American Express Didn’t Post my 35% Platinum Card Rebate – Now what?
One of the fantastic features of the American Express Business Platinum card is the 35% rebate on Business and First class flights when you redeem your membership rewards. When you find a killer deal, you can use your Membership Rewards to pay for it, get 35% back, and then also EARN miles on the flight since technically, it was a paid cash ticket.
That all sounds great on paper, but what happens when the points DON’T post like they’re supposed to. It might not be as easy as you think…
Welcome to my personal hell.
First Stop, The Chat Bot
I love that American Express has an online chat system. You can actually talk to someone and get them to help you without wasting your time online. The problem? They’re not always the best.
I made the purchase back on August 22nd, and the points were indeed deducted out of my account…
I first wrote in about a month ago since I saw most of my friends posting their points in about a month. Since mine had not posted, I wrote in… as one does…
Ok. So, I have the rep telling me that October 31st would mark 10 weeks and that I must wait ALL 10 weeks. Honestly, have any of us actually ever had to wait the full time stated in the T&C? I sure haven’t… so I pushed back just a little bit. The explanation couldn’t have been a more mix of random nouns and adjectives.
“Different accounts are considered by the system. Not each of card members have exact accounts that …” I stopped reading after my mind couldn’t process the words.
Figuring out that this would get me nowhere, I left the chat, only to find that she was still there, offering to give me the number to Membership Rewards. Looks like I’m going to have to call. But regardless, I’m still going to have to wait until October 31st.
Fast Forward to Today
Yesterday, of course, was October 31st and as you can guess, there were no points awarded to the account. So I fired up the old chat bot once again. This time, the rep had apparently NEVER HEARD OF THE PROGRAM. SERIOUSLY?
Yea, I just linked the rep to their own internal information about the Amex Program. Sometimes you have to lead them by the hand, and sometimes you have to give them a swift kick in the ass.
Screw it – I figured I’d just call.
The Phone Call
Of course, the first person could not help me, so she transferred me to someone else. At this point, while I was losing my patience, I was still very polite. I asked Cesar, the next rep that I spoke with, to open up google and simply type “10 weeks from August 22nd.” He did, and lo and behold, here’s what he found:
After that, it was pretty much an open and shut case. There was some small talk, a reminder about how I could use my points for a Delta Airlines gift card (spoiler alert, don’t do it…) and then he credited the points back to my account… FINALLY.
The Moral of the Story
Hang Up. Call Again. Be Patient. Be Firm. And wait the required 10 weeks, because the reps won’t do anything before then. It was a giant pain in the ass, but the good news is that the points finally posted.
November 1, 2019
Don’t get me started. I’ve been on a wild goose chase to get a rebate dating back to March. I’ve had basically the same conversations you’ve had initially, then…
-an agent who told me he needed the travel dept to verify my ticket but they were too busy (after waiting 20 mins on hold)
-combined this travel with another trip, was told I should receive credit within 48 hours. They credited one trip, but not this one.
-spent 45 minutes on another call while they tried again to verify my ticket – conferenced me in with an Amex Travel agent who found the ticket (keep in mind I have an email of the trip I’ve offered to send every time), put us on hold and never came back. By that time the MR office was closed, so I was told I would have to call back the next day and start over (no they couldn’t send the info to anyone else to handle)
-today I reached out to @askamex twitter to beg that they not make me deal with these clowns again, was told I had no other options.
Unbelievable… can’t see myself ever using this again if this is what you have to go through.
November 2, 2019
American express has ripped off myself and my family on numerous occasions for points,miles and bonuses, they give you the runaround forever until you just give up, they can’t be trusted to honor their commitments and offers, I have spent much time on the phone trying to get what we were supposed to, and it is truly frustrating.I would stick to Chase and Citi ,for a better experience.