Refunds: Do MR points get taken back?

[Keith009]

I was just wondering if AMEX will take back my MR points when the transaction which earns the points has been refunded?

I am about to put down a refundable (in the event that I fail to enter into a contract) reservation fee on an apartment to take it off the market for 7 days whilst I go through the fine print, and the vendor's solicitor takes AMEX. It's quite a large sum so it'd boost my points balance quite nicely.

 

[JohnK]

Sorry to say but yes Amex takes back MR points if a refund is issued.

I pre-paid a stay at Conrad Jupiters on the Gold Coast and earned MR points for the transaction and then was refunded 20% off for HPC and Amex took off the MR points earned previously for the amount of the refund....

 

[Keith009]

Thanks JohnK.

I hope the refund doesn't occur if my solicitor okays the contract, I mean - hopefully it counts towards the deposit I have to put down rather than being refunded to my card at the end of the reservation period.

 

[Keith009]

Eeeek I just noticed that there's a 3.025% surcharge for AMEX. Only 0.8% for VI/MC. :shock:

Given the amount is $2000, is the $60.50 surcharge worth it? I'd get 2060.50 x 1.5 = 3090 points.

Or should I just use my Visa debit card instead?

And no this isn't the same thing as a retailer I can simply walk away from.

 

[Flashback]

IME while the points will be reversed, the bonus points will not

 

[oz_mark]

IME while the points will be reversed, the bonus points will not

Not at the time of the refund. IME subsequent transactions get underpaid on the bonus till you've 'paid' the bonus points back

 

[Flashback]

Not at the time of the refund. IME subsequent transactions get underpaid on the bonus till you've 'paid' the bonus points back

Maybe I've just been lucky then, as I've not noticed that on any of my Tx...

 

[JohnK]

Eeeek I just noticed that there's a 3.025% surcharge for AMEX. Only 0.8% for VI/MC. :shock:

Given the amount is $2000, is the $60.50 surcharge worth it? I'd get 2060.50 x 1.5 = 3090 points.

It all depends on how much you value the MR points and whether you are in urgent need of MR points.

Generally I value MR points at 1c each so the surcharge would not be worth it but others value MR points more highly....

 

[serfty]

Maybe I've just been lucky then, as I've not noticed that on any of my Tx...

It does happen as oz_mark described; not obvious and quite weird!

 

[Flying Fox]

Normally transaction refunds are matched against the initial purchase transaction and therefore all activity related to the initial purchase is refunded (points and all).

Alternatively, you could ask for a refund via cheque and see if your vendor will allow it?

 

[equus]

Alternatively, you could ask for a refund via cheque and see if your vendor will allow it?

As they are imposing a surcharge to cover the Credit Card Merchant fee, there is no logical reason they should not refund via cheque if you request it - but that would not include refunding the surcharge. If refunding via the Credit card, the entire amount, surcharge and all should be refunded.

 

[serfty]

Normally transaction refunds are matched against the initial purchase transaction and therefore all activity related to the initial purchase is refunded (points and all). ...

This is to do with bonus points, like with the Platinum Amex credit card.

Make a $100 purchase you earn 100 MR points and 50 bonus MR points.

Credit that back and while 100 MR points are removed - there appears to be no specific transaction to remove the 50 bonus points. However, if you have a close look, subsequent transactions that earn bonus MR points are credited with less than they may have been under normal circumstances, eventually one will find the 50 bonus points has been "effectively" removed.

 

[jeejija]

Hi all,
What about the everyday spend bonus reward point (5000 bonus point for 5 tx)? If you refund something you bought during that promo now, will you get bonus points taken out? Does anyone know about this? Thx

 

[lovetravellingoz]

Hi all,
What about the everyday spend bonus reward point (5000 bonus point for 5 tx)? If you refund something you bought during that promo now, will you get bonus points taken out? Does anyone know about this? Thx

That particular promo introduceda T&C on just that.

So in theory yes.


However you may be lucky if it is done now...as a lot of manual crediting was obviously done and so it may not be picked up. Do a lot of refunds though and a flag will probably get tripped.

alternative would be to get the store to credit the amount to another item..ie no reversal.

 

[Keith009]

I've come to the conclusion that I shouldn't be paying that much extra for points and am hence doing a bank transfer. My heart sinks at the lost points opportunity, but my head tells me it's not worth it and I don't need the points urgently anyway.

Thanks for the advice nonetheless.

 

[SnowYeti]

That particular promo introduceda T&C on just that.

So in theory yes.


However you may be lucky if it is done now...as a lot of manual crediting was obviously done and so it may not be picked up. Do a lot of refunds though and a flag will probably get tripped.

alternative would be to get the store to credit the amount to another item..ie no reversal.

Sometimes retailers don't look carefully when doing returns. I had a $500 item on my AMEX and I did return it. I swiped my ANZ visa which at that point didn't have QF direct earn, so I got the money back on my ANZ and got to keep the bonus and normal points on my AMEX