My bride had her Amex Gold Business card come up for renewal at a meager (ha) $125. Needless to say we were not going to renew as she never used it past the initial sign up bonus.
Surprisingly when I checked the bill online, it showed a 10,000 point renewal bonus already added to her account balance.
As points transfers are non reversible with AMEX and the transfer between Membership Rewards points and Continental and Delta are instant, I swapped her 10K anniversary bonus into CO to top off an award and the balance to her growing Delta account. Everything had posted to the frequent flyer accounts by today when the $125 was due.
She called to cancel and the CSR reminded her that she would get a 10K renewal bonus. She still declined and cancelled the card without issue.
How do these multi million dollar organizations stay in business when they give the bonus before you pay for it? I guess we are finding out now on Wall Street.
Keep your eyes on your statements for renewal fees and already posted renewal bonuses. I don’t know if this was by error, or a common occurrence you will all have to make the decision on.
