American Express Gold Card Retention Offer - My Data Point
The $250 annual fee for my American Express Gold card posted to my account the other week. Usually I’m pretty proactive with my annual fees and start looking for retention offers early but this time I didn’t. I highlighted some important phrases I use often and have gotten a high success rate with.
The due date came around and I ended up paying the balance before I called American Express. Calling the number on the back of my card, I let them know “I’m looking to cancel my American Express Gold card due to the annual fee being out of my budget going into the next calendar year.”
I was transferred to an account manager who I assume worked for the department that deals with member retention. I once again let him know, “The $250 annual fee is out of my budget for the next year and although I find the product and American Express great, I just can’t justify spending the $250.”
He came back to let me know that my grocery spending on this card and the dining/uber credits, I should be well in the net positive.
My rebuttal was that, “I don’t value the credits at the advertised value since I have to go out of my way to spend them. In terms of my grocery spend, we might not be able to meet those numbers again next year due to financial reasons. However, I’m more than happy to keep the card open if you’re able to work with me on the annual fee to help alleviate the cost.”
He told me he understood that my concern for keeping the card open was solely the annual fee and to give him a few minutes.
He came back with an offer of $150 statement credit after I spent $2,000 within 3 months of accepting this offer. I thanked him and asked him, “Is that the best offer available and is there a points offer as well?”
He informed me that there was a 20,000 points offer which I took.
American Express Membership Rewards points are worth 1-2 cents per point. At the minimum, it’s $200 in points value which doesn’t 100% cover the annual fee of $250 but I’m more than happy with that since I’ve gotten a retention offer on this product for the past few years anyways.
Below are a few common questions but please do read the full guide with a script on Retention Offers (Must read and follow if it’s your first time)
What Is A Retention Offer?
For those who don’t know, some credit cards come with an annual fee and they can range anywhere from $95 to $695 or more. However, you can “ask” the bank or credit card issuer for a statement credit or points offer to help offset or even fully cover the annual fee.
How To Get A Retention Offer?
I said “ask” above because it’s not always as easy as calling in and asking “is there a retention offer on my account?”. Sometimes you have to beat around the bush a bit and let them know you’re considering closing your account due to the annual fee. You may be transferred to someone who deals with the member retention department (unofficial name).
Statement Credit or Points?
Often times, you’ll be given an offer for a statement credit or points. This retention offer can come with some spending terms such as, “Must spend $2,000 within 3 months of accepting this offer”.
Always ask:
Is this the best offer available right now?
Is there a points offer or statement credit offer (if you’re only given one and not both)
What you end up choosing is up to you. I prefer points so I always take points since they have higher flexibility in terms of how you can use them and I tend to value the points offer higher than the statement credit offers.
Full guide with a script on Retention Offers (Must read and follow if it’s your first time)