Amex Green Retention Offer
It was about that time again. Time to chase another Amex retention offer after that excellent 90K offer I just lassoed the other week. We had a couple more annual fees post on our American Express cards, so it was time to dip my toes once again in those retention offer waters. The card I was most excited about chasing down an offer for was my wife's Amex Business Platinum. I was already planning what I would do if we received the bananas 150K retention offer. I'll go over the details on what we ended up getting for the Business Platinum card, but it is the Amex Green retention offer that was the more surprising / confounding of the two. Let's take a look at both offers.
Amex Business Platinum Retention Offer
Spoiler alert, we did not receive the 150K retention offer. Sad trombone sound. We did get a somewhat tempting offer though:
- Earn 40,000 points after spending $10,000 within the first 3 months.
- Must keep the account open for 12 months from acceptance date
While that equates to 5x per dollar, when including the normal 1x earning rate, it just wasn't quite good enough for us. We did reach out for the offer via chat, and some believe better offers can be had by calling in. While that could be true I wasn't burning wife points by having her call in on her account.
We decided to pass because of the $10K spending requirement. It just seemed a little too steep, along with the annual fee, for us to keep it. If it had been $5K in spend then we would have jumped on it, or if it had been 50K points. This offer was close, but no cigar.
Amex Green Retention Offer
Next up I reached out for an Amex Green retention offer, and this is when things got a little weird. I wasn't really planning on getting anything, since I received an offer on the card last year. American Express rarely doubles up on offers in back to back years. Usually 13 months apart is the best you can hope for.
Annual Fee Option
At first, the agent offered the chance for me to redeem points to cover the annual fee at 1 cent per point. That isn't a completely horrible option, at least if you compare it to your options to cash out Membership Rewards. Since you can get up to 1 cent per point with an Amex Business checking account or 1.1 cent per point with the Charles Schwab Platinum card. It might be a useful option for those that use the card often and want to avoid another annual fee outside the first year.
Surprising Downgrade Option
I asked to proceed with the closure when the agent offered a secondary option. I could downgrade to the traditional Amex Green card for an annual fee of $55 to keep the account open. The agent then informed me it would not be a part of the Membership Rewards program. A no rewards earning card, with a $55 annual fee? Who would want that? The agent doubled down on the weirdness though. Next they said I could have the Membership Rewards program added to that card for $40 per year. That would be $95 all in. Uh, what?!
I am assuming this is run like the original Amex Green and you just earn 1x Membership Rewards for all purchases. Who is this card for exactly, in either form? Why is it even an option? Who would pay any annual fee for a card that earns absolutely nothing? Further more, who would pay $55 less per year for no perks and 1x earning versus what you have already with the Amex Green card?
This made absolutely no sense to me and was one of the more perplexing retention offers I have ever received, and for all the wrong reasons.
American Express Retention Offers Data Points: ToP Thoughts
The Amex Business Platinum retention offer was right on the teetering edge of me taking it. It couldn't have been anymore middle of the road in terms of value and spend. If it had been for 50K, or had only $5K in spend, I would have taken it. The fact that my wife has a few other Business Platinum cards already made it less likely for us to accept it anyway.
The Amex Green retention offer was the surprising one of the bunch though. The fact that they still have the traditional Green card, and offer it without any type of rewards earning for $55 a year, is strange to me. Why would you even offer it? Then offering the Membership Rewards program to be attached à la carte is wild to me too.
Has anyone else ever been offered this downgrade option? Let me know over in the ToP Facebook Group.
