Amex Business Platinum Retention Offer

I wanted to share my recent data point for an Amex Business Platinum retention offer after just going through it. More than that though, I want to share my thought process for retention offers when it comes to American Express. I'll also go over how to get around the annoying chat agent questions about the perks of your card, and get down to business.

What Is A Retention Offer?

A retention offer is exactly what it sounds like, an offer to retain you as a card customer. Many people think that everyone gets these, and maybe they should with how much it costs to acquire customers, but that isn't the case. They are targeted offers on an account by account basis. The intention is to keep customers that are on the fence about closing their card with an incentive. This is sometimes and outright bonus points offer, and other times it requires spending to earn the points. It could also come in the form of an annual fee waiver or statement credit.

The only way to know if you have a retention off on your account is to call the number on the back of your card, or to reach out via chat. Many people do this after their annual fee posts, but you can actually do it whenever. You don't even need to have an annual fee on your card to get one!

If you want to get a better understanding of credit card retention offers then you can check out our complete guide.

How To Deal With American Express Chat Agents

Now that we have a better understanding of what retention offers are, and how to get one, we should discuss how to get to the point with Amex chat agents. Reaching out to American Express via chat is my go-to for retention offers. This is particularly handy for reluctant player 2s, like my wife. My wife who burns a hole in my soul with nothing more than her eyeballs if I ask her to call a bank.

The chat worked perfectly, up until a few years ago when Amex retention reps started giving the hard sell on cards. This is where they list off the perks of the card and mention how many credits etc. you have used over the years. If you are a reader of ToP then you probably already know all of this stuff, and it is simply a waste of time. Not only a waste of your time, but a waste of the Amex chat rep's time too.

That is why I usually start off the chat with the retention specialist in this way.

I am checking on whether or not there is a retention on my XYZ card ending in 00000 before deciding on whether or not I should close it. In the effort of not wasting either of our time, I will let you know that I am well informed on the card's perks and whether or not they work for me. All I need to know is if there is a retention offer listed on my account or not.

That will skip the fluff with most agents. Some still follow the script, which may require some more pushing to get to the point. I should also mention that the retention department is only open during normal business hours Monday – Friday. You will need to chat with a normal front end rep before being sent to a retention specialist. I just type out “retention” when initiating the chat.

My Amex Business Platinum Retention Offer

Here are the details of my recent Amex Business Platinum retention offer, which was fairly putrid.

• Earn 10,000 Membership Rewards after spending $5,000 within 3 months.
• I would also need to keep the card open for another 12 months from the date of acceptance or forfeit the points.

This offer simply wasn't good enough for me to accept. I was hoping for one of those huge ones floating around, but I knew my chances were slim there. It would have had to be 3x or 4x better than this for me to even consider it. That is really the case for most cards when it comes to American Express retention offers.

Why Only The Best Will Do

This is the section that I hope enlightens you to looking at things a bit differently in miles and points. This is the way I approach most Amex retention offers. I should note that I have been under Amex pop-up jail for half a decade now, so that plays a role in this, for sure.

Living in a two-player household (having a spouse or significant other earning miles and points) I can always get a referral bonus for an American Express card. Because of that, the retention offer needs to at least be in the same realm of what I can get via referral. In fact, it should probably be better than a retention offer, since a referral bonus requires absolutely no spend and you would pay the same annual fee either way. The major upside of accepting a retention offer is because I want to be a good customer and there is some value in keeping an account open for longer.

Right now many people are seeing 25,000 or 30,000 bonus points per referral. Why would I accept a retention offer for 5,000 – 10,000 points if I could get 3x – 5x more than by exchanging a referral with my spouse? You won't get the welcome offer on the card, since you currently have one, but that doesn't really matter anyway. We are comparing what you could get from a retention offer, and then what a comparable alternative would offer you.

That is how I base my retention offer decisions. If it is on a card I am leaning towards closing, then it needs to compete with what I am seeing from refer a friend offers. If it is a card I am leaning towards keeping anyway, then I may be willing to take a below average offer.

Amex Business Platinum Retention Offer: ToP Thoughts

While my Amex Business Platinum retention offer was a nothing burger, hopefully it gives you a look at my thought process. Especially when looking at cards that I am leaning towards closing. For me to even consider it, the offer needs to be almost as good as what I can easily replace it with. I am willing to get down in the muck a bit when discussing a card that I find some value in long term. That is because I want to be a good customer long term, but I am not going to give away the farm to do it.

Let me know how you decide which retention offers are worth taking and which are worth skipping over in the ToP Facebook Group.