Amex platinum Charge annual fee increase

[mini2]

Got to give it to them...they've actually acknowledged receiving my complaint by sending me a letter. That's it. FFS the last couple of times I had to go through this with CBA and Citibank, they will call me, give me the case manager details and also provide a confirmation in the mail as well. Talk about paying $1200 for nothing.

What is this 1 free extra seat on a plane deal????

Free companion tix on certain airlines but J and above.

 

[quokka77]

Ok, managed to speak to retention / cancellation team (based in Sydney). They wouldn't budge on reducing the fee even though I can prove entitlement to a reduced rate for the same card through a professional membership. They want me to cancel the card and reapply through the affiliate link. Hmm. I have worked out it costs me $20 per month to keep the card at its current cost vs canceling then reapplying ($100 per month vs $80). Well I think what I will do is hold onto it until I finish the European family holiday and the USA work trip in May, and get a pro rata refund. Then it will be goodnight for the platinum charge for the time being. I can't see myself reapplying even at the reduced fee via the professional association. Rather I'll see if I can live with the insurance offered by my other card providers and if not purchase a policy from one of the better value insurers (I find canstar useful for such decisions).

 

[vet]

Free companion tix on certain airlines but J and above.

I found the "free flight" confusing (I could use stronger language).

J is First Class or Business???? Is the Free toff seat really free????

They were pinged by the ASIC or ACCC a while back for offering 'free seats', and they had to refund annual fees iirc. Hmmm. Fos might get busy

Yep: Here t'is from 10 years ago:
[TABLE="class: acccTable, width: 693"]
[TR]
[TD="class: acccTD"]30[SUP]th[/SUP] July 2004[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TH="align: left"]Undertaking[/TH]
[TD="class: acccTD"]American Express (Amex) advertised its International Airline Program (IAP) for Platinum Cardmembers as entitling them to purchase a specially negotiated ticket for first or business class air travel on a participating airline and receive a free, complimentary or bonus companion ticket entitling a second person to accompany the Cardmember on that trip.

The price charged by Amex suggested that the companion ticket offer was not free, bonus or complimentary.

The undertakings offered by Amex include:

• writing to Cardmembers who were misled and offering a refund of one year’s Platinum Card membership fee or an amount of 10 per cent of the cost of the first fare purchased under the IAP, depending upon individual circumstances; and
• a review of Amex’s Trade Practices compliance program.

[/TD]
[/TR]
[/TABLE]

 

[mini2]

I found the "free flight" confusing (I could use stronger language).

J is First Class or Business???? Is the Free toff seat really free????

Business.

It's not free...a lot of the times if you use Skyscanner or the Google tix thingie you could end up buying 2 tix for less.

 

[vet]

I was confused by the 'free flight' thing: the unsolicited plat coloured cards look alike, I think I only got 1 point per $, the Amex rep told me the renewal fee was going to be $1200 (but I think I have another plat colored card??), the routes were domestic not international, the routes aren't all the airline's routes, the routes weren't relevant, the flights weren't free either, and the card's insurance wasn't somehow as good as a 'real' Amex travel insurance policy. The rep also said things, to a person with the Securities Exchange Commission and the direct line to the DoJ's lead prosecutor in US Gov v Amex and the cell # for directors for auditors, that might sound right to laypeople but don't sound right to me.

 

[vet]

last couple of times I had to go through this with CBA and Citibank, they will call me, give me the case manager details and also provide a confirmation in the mail as well. Talk about paying $1200 for nothing. Free companion tix on certain airlines but J and above.

CBA wrote $30k off my card: they were pinged for market manipulation. I'm looking at Citi re Hayes and Libor:

 

[Rono]

Quokka ( and others)

My card renewal fee will be generated at the end of this month. I have made two calls about a week apart. Spoke to Nick here in Oz, he was helpful and said someone from the customer retention team would call me at the end of last week at an agreed time. No one called, so I called Amex this week. Spoke to Ben here in Oz, Ben said that there is no customer retention team and hasn't been one for about 18 months. (Yet I read here that other AFF people are still referring to a customer retention team)I will be looking at cancelling the Amex Plat card and may be replacing it with a Gold or Green (which is where I started way back in 1985). No one from Amex is making any attempt/offer from what I can see to stop us leaving.

Comments anyone??

regards

Rono

Renewal fee due in 7 days. Have placed a couple of calls re fee reduction (just joined a professional association which gets reduced fee) but retentions team for Australia only work 9 to 5.30 AEDST so missed out on trying to negotiate this with them today. Don't really want to have to cancel and reapply (trip insurance for upcoming journeys is the main reason) but will have to consider it if they won't budge on the fee for my unaffiliated card. A bit tedious but probably worth it in the long run.

 

[desiredusername]

Quokka ( and others) Spoke to Ben here in Oz, Ben said that there is no customer retention team and hasn't been one for about 18 months. (Yet I read here that other AFF people are still referring to a customer retention team)I will be looking at cancelling the Amex Plat card and may be replacing it with a Gold or Green (which is where I started way back in 1985). No one from Amex is making any attempt/offer from what I can see to stop us leaving.

Comments anyone??regards Rono

I can't work this out. There's one free international business class seat worth say $5000+ for every cardholder's (say) spouse who flies with the cardholder who paid $900 a while ago and now will pay $1200.

And all so the plat card holders buys a coffee for $4 to earn 3 points per dollar - being points with no cash value according to T&Cs - from a merchant the Amex reps signed upon 2% of every cup. Huh????

Why don't merchants just sell a cup of coffee for $1200 and give away a free flight with every soy milk latte?

It just sounds obscence to give away a free business or first class seat with every $1200 cup of coffee. Are they going broke or have they hooked enough defaulters onto 20%+ interest rates. I know that if I went to my bank manager with their idea, he'd call the psych hospital to come get me.

 

[greenfrog86]

I was confused by the 'free flight' thing: the unsolicited plat coloured cards look alike, I think I only got 1 point per $, the Amex rep told me the renewal fee was going to be $1200 (but I think I have another plat colored card??), the routes were domestic not international, the routes aren't all the airline's routes, the routes weren't relevant, the flights weren't free either, and the card's insurance wasn't somehow as good as a 'real' Amex travel insurance policy. The rep also said things, to a person with the Securities Exchange Commission and the direct line to the DoJ's lead prosecutor in US Gov v Amex and the cell # for directors for auditors, that might sound right to laypeople but don't sound right to me.

You certainly do sound confused...

1. Some people in this thread have been talking about a deal where you get a 'cheaper' or 'companion' fare when you book a full priced flight (business or first) through Amex travel. This is different to the free flight

2. as a holder of the 'Platinum Charge Card' you pay $1200 in annual fee. You are entitled to the 'Platinum Reserve Card' with no annual fee (this would normally cost about $400). This Reserve card (whether obtained in partnership with the platinum charge or by itself) entitles you to a free flight with Virgin Australia. This flight is to selected destinations and from some departure points it will include international flights such as Bali or New Zealand, in addition to domestic flights to most domestic locations. You must take out this Reserve card in order to get the free flight. This flight costs you nothing. This card is a credit card and runs as a separate card with a separate due date, however the award points are all pooled into the same account as your platinum charge card. The points earn is the same for both the Reserve and the Platinum Charge - it is the 1/2/3 model that Amex has moved to. This card will also have a separate insurance policy to the charge card - if you don't think it meets your needs then I'd suggest you look at the insurance available to you under the charge card.

As a reference point, I have both cards and only ever put charges through the Platinum Charge. I hold the Reserve card for the free flight and its also a back-up card should something happen while I'm traveling overseas. Yes the model of having two accounts can be a little frustrating but I really don't find that it outweighs the benefits of the flight.

I think you'll find the members here are generally supportive and if there is something you are wanting to understand about the cards they will be willing to help, or if you have specific comments on Amex Australia then you might find some supporters who are in the same boat.

We are also generally an accepting lot - if you have thoughts people will listen even if they don't agree. I'm not sure that you have to keep repeating your 'connections' in each post. These aren't necessary for you to have an opinion or for people to believe that you have something important to say.

I hope your experience with Amex either improves or you end your relationship with them - either way I think you'll be happier for it.

 

[ronnie66]

Unfortunately being accepted for the Platinum Charge doesnt mean you will get accepted for the Reserve. It is a ticket in a lottery - even though the income treshold of the Charge is higher Amex can still (and will) refuse the Reserve if they want to, without any explanation. So it is not an automatic perk for the Charge. I put in a complaint about this process - see earlier thread. Currently under investigation.

 

[greenfrog86]

Unfortunately being accepted for the Platinum Charge doesnt mean you will get accepted for the Reserve. It is a ticket in a lottery - even though the income treshold of the Charge is higher Amex can still (and will) refuse the Reserve if they want to, without any explanation. So it is not an automatic perk for the Charge. I put in a complaint about this process - see earlier thread. Currently under investigation.

Yes I understand this is a common problem and agree that it is ridiculous to suggest it is a benefit when they assess you separately - they should do a credit assessment for both products up front and make getting the Reserve simpler.

My post was designed however to explain the operation of these two cards when held together... It certainly is possible to get both and many people will hold both cards. Where this is the case, my post above is how they work.

I'd be incredibly angry however if I was approved to get the $1200 card and had to wait months or a year before I could get the flight benefit!

 

[ronnie66]

Understand your point. Just needed to vent my frustration again. Sorry.

I am still not approved and indeed for 1200$ the flight is a perk that one would expect.

But again: sorry didn't want to ruin your point.

 

[Diesellife]

I wonder why your card is not approved. Do you have bad credit or been applying to many?

 

[vet]

Understand your point. Just needed to vent my frustration again. Sorry.

I am still not approved and indeed for 1200$ the flight is a perk that one would expect.

But again: sorry didn't want to ruin your point.

Have mine. According to rep I have a few ... floating around somewhere ???? They not only send them out unsolictited they email unrelated 3rd parties too. I'm waiting for a response and I've escalated it to the Privacy Commissioner.

 

[lovestotravel]

Wow - I thought the Credit Card was simply an automatic extension of the charge card!

But then again it has a credit limit so carries another risk for Amex!

 

[vet]

'17 January 2014





The as-yet-unknown assailants behind the Target breach demonstrated a high level of sophistication in their attack.

This is the conclusion of federal investigators who say that the evidence suggests foreign influence, as part of the malware code was written in Russian, the Wall Street Journal reported on Jan. 16.

The Journal spoke with iSight, one of the security firms working with the government on the investigation. Senior vice president Tiffany Jones said that those behind the attack used tools to conceal their methods in ways difficult for federal investigators to track.

"What's really unique about this one is it's the first time we've seen the attack method at this scale," she said. "It conceals all the data transfers. It makes it really hard to detect in the first place."

this sounds rather frightening.

 

[ronnie66]

Nothing like that. Otherwise no reason to complain. Have only 2 creditcards! And a "clean" credit file etc. Hence my frustration.

 

[Diesellife]

Nothing like that. Otherwise no reason to complain. Have only 2 creditcards! And a "clean" credit file etc. Hence my frustration.

I believe the problem lies with your "clean" credit history - Amex generally doesn't like to approve credit card for people with little or no credit history.
Perhaps Amex approved your charge card because it has to be paid off fully every month and the credit exposure can be adjusted accordingly (no pre-set limit).

However, the same principle does not apply for credit card applications. Statistically, young people with little or no credit history carry higher risks compared to other population. Not saying that you are bad with your credit, but your application is assessed with the basic statistic that includes the general population.

I believe you will be approved sooner or later, all you need to do is continue to use your charge card frequently, then pay it off on time. Should be able to get it after 6 months - 1 year of usage.
PS: Amex also assesses highly on their internal card history.

 

[vet]

Another problem may lay in some reforms by Gillard-Rudd that make it easier for cc companies to compare notes.

 

[ronnie66]

I believe the problem lies with your "clean" credit history - Amex generally doesn't like to approve credit card for people with little or no credit history.
Perhaps Amex approved your charge card because it has to be paid off fully every month and the credit exposure can be adjusted accordingly (no pre-set limit).

However, the same principle does not apply for credit card applications. Statistically, young people with little or no credit history carry higher risks compared to other population. Not saying that you are bad with your credit, but your application is assessed with the basic statistic that includes the general population.

I believe you will be approved sooner or later, all you need to do is continue to use your charge card frequently, then pay it off on time. Should be able to get it after 6 months - 1 year of usage.
PS: Amex also assesses highly on their internal card history.

Thank you for your analyses. However I have been an Amex customer for years. And before moving to a Platinum Charge I had the Krisflyer Amex.
Always paid of my credit cards every month. Maybe nothing to earn for them; but at least they could be honest about it.
It