My Amex card is up for renewal and being an ozbargainer naturally I dont want to pay it. I've managed to get it waived in the past from ANX/westpac but never tried Amex, do they come to the party if you threaten to leave?
Do AmEx Waive The Annual Fee if Threaten to Close Card?
ellave on 06/09/2019 - 08:11
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i'm curious to know to. call them for me and report back to me.
Just called they said its non nonnegotiable, I might actually pay it. $200 isn't too bad for all the offers and Quantas points it has over the year.
I tried these tactics - https://www.pointhacks.com.au/how-to-get-your-credit-card-an…
"Note that since 1 January 2019, credit card rules have become stricter for lenders in that they must provide an ability for credit cards to be cancelled online.
In addition, the credit card provider is obliged to assist the cardholder in any of their requests. That means that requests for fee waivers can still be made.
So, for example, if the cardholder says, ‘I wish to close my card,’ then the provider must reasonably assist in doing this, meaning that they cannot proactively offer bonus points to retain the cardholder’s business.
However, if the cardholder says, ‘I’m thinking about closing my card, but would like to explore if you have any offers available to me before I decide to close,’ then a bonus retention offer is still OK."
"Note that since 1 January 2019, credit card rules have become stricter for lenders in that they must provide an ability for credit cards to be cancelled online."
For the life of me, I could not find an on-line option to close a Bendigo bank.
Had to go to the branch to do it.
This was in ~july of this yr…
For the life of me, I could not find an on-line option to close a Bendigo bank.
CREDIT CARDS only…. Was this a credit card account you wanted to close or a chq/sav account with a DEBIT Credit card?
Nothing to do with cards, they wanted to -
close a Bendigo Bank
Change your credit card limit, cancel your credit card account or change your card
If you are looking to make changes to your credit card there are a number of options for you:Visit any Bendigo Bank branch
Call a Credit Card consultant on 1300 236 344 and select option 0 and then option 4.
Send us a secure message by logging into Bendigo Bank e-Banking or Bendigo Bank e-banking app*.
Log in with your Access ID, password and Security token (if needed), or your four-digit PIN.
Select ‘Support’.
Under ‘Messages’ select ‘Write a Message’ to send us a secure message.If you do not have access to Bendigo Bank e-banking or Bendigo Bank e-banking app, please contact us via our online enquiry form*.
Complete the required fields and click submit.
@ellave
Thanks.
That's very useful to know.
I've tried this recently and they said once I said the word "close" , they can't offer anything.
Even though I said I was thinking about closing my cards.. meh lol
I've tried this recently and they said once I said the word "close" , they can't offer anything.
You'll find they can't offer anything.
I rang up amex and asked when my renewal date was, they said xyz, I said any way to waive the fee this year, they said no, so I said I guess I'll close it then when the date arrives? They said ok call back then.
Called back in a month (few weeks before the renewal date), and said not sure if I'll keep my amex next year, they said ok if you don't want it then close it online.
Basically the new laws means they can't waive the fees now.
That's exactly what I experienced with my Amex (Westpac Altitude). card anniversary and fee due soon, asked if they would waive….they said no can do. So closed account on line, then called back to make sure all points accrued get transferred to qantas….which they will.
@BOGOF: yeah I was careful not to use the word close on the first knock back of each call as I had read as soon as you say that they can't do anything. Thought after being knocked back, I would toss in the close bit to see if anything changed. Nothing did.
Gone are the days of amex waivers.
Interesting, I went with the line "I'm thinking about etc etc" but they still said they weren't allowed to. Amex as well btw.
Did this. Worked
They can either reduce the fee or give you bonus points. It depends on how much you put through the card
u might be living in the past- please use new information or state your thoughts of knowledge are from what dates, thank you
April 3rd was my renewal date. I called them 2 weeks in advance and said along the lines of "Are there any bonuses available at this time if I decide to renew my card". The choice was either $300 off my $1450 card fee, or 50,000 points. This was my Amex Platinum
Mid January was when I called for my Amex Westpac card. Same thing said to them, offered 20,000 points. Renewal date for that is not until next month. I kept the card til points arrived. Transferred them out. Cancelled the card.
If they say it is "illegal". Hang up, call again and ask in a different way.
Don't know what the downvotes are for. It is well known the points offer depends on how much you are valued and what card it is.
Holy shit man that's one expensive card!
@DemocracyManifest: Actually not too bad compared to the benefits. The travel credit itself (450+400) already makes up for more than half
the Plat Charge card is not affected by the new regulation, you can tell them you are thinking to close the account. The rep confirmed with me that information.
I thought they're not allowed to offer you incentives to keep a card open anymore
I think they're not allowed to offer you an incentive if you ask to close the card, if you ask for an incentive to stay then they might do something for you (although the evidence with Amex is not). Qantas money gave me a reduced annual fee on my Qantas premier mastercard when i asked for an incentive to stay. (This occured in 2019).
Great tip thanks
Qantas money gave me a reduced annual fee on my Qantas premier mastercard when i asked for an incentive to stay. (This occured in 2019).
Citibank are behind the Qantas Money cards & they have always been a lot more aggressive in terms of trying to retain customers.
Back in June I called to cancel both amexes and was offered 40K points on each of them not to close. Naturally I took the points :) Closed one a few weeks after points posted, will cancel the other before renewal date. Not sure if this was a kind of offer given the financial year end or what though. Anyone else had this offer recently?
Did you have to pay an annual fee to get those 40k points?
Depends - one card (Westpac plat amex) I'd held for 10 months and cancelled before the second year fee; second (amex explorer) I paid latest annual fee back in Jan, so i'll keep that for a few more months before closing.
They did say with both cards that the 40k could only be offered once per card, so when I go to close the explorer again there will be no more incentives given :(
I called up and they stated it was now illegal for them to do so…. strange response. due to new policy since jan 2019
Own experience…..3 years ago they use to waive.
Not anymore from 2 year ago onwards
Try it and report back