to 30 by the end of October.

If the trend continues then I may end up with 50,000 MR points. If I was on the 5 transactions/5,000 points promotion I may have been able to get 100,000 MR points. Yes the loss sounds significant but not the end of the world.

I will wait and see how other people fare with Amex, ACCC, Consumer Affairs etc before doing anything. I may just leave it alone and not bother taking it further....

 

[JohnK]

25.99% is the new rate on amex from 8th October according to a little note at the bottom of my list of transactions. Are all amex customers on this usurious rate or only those on the bonus promo? Many punters will be paying for their flights in interst:shock:

I hope not. As far as I am aware the interest rate is 19.99% on my Gold card and 20.49% on my Qantas Amex premium card.

An interest rate of 25.49% would not be a great result considering a pay a lot of interest every month....

 

[Mal]

I expected to end up on one promo after the first information from Amex and if this had been 5K/5T then I would have been happy.

As Amex are not playing ball and if I don't go on the 5K/5T then I will push the all three promos line.

My view is pretty similar. I could argue for all three promo's, but not sure if I want to go down that line from a moral standpoint. As I've indicated earlier - I'm not a B@stard by nature.

That said, I am a bit annoyed that Amex chose the middle ground as to where they put me, and retrospectively reversed points out of my MR account twice without information as to why. Plus their changes to T&C's mid promo...

Can't decide if I want to send a simple letter back "reject your information - I want to be on the 5/5000 offer, or all three promos" (via registered mail) to both prove that I've tried to deal with Amex and also to advise them that I reject their change in T&C's. Otherwise, do I just wait till the end of the promotion.

Choices, choices.

 

[JohnK]

The letter has possible errors though. If I read it properly, I now get points every 10 transactions - regardless of overseas spends and similar (previously denied) categories. They should have summarised the supposed new T&C's that they tried to backdate for me.

This would be great for me as I have a fair few overseas transactions in New Zealand, Singapore and Thailand after I signed up for the promotion.

 

[JohnK]

Re: 25.99%!!!

Checked again. The online statement for October definitely says the interest rate is increasing on 8th Nov to 25.99%. In contrast my rarely used Virgin Money card ,which doesn't give any points, says interest is 14.74%.

After reading your post a second time I definitely checked online for the Gold card and The Qantas Amex premium and there is no mention of an rise in interest rate.

On a sadder note Citibank have increased their rate from 17.75% to 17.99% on 2 October after the official interest rate has been decreased by the reserve bank twice recently....

 

[straitman]

Re: 25.99%!!!

After reading your post a second time I definitely checked online for the Gold card and The Qantas Amex premium and there is no mention of an rise in interest rate.

On a sadder note Citibank have increased their rate from 17.75% to 17.99% on 2 October after the official interest rate has been decreased by the reserve bank twice recently....

My card has no mention of a change in interest rate.

I find it interesting that these CC rates are drifting upward whilst all other bank rates are on the way down.

 

[jingles]

Alright, now i have only just found this thread and going through 200+ pages is going to take me a long time.

Is there a post, or can someone provide me with a little info about the best one to sign up with?

Thanks