Nasty Changes to American Express Prepaid Card Terms

I don’t even remember when I got the American Express Prepaid card.  I think it was right before Serve, and then Bluebird came along, so it has just sat taking up space in the sock drawer.  I’m guessing American Express doesn’t like this card very much because I just received notification of a number of nasty changes to its terms.  (Note: I do not believe that this notice is intended to include the Serve card within it’s terms, but one would need to verify that to be certain).  Here’s the text of today’s email:

We wanted to let you know about some important changes to your American Express® Prepaid Card.

Our fees are changing:
• New Monthly Fee: Beginning October 15, 2015, we will charge a monthly fee of $4.95 on the balance of each Card associated with your American Express® Prepaid Card Account. If you are a resident of Arkansas, New York, Texas, or Vermont, you will not be charged this monthly fee.

• New ATM Transaction Fee: Beginning November 15, 2015, we will charge $2.50 per ATM withdrawal. ATM owners/operators may charge their own fees for ATM transactions.

• Discontinuation of first ATM fee waiver: Beginning November 15, 2015, American Express will no longer waive the first ATM fee of the month.

To avoid having to pay the above outlined fees, the following steps can be taken to use the funds and close your American Express® Prepaid Card Account:

• Use the available balance on the Account. The Card can be used to shop virtually anywhere American Express Cards are accepted, or the balance can be withdrawn from an ATM (ATM fees and limits may apply).

• To close the Account, the purchaser of the Card may call us at 1-866-207-7970 to speak with one of our customer care professionals.

Please review the fee changes included in the current American Express Prepaid Card Member Agreement.

Thank you for your membership,

The American Express® Prepaid Card Team