Double Dipping The Amex Platinum Retention Offer & Why The Terms Are Scary

American Express Platinum Retention Offers 2020

American Express is in a bit of a tough position given how heavily their credit card business is reliant on the travel industry. Many of their cards serve the premium market with products like the Amex Platinum coming with a hefty annual fee. People pay that annual fee largely because of the travel benefits the card provides.

With most people not traveling they have had to shift into offering other benefits in order to get people to keep their cards. For the personal American Express Platinum card that has meant adding a $200 Amex Travel credit and up to $320 in streaming or telephone credits through the end of the year.

While the new benefits American Express added are nice, both mine and my wife’s personal Amex Platinum cards came up for renewal at $550 each. I wasn’t convinced that the added benefits were enough for us to keep the cards, especially considering we have a Business Platinum card as well.

Current Retention Offer: Amex, Chase & Citi Retention Offer Data Points

The American Express Platinum Retention Call

Earlier today my wife Jasmine called up American Express to see if there were any offers on her Platinum card and also to pass the phone to me so I could check as well. Jasmine had called American Express retention just a couple of weeks ago (right before the new benefits were announced) and she was told to wait for that announcement.

Since the new benefits weren’t enough to convince us, she called back today and made her way to the American Express Platinum retention line. To reach American Express Platinum retention she called the number on the back of her American Express Platinum card and informed the agent she was thinking about cancelling her Platinum card.

The Platinum Retention Offer

I wish I could tell you a fancy story about the retention offer and give you an in-depth analysis of whether it made sense to take it or not, but it’s so simple that isn’t required. We both received the following American Express Platinum retention offer.

• 30,000 Membership Rewards points with no spend required

Of course we both accepted, but there was a HUGE catch.

Amex Platinum Retention – Very Strict Terms

While the 30,000 Membership Rewards point Amex Platinum retention offer is pretty amazing, it comes with some strings. During the call the agent read a disclosure that had some very strict language. Here are the highlights.

• Points will post in 8-12 weeks
• You agree that you are going to keep and not cancel or downgrade your American Express Platinum card in the next 12 months
• If American Express suspects you of rewards gaming they reserve the right to take back your points from this offer and to close ALL of your accounts

As we have documented many times American Express has a Rewards Abuse Team (RAT) that has been very agressive the past couple of years at shutting down gamers. We plan to keep the cards for the year so we obviously took the offer.

How Much Do We Use Our American Express Platinum Cards?

One way American Express determines whether they want your business is by looking at how much you spend on your cards. My wife and I spend hundreds of thousands of dollars a year on Amex cards through our businesses, however we don’t spend much on our Platinum cards. Here is what we spent on each card in the past 12 months.

• Jasmine’s Amex Platinum spending: ~$1,800
• Shawn’s Amex Platinum spending: ~$2,400

Others have received higher retention offers on their Platinum cards, however with such little spend I am happy with the offer we were given.

Why We Are Keeping the Platinum Cards

While people will value American Express Membership Rewards points differently, even if we assign a very conservative value of 1 cent each, this 30,000 point offer adds up to $300 in value. I actually value them a bit higher so this offer made even more sense to me.

We will also receive the following credits in the next 12 months from each of our Platinum cards:

• $200 in Uber credits
• $320 streaming/telephone credits
• $200 Amex Travel Credit
• $200 Airline Incidental Fee Credit
• $100 Saks credit

Plus we continue to have Centurion lounge access, Priority Pass, Amex Fine Hotels & Resorts, the Amex Concierge and all of the other Platinum benefits. I think that is worth the $550 annual fee. Thanks Amex!

Other Recent American Express Platinum Retention Offers

While I am happy with our American Express Retention offer, others have reported receiving different terms from American Express while some people don’t get an offer at all. We track retention offers for Chase, Amex & Citi in a separate post, but I thought it was worth mentioning some of the American Express Platinum retention offers we have seen as of the time of posting.

• 200,000 Membership Rewards points or $2,000 statement credit with no spend required (this person had spent over $100,000 on the card last year)
• 50,000 Membership Rewards points with no spend required
• 50,000 Membership Rewards points or $500 statement credit with no spend required
• $500 statement credit with no spend required
• 30,000 Membership Rewards points with no spend required
• 30,000 Membership Rewards points or $300 statement credit after $4,000 spend in 90 days
• 20,000 Membership Rewards points or $200 statement credit after $3,000 spend in 90 days
• 20,000 Membership Rewards points after $3,000 spend in 90 days

While I’m a bit jealous of the person who was offered 200K and those who received the 50K offer with no spend, I am happy with the offers we received and the value they provide.

American Express Platinum Retention Offers – Bottom Line

American Express Platinum retention offers will definitely vary by individual, however if your card is up for renewal and you aren’t sure of the value it provides in today’s world then absolutely have a discussion with them about it. It’s pretty clear Amex is paying us to keep our Platinum cards for another year and I’m definitely okay with that.

Have you recently received an American Express Platinum retention offer? Did they read you those same terms? Share your experience in the comments!

Disclosure: Miles to Memories has partnered with CardRatings for our coverage of credit card products. Miles to Memories and CardRatings may receive a commission from card issuers.

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