I just received a 30,000 point retention offer from American Express four my Amex Gold card
which I'll be able to redeem for over $1,000 so today let's walk through the process to
show you how you can do the exact same thing with your American Express gold card or really
any other premium credit card for that matter.
Alright let's jump right into it.
What is going on everyone I hope you are all having a fantastic day.
So as some of you know I have been a customer with American Express for quite a while and
up until recently when I opened the Capital One venture X card, my American Express gold
card was by far the product that I used most often.
But with me using this card less and my $250 annual fee having been posted I decided it
was time to give American Express a call and let them know that I was considering cancelling
this product.
Now if you all can keep a secret I'll be completely honest with you, I never actually intended
on canceling my gold card because despite the fact that I now use my venture X for a
lot of purchases, my gold card still gives me the best point value on dining and some
other categories and at $250 per year it easily pays for itself with the credits that I'm
able to use.
but with the platinum card now costing almost $700 per year and some other premium products
from other companies costing a lot, I can totally understand why someone would seriously
be considering cancelling a card like that and unless you're using the credits that the
gold card offers you, I can understand why you wouldn't want to pay $250 per year either.
so I'll be honest with you, getting a retention offer on the American Express gold card is
probably less likely than something like the platinum card again because it costs almost
three times as much per year but that doesn't mean it is impossible and as always it doesn't
hurt to ask especially if you are actually considering cancelling your gold card.
so just for some context before I show you exactly how to do this, I personally have
been a member of American Express since 2020 so only a few years and I usually spend $10,000
to $15,000 per year on my American Express gold card although that has gone down this
year.
But even with my relatively short membership and decrease in spending, American Express
still offered me 30,000 membership rewards points if I spend $3000 in the next three
months and I already have hotels picked out through Marriott bonnevoie that will allow
me to redeem this points for $0.04 per point meaning that retention offer is worth about
$1200 to me which will cover the annual fee for nearly five more years.
but I've heard of people getting even crazier offers then mine so let's walk through exactly
how to do this.
The first option in the strategy that I went with was simply calling the number on the
back of my phone.
Personally I think you have a better chance of getting a retention offer if you talk to
a real human live on the phone, explain your situation, and see what they can do for you.
I've requested retention offers at city, chase, and now American Express and have used every
possible combination and I can say that personally I always have better success by talking to
a real person on the phone.
So all you want to do is give them a call, and just say that you're concerned about the
value you're getting out of the card now that you're annual fee posted and that you're considering
cancelling but want to see if they have any retention offers currently.
the key phrase in there is that you are considering cancelling and you don't need to make up some
elaborate story of why or that you're switching this product just be honest and if you don't
feel like you're getting a good value out of this card then tell them that.
but keep in mind that American Express and any other credit card provider has already
paid a good amount of money to acquire you as a customer and in most cases it is less
expensive for them to give you a retention offer that you may or may not qualify for
than to spend on marketing to acquire a new customer.
So in my case the agent heckled with me for a bit and explained the different benefits
end credits that the gold card currently gives me and asked if I was currently using those
and for the most part the answer is yes.
But regardless of how you answer the questions you just want to come back to you don't feel
like you're getting enough value and you're considering cancelling.
if you keep coming back to those lines and you are kind and professional and polite with
the individual then there is a very high chance that they will give you some kind of retention
offer.
Now in my case it did have that spending requirement of $3000 in the next three months which personally
I don't think I'll have any problem hitting because I just bought a house and life is
really expensive but I have talked to individuals who received retention offers both for the
platinum card and the gold card where there was no spending requirements and they were
literally just given membership rewards points.
The other thing you want to keep in mind is even if you do jump through all those hoops
and they give you an offer you don't necessarily have to take that initial offer.
In the case of the gold card I find it very hard to believe that they would have given
me anything better then what they offered but if you have something like the Amex platinum,
remember that you are an active source of revenue for them because you are using that
card and they get a fee from the merchant every time you do so.
And because of that you have some solid ground to stand on so if you're not happy with the
first offer that they give you then you are able to counter but just be aware but you've
got to judge the conversation you don't want to push this too far and end missing out on
a good opportunity.
think of it like deal or no deal or Shark Tank but on a much smaller scale.
Now if you were horrified to talk to a person on the phone then with American Express and
pretty much every other credit card provider you do have the option to simply message an
agent through the app.
So on the American Express app you're simply going to open it up and log in and from this
home screen you'll see this chat bubble in the top right hand corner and you can click
that and you could then either call them right from here by clicking call us or you can select
the chat with us.
send a message saying the exact same thing we just talked about that you don't feel like
you're getting value and you're considering cancelling and they're likely going to haggle
with you and remind you of the benefits that you're currently getting but if you keep coming
back to that phrase just like talking to someone on the phone they will likely give you some
kind of retention offer especially if you spend a lot of money on this card each year.
So this process isn't that difficult but there is one other trap but I do want to make you
aware of that applies specifically to the gold card and that is what I call the upgrade
trap.
Thankfully I was able to avoid the upgrade trap this time but what I mean by this is
almost always when you request a retention offer for the American Express gold card they
are going to offer you an upgrade reward if you upgrade from the gold card to the platinum
card and usually they'll make you a very compelling offer of 100,000 points or more in some cases.
Depending on your spending and what you're able to justify that might actually be a really
smart move for you.
But you wanna make sure you think through that before getting on the phone or sending
them a message because as soon as you take the bait at all for that upgrade offer, it
is going to be incredibly difficult if not impossible to walk that one back and just
get a retention offer for the gold card.
Again it is all a numbers game for them at the end of the day so if they can distract
you with a flashy 6 figure signup bonus but ultimately get you to spend nearly three times
as much each year then who's really walking away as the winner went all is said and done.
So be clear on what you want to get out of the conversation before picking up the phone,
stick to your argument that you aren't getting enough value and you're considering cancelling
and of course be kind and polite and more than likely you are going to get a retention
offer that'll help pay for this card for the next several years if you use those points
properly.
I know this all might sound a little bit ridiculous but these are the games that us credit card
nerds play in order to fly first class for free!
I'd love to know what retention offer you were able to get on your American Express
gold card or some other premium credit card for that matter down in the comment section
below and while you’re down there be sure to check out some of my favorite financial
tools many of which will give you some free cash when you sign up which we always loved.
Thank you so much for your time I really do appreciate it so much take it easy and I'll
see you in the next one!