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David Jones Amex Card - Call up to Get a 2nd Year Annual Fee Waiver

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David Jones Amex Card - Call up to Get a 2nd Year Annual Fee Waiver
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Bitsurfr on 21/10/2010 - 16:03 davidjones.com.au (620 clicks)
Last edited 21/10/2010 - 22:56

I know this isn't exactly a "bargain" or "deal", but it's going to save some people $99.

For many people what I'm saying below is pretty obvious and common sense, but for those who weren't sure whether it could be done with David Jones, weren't aware or just didn't realise, here's how you can avoid paying the $99 annual fee on the David Jones Amex card - just call up and request a waiver :D

Most OzBargainers will recall that DJs had a promo in November 2009 for their Amex card - $99 annual fee, free 27000 points (and subsequent similar deals such as no annual 1st year, free 13000 points etc). Anyway, the $99 annual fee for the first lot of customers (I was one of them) for the second year will be payable soon (Nov/Dec 2010 depending on when you applied).

All you need to do is call up, request that the $99 annual fee for the second year be waived again. The customer service rep will put you on hold for a moment while they check your account (presumably to make sure it's in good standing, paid on time, you've used the card to their satisfaction etc - fair enough) and then they came back and said ok - simple as that.

The rep I spoke to did say that the fee will still be charged by the system to my account on the due date, but that the fee will be refunded about a week after that. In terms of getting confirmation of their agreement to do this, ask the rep to put an adminstrative note into your account about the fee refund arrangement. The administrative note will generate a reference number which you can keep for your record of the call.

Also, I suggest you make the call before the fee gets charged, you have more leverage that way.

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  • anthony on 21/10/2010 - 16:13

    It is much easier to call up once the fee has been charged.

    If you call up once the fee has been charged they simply put a refund of $99 on your account so you never have to pay the fee.

    If you have never used the card or use it very occasionally do not expect them to waive the fee for you either

    • Bitsurfr on 21/10/2010 - 16:29
      +2

      There's always the risk that if you call up after the fee has been charged, there is incentive for DJs to refund the fee. What are you going to do if they refuse to refund?

      If you call up before the fee is to be charged and they refuse, well at least you have the option to cancel the card and save yourself being charged the $99 in the first place.

      Agree about the using the card regularly, they need to see that the customer is worth retaining.

      • TtiGeR on 21/10/2010 - 16:39

        I'm not sure whether it's mandatory or not but most card issuers refund annual fees if you choose to close your account within days after it's charged. Of course, some are nice enough to refund the fee without forcing you to close the account.

      • anthony on 21/10/2010 - 16:41

        I have been told by many American express service people that you need to wait for the fee to be charged before they can look at refunding it so you may have been lucky.

        On the cards I have I always call after I have been charged the fee and it has always been reduced to $0

        If you call up before the fee is to be charged and they refuse, well at least you have the option to cancel the card and save yourself being charged the $99 in the first place.

        There is a 3 month grace period from when the fee is issued.
        If the fee was charged to your card today you can cancel the card any time in the next 3 months and they will credit the fee back to you.

        I could be wrong on 3 months, it could be 3 weeks.

  • Melbournian on 21/10/2010 - 16:41
    +1

    I actually tried to get the annual fee waived in Feb/Mar this year just before my card was going to expire. They were only willing to waive half the amount. So I cancelled it. A month later there was an instore promotion of free 27,000 points. I applied and was approved.

    • Bitsurfr on 21/10/2010 - 16:43

      This was my fallback position, if they didn't waive the fee, then I'd cancel and re-apply for new card at the next promotion. (Yes I know every credit card application gets listed on your credit history file, doesn't bother me).

      • BuyoTheCat on 21/10/2010 - 16:54

        what are the implications of credit card application in your credit history?

        • Bitsurfr on 21/10/2010 - 17:10
          +4

          The credit history system in Australia is currently based on negative reporting - that is it only records when you apply for credit (of any sort, eg mobile phone plans, credit cards, home loans, any other loan etc) and when you default on payments (after a certain number of days, I think it's 60 - don't quote me).

          So eg when you go to a bank to apply for a homeloan they will look at your credit history (especially if you are new customer to them). If they see you have too many credit card applications within a short time period, they may think you have finanical problems and may refuse a loan application.

          Obviously this may not be case, you might just be applying for every credit card promo that you see but there's no way for the bank to readily know that (you can prove it to them by showing all your different statements, credit cards not all being used, paid off in time etc) but that's a pain in the ass.

      • anthony on 21/10/2010 - 16:57

        Yes I know every credit card application gets listed on your credit history file, doesn’t bother me.

        If shouldn't either.

        A credit card application is not a bad thing to have on your file. Not paying your card bill is!

        • Bitsurfr on 21/10/2010 - 17:02
          +1

          Though financial institutions could interpret too many applications in a short period of time as a person who could be in financial trouble.

          I think one or two applications per year isn't going to do any harm, never stopped me from getting a loan before.

        • You and Me on 22/10/2010 - 02:46

          The credit reports do not indicate the success or failure of previous applications, so if you have too many you may be rejected on the assumption that you have access to considerable credit already.

  • furyou on 21/10/2010 - 17:21
    -4

    isn’t exactly a “bargain” or “deal”, so don't post it.
    there are forums for card stuff. This is not a 'post any tips for anything' site.

    or will we now have 'deals' posted for when someone asks for extra chips on their fish n ships? or when you ask a shop to waive credit card fees?

    • lazed on 21/10/2010 - 17:28
      +7

      While I mostly agree with you, the reality is this listing will probably save more users more money than a lot of the other crap listed on here. :)

  • [Deactivated] on 21/10/2010 - 17:34
    +2

    I'm a little concerned this might be exploiting or exposing a kind-natured customer service rep - or otherwise based on unknown criteria (were you a good customer, how much did you spend etc?) Maybe you were just lucky.

    • arcticmonkey on 21/10/2010 - 20:03

      I don't think the customer service reps name should be posted. That's for sure.

      • Bitsurfr on 21/10/2010 - 22:59

        I don't think it's a problem, rep's name removed anyway.

        In terms of being good customer or not, I just chuck all my regular purchases onto the card wherever it's accepted. As to quantity spend, it's not a big monthly spend, consider it average joe.

  • scheps on 21/10/2010 - 17:44

    Basically of you are worth keeping then they will waive. That goes for other cards as well in my experience.

  • bigsue19 on 21/10/2010 - 19:49

    It's a helpful tip and it's saved me nearly $800 in waived annual fees for the past two years! Definitely a positive from me.

  • grasstown on 21/10/2010 - 21:20

    deleted

  • motlking on 22/10/2010 - 01:00

    Is this type of CC fee waiver common with the banks as well?

    • Bitsurfr on 22/10/2010 - 10:12
      +1

      Yes it's common, though obviously it's not in any financial institutions' interest to openly promote it - so consumers have to get smart and start asking for stuff.

      How they go waiving the fee for you will vary between institutions depending on how their systems are set up, eg they could just waive the fee so that it doesnt get charged to your account when it becomes due or they could charge you the fee first and then refund you afterwards (DJ's way), or even agree to an ongoing waiver (cause some institutions know you're going to call back every year to get a waiver, so might as well just give it to you forever and save everyone the hassle).

      Eg. I got the standard NAB Velocity CC in 2007 with first year fee free (annual fee $65). Then in 2008 called up for fee waiver and long story short the bank offered an ongoing fee waiver - woot! In 2009 notice the annual fee got charged, called up and mentioned the previoius ongoing fee waiver and they said it was an IT issue, so refunded the fee. And then same issue happened this year, and again no probs getting fee refunded. Asked if this process was going to be ongoing, they said yes. The rep said they've manually noted the ongoing fee waiver but that the system doesnt recognise it. So he refunded my fee for this year and waived it for 2011 but because the system doesnt allow fee waiving for future years, he said just call back in 2012 to repeat process lol.

      Financial institutions are also willing to waive/refund other fees too.

      Eg. One time I forgot to pay my monthly Bankwest CC account, so yes, my bad and got charged the $35 default fee. Called them up and said to them, yes my bad for not paying on time but can you refund me that charge anyway? Rep says, ok make the payment today and after it appears on your account, call back and I'll refund it the fee for you. Simple as that (Obviously they might be so obliging if you regularly miss payments though).

      • hanofee on 22/10/2010 - 13:27

        I still believe it depends on the CS that you got (if they're in bad mood, junior one, etc). It might be accepted, it might not, but you can always try. If you did spend a lot of money on that card, sometimes they even waive it for life (so, you don't need to call them every year :)). Most bank I guess will give at least, 1 yr free.
        Once I got a card I never used (I just applied as I need the 0% balance transfer at that time), and each time I want to close, they keep offering me to waive the fee (so, not true that they'll never waive the fee if you don't use it).

        • Bitsurfr on 22/10/2010 - 13:36

          Point is, if you don't ask, you don't get :)

      • LittleMiss on 23/10/2010 - 16:37

        WHATTTTT….you can DO THAT?!?!?! damn. stupid late payment fees i've been dogged with….

        also what reason do you have or do you simply just "ask" for your annual fee to be waived??

        • Bitsurfr on 25/10/2010 - 11:35
          +2

          These days I just call up and ask, most reps I speak to don't seem to ask why anymore. In the past I've used the following lines:

          1. "Hi, I'm calling up about my [insert card/account]. I've found the card/account to serve me well to date but I believe the annual fee is due soon. I'd really appreciate it you could waive the annual fee for another year?" (ie. Lets the rep know you are aware they are doing you a favour)

          2. You could also add the line "…I'd love to be able to continue using your services…" or "…a fee waiver would really continue the value of your product…" or "I've notice a few other places are are currently offering interesting deals at the moment…" (hints that you are considering your options and may consider cancelling your card/account if a waiver is not forthcoming.

          3. If the above doesn't work, you'll probably have to get a bit more explicit about cancelling. Try calling back and say:
            Me: Hi, I'm calling to cancel my card/account.
            Rep: Oh, why's that?
            Me: Annual fee is coming up.
            Rep: Oh, lets see what we can do about that…
            At this point they will generally review your account and may offer a full waiver, half waiver or nothing.

          For waivers on general fees, use the "my bad" line and better to call as soon as you know the fee is charged:
          Me: Hi, I'm calling about [whatever fee]. I know it was my fault for the late payment, but I was wondering is there any way you could waive it for me on this occasion? I've been a customer for a [however long] and would really appreciate a waiver as a sign of goodwill. (Makes clear that you recognise it was your fault, and that you appreciate the rep's goodwill. Also brings keeping a customer happy and customer loyalty into the picture). This is not likely to work if you regularly rack up fees and/or miss payments though.

        • LittleMiss on 29/10/2010 - 01:04

          Thanks!! Very informative :)

  • coolsteps on 22/10/2010 - 01:10

    does anyone know if you have the dj amex card cancelled are you given 3 months from the date of cancellation to reactivate it without having to reapply for it if you change your mind later on and if you still would be liable for the annual fee upon reactivation?

  • onetom2010 on 22/10/2010 - 10:11

    Some banks have policy that they won't approve new applications in 6 months after you cancel your previous card. It seems that DJ AMEX is kind enough.

    I tried to call BP citibank for a annual fee waiver, they didn't give it. I spent about 50K on their card every year. Might have to change another one.

    • Bitsurfr on 22/10/2010 - 10:24

      Yeah, Citibank and HSBC are somewhat tightwads when it comes to waiving fees. These two global banks seem to have the attitude that if you don't like it, you can leave (partly also because their target market is the higher income market). Fair enough if that's their policy, their loss if a customer leaves.

      HSBC also tries to stop the practice of cancelling cards/reapplying by putting into the fine print of promotions something along the lines of "if you have had the same card product within the last 9 months, then you will not be considered a new customer and therefore not eligible for the current promotion offered" (if that promotion is limited to new customers only).

  • spal on 22/10/2010 - 13:48
    +1

    Commonwealth Bank refused to refund my card fees.

    I closed the card account and encashed my reward. Got nearly $600 in cashbacks and mastercard giftcards.

    I spoke to a few at various times. I remember one person said that fee waiver is available only to new customers or customers closing accounts.

    Well I closed the account. They make money from my credit card usage. If they don't want the business their loss.

  • coolsteps on 23/10/2010 - 15:30

    yes CBA are tough to deal with and dont wan't to waive there annual card fees, i only manage to get it refunded after showing my full time student id card at the branch. some banks waive there annual card fees if you show your full time student id card or have a home loan. not sure if any will accept a health care card instead? i asked cba and they said no way.

    • LittleMiss on 23/10/2010 - 16:38

      dammit, i shall go to the bank this week and show my ID card. thanks for the reminder

      • coolsteps on 23/10/2010 - 17:22

        LittleMiss, its only waived if you have a standard awards cba card not the gold awards card, mind you you can do a product transfer to their low fee card and have it waived for the first year if you are an existing CBA customer with other accounts and onwards if you meet their minimum expenditure requirements. though the low fee card doesn't have a rewards program. Amex DJ card is much better card.

        • LittleMiss on 23/10/2010 - 17:40

          yep i've got the standard one (mastercard + amex). i prefer a rewards program, so am considering the amex DJ however CBA one has mastercard as well which is appealing. i've never had to pay the annual fee before but have been forgetting to show my ID card…i'm still studying so should be entitled.

  • You and Me on 23/10/2010 - 18:02

    I guess it's good to pool our knowledge of which banks will waive and which won't, but, I think that this is too slippery to be in the bargain section — even if it does save DJs AMEX cardholders $99.

    I could suggest that you go into an Apple Store and buy a computer with only your charm and good looks, yet, it is not hard and fast, and only applies to a very small sector of society. (Though it could save you $1000 - $8000!)

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