10,000 bonus points per 20 transactions

[Skoogle]

furthermore Coles and wollies had both complained about the number of multiple small transactions. Seems someone had told them about the program and they didn't like having their time wasted.

Cry me a river.

 

[simongr]

F trip around the world on a standard AAdvantage partner award = loophole

Don't know about this one.

A while ago the AA fare rules did not count the mileage between destinations with no stopovers. So you could fly syd-nrt on the routing syd-scl-jfk-lhr-nrt for the price of syd-nrt. Bit of an oversimplification - but something like this was done all in F and spouted about on FT I Think and the rules changed around the same time.

 

[nlagalle]

Simongr, the amex promo says they'll post points in 'one day' so transferors get into the draw on the 30th. Amex can't issue lottery entries 8 weeks after the prize was drawn. Kort, amex has decades on experience in promotions, and human nature, and yet didn't seek a minimum spend or impose a max number of transactions per day or per shop per day. Nor did they exclude certain companies like telecos. . I bet they factor into their costings an 'human nature' factor. Overall their marketing, accounting and legal people all somehow overlooked so much, ... or did they.

sorry bud, you are wrong. I've got the postcard for all three promos and they all say 8-10 weeks to post... I don't know where you saw "one day"

 

[oz_mark]

Cry me a river.

So how many types of bread rolls do Woolies sell?

 

[anat0l]

So how many types of bread rolls do Woolies sell?

Let's not go there.

I already get befuddled when you enumerate the number of different kinds of milk they sell.

 

[snufl]

After reading some of the more recent posts I can now understand why Amex have decided not to allocate the bonuses for 6-8 weeks. This will give them time to thoroughly check accounts for abuse and avoid the risk of having those points transferred out to other programs beforehand.

At least will save me checking my MR account umpteen times daily. I have set a reminder for 6 weeks in the future instead.

 

[oz_mark]

After reading some of the more recent posts I can now understand why Amex have decided not to allocate the bonuses for 6-8 weeks. This will give them time to thoroughly check accounts for abuse and avoid the risk of having those points transferred out to other programs beforehand.

At least will save me checking my MR account umpteen times daily. I have set a reminder for 6 weeks in the future instead.

What I want to know is if they have given a medal to the person who put that clause in!

 

[kamchatsky]

After reading some of the more recent posts I can now understand why Amex have decided not to allocate the bonuses for 6-8 weeks. This will give them time to thoroughly check accounts for abuse and avoid the risk of having those points transferred out to other programs beforehand.

At least will save me checking my MR account umpteen times daily. I have set a reminder for 6 weeks in the future instead.

Why bother checking? Just wait until someone in AFF check and tell us all us about it!

 

[lovetravellingoz]

(I am not suggesting that any account with low average transaction value is suspicious, just that this may be an obvious indicator for further scrutiny).

Firstly..interesting post...and you may well be spot on with the body of your post.

However I think that Amex will set a barrier such as 40,000 points per month (may be lower and may be higher) and will review in detail all activity (spend).

Anyone with a lowish bonus point earn would just get them. But anyone above a certain level would have all their spend reviewed.

This level of manual scutiny however would be an indication that the program was not well thought through.

It will be interesting to see what Amex deems as abuse as well. ie is frequent spending abuse?? You would think that given the wording of the original postcard "with no limit to the points you can earn" and as one of the exmples was a Cinema ticket (my local cinema has tickets as cheap as $4).

Having 100 transactions at Kmart in one day??? Is this abuse...can Amex say it is...and if they do where do they draw the line..at 1, at 3, at 10+ transactions...

I mentioned earlier in this thread that it will probably go back to what is reasonable once you rule at things such as on-line multi-increment bill splitting, multi-redemptions etc.

But with a "no limits" promotion what is reasonable???

You might now have to wait 10 weeks to find out...

 

[straitman]

It is truly amazing that despite the number of times people post the T&C and how many times explanations are given that some people here are so wound up by all this that they continue to post inaccurate information. Some of the recent round of posts are sufficiently off the mark, repetitive and misleading that I seriously suspect they must be deliberately misleading.

It's very frustrating for those who are attempting to get to the facts here.

At the same time I say thanks to all who are delving and posting correct information and keeping the balance correct.

At least will save me checking my MR account umpteen times daily. I have set a reminder for 6 weeks in the future instead.

snufl,

Great idea.

 

[holo]

The amex lass also says I never received a postcard so they've reversed me out of the 5k/5t promo onto a $1 per point plan. Apparently the lady who took my $80 joining fee signed me onto 5k/5t and Velocity but, somehow, from day 1, I was 'really' on a $1 plan. They've even wiped off 274 points for petrol, coffees, bourbon & cokes, wine and rasperberry lemonade followed 2 hours later (after the +1 returned from the medical centre) by a lunch and coffees. This is 'abuse' apparently.

Hello mate

I can't believe what Amex have done here. Amex themselves have confirmed even without a postcard they are honouring the original terms and conditions.

When did you sign up ?

As for the "abuse", no doubt you will challenge this, all you are doing is what the promo wanted, ie using Amex more, instead of cash or other card.

Have they confirmed in writing what they have done and why ?
Have you rung to talk to another CS rep to see if the story is the same ?

 

[simongr]

sorry bud, you are wrong. I've got the postcard for all three promos and they all say 8-10 weeks to post... I don't know where you saw "one day"

That what vet was told by a CSR (they report). They joined the MR program (cost $80) so they could rack up points in MR and transfer to Velocity multiple lots of 2,000 points to get multiple entries into a lottery that Velocity are running.

That is my recollection of the original posts by vet. It was all reported to be verbal assurances compounded by some points posting immediately.

 

[Skoogle]

So how many types of bread rolls do Woolies sell?

I don't buy bread, my trainer says it has too many complex sugars.

My comment was the thought of wollies/coles have a cry when they rip us off every day.

They all play a game of numbers by offering something, Wollies/Coles (cheaper petrol) & AMEX (this promo), and know that people will get lazy in taking up the offer. AMEX have been caught out and are blame us for running with it.

 

[kamchatsky]

Firstly..interesting post...and you may well be spot on with the body of your post.

However I think that Amex will set a barrier such as 40,000 points per month (may be lower and may be higher) and will review in detail all activity (spend).

Anyone with a lowish bonus point earn would just get them. But anyone above a certain level would have all their spend reviewed.


This level of manual scutiny however would be an indication that the program was not well thought through.

It will be interesting to see what Amex deems as abuse as well. ie is frequent spending abuse?? You would think that given the wording of the original postcard "with no limit to the points you can earn" and as one of the exmples was a Cinema ticket (my local cinema has tickets as cheap as $4).

Having 100 transactions at Kmart in one day??? Is this abuse...can Amex say it is...and if they do where do they draw the line..at 1, at 3, at 10+ transactions...

I mentioned earlier in this thread that it will probably go back to what is reasonable once you rule at things such as on-line multi-increment bill splitting, multi-redemptions etc.


But with a "no limits" promotion what is reasonable???

You might now have to wait 10 weeks to find out...

The fact that is that it takes 8-10 weeks to post the points, that makes it early december for them to post the points (around December 4) ...... and even that, it may or may not come out all at once, but will occur across the next 4 months (ie December - March) ...... So this thread should last at least until March next year (does not include any "legal action" proposals, court procedings etc) So surely this thread will become the most "popular" thread ever .....

Surely they are hoping that people will just get back to their "normal" spending (whatever that means) after the initial euphoria of bonus point "dies" ...... This may be actually a sensible thing ......

I wonder whether the person who paid the $1200 phone bill in $1 increments receives 1200000 points (lots of RTW tickets), or get his/her account cancelled.

 

[lovetravellingoz]

When I originally signed up I did not see anything in the T&C about the above NOT being allowed? When I enrolled, there was mention of "no limits to the number of points you can earn".....sure paying a phone bill in 1200 increments is unusual, but the person was still playing within the rules.

It doesn't seem fair/legal to chop and change the rules and then backdate those rules? Surely ACCC or Consumer Affairs would have something to say? Is it worth pusuing AMEX on this?


I admire the person who did that 1200 transactions!

Why would you admire them?
If they had read the original T&C it did say it was subject to the T&C of the MR Program which are much more detailed that what is on the postcard.

Paying a $1200 phone bill in $1 increments from the one CC is clearly nota reasonable action and clearly aimed at abusing the promotion.

They were just stupid and too greedy and most likely have been completely banned from the promotion.


I agree that the promotion T&C were too brief and were sloppily done...but the phone bill person (and I suspect they posted much earlier in this thread) was caught out.

 

[vet]

There's a dispute resolution service at Financial Ombudsman Service :: Home Page.

 

[lovetravellingoz]

Why do you admire them? They exploited a loop hole that has led to many other people losing out on the promo... yay great for them.

.

Why?

The 1200 by $1 can easily be called abuse and the person excluded.

It is only spin by Amex to say it is the reason for the change.


It is much easier for the Head of Marketing to send a memo to all the poor Amex CSRs who are getting hassled saying it was changed because some people are abusing the program, than to issue a memo to say Amex stuffed up and are trying to backpeddle.


When the AAAC gets around to reviewing Amex'es internal messages it is going to make mighty interesting reading.

 

[snufl]

They've even wiped off 274 points for petrol, coffees, bourbon & cokes, wine and rasperberry lemonade followed 2 hours later (after the +1 returned from the medical centre) by a lunch and coffees. This is 'abuse' apparently.

holo I don't think this necessarily means Amex are treating these transactions as abuse, they may be trying to recoup points already transferred out of the account. Whether or not they are justified doing that I can't judge.

 

[kamchatsky]

holo I don't think this necessarily means Amex are treating these transactions as abuse, they may be trying to recoup points already transferred out of the account. Whether or not they are justified doing that I can't judge.

Well so far I have not got any points deducted from my account .... I had some bonus points ...... and have move out to Qantas ...... Let's see if they do this to all of us ...

.... and post 1500

 

[pwanda]

I've confirmed again via phone that, as stated on the T&C, points may take upto 8-10 weeks to register, despite having already received multiple 5000 bonus points up until 24th Sept