Amex Refused to Allow $200 Airline Fee Credit for Platinum Card (But Finally Relented)

It just amazes me how much we must fight with financial institutions just to get what we were promised.  And, we’re a special breed, so I have to think that most people would just give up and admit defeat, wouldn’t they?

Under the terms of the Platinum American Express Card, a cardholder is entitled to an annual $200 airline credit.   The details are set forth HERE.

Select a qualifying airline and then receive up to $200 per calendar year in statement credits when incidental fees, such as checked bags and in-flight refreshments, are charged by the airline to your eligible Platinum Card^®, Business Platinum Card^®, Centurion^®, or Business Centurion^® Account.* This is one of the many great travel benefits on your Card.

Simple, right?

I got a new Platinum American Express Ameriprise-branded credit card in August, 2014.  In December 2014, I called to select American Airlines as my qualifying airline for the year.

No, the representative said.  You already chose Delta as your airline, and you fulfilled your $200 allowance in January.

No, I tried to explain, over and over, the earlier airline purchase was on an entirely different Platinum American Express card that I had canceled earlier this year.  The only response I got, was:  No. No. No.  You already got your $200 credit for 2014.  You are not entitled to another.  I explained that the credit was on a different card, months before I even got this Platinum card.

It all went on deaf ears.

Finally, I spoke to a supervisor.  I said – had I not canceled Card #1, would I not have been entitled to a $200 Airline Fee Credit on both Card #1 and Card #2?  Yes, she responded.  I said – so shouldn’t I be entitled to that fee credit on Card #2 regardless of whether I kept or canceled Card #1?  Finally, a spark.  After over an hour, without officially admitting any error, the supervisor agreed and fixed whatever the problem was with my file.  I asked her to mark her notes on the file, as I feared Won’t Run might encounter the same problem, as he too, had a Platinum American Express Card, which he canceled, followed by an Ameriprise-branded Platinum American Express Card.

I did not blog on this, as I thought this might just be an individual problem.  However, a few weeks later, Won’t Run encountered the identical problem.  Thankfully, I got on the phone and told the representative to look at the notes on my own account.  Seeing the notes, the representative rectified the problem rather quickly.   She explained that, when the second Platinum accounts were set up by American Express, they mistakenly linked the two accounts, rather than treating them as separate.

And there you have it.  In the end, American Express did permit the $200 Airline Credit that I was entitled to.  But still, I wonder, why does it have to be so difficult?