Just last week, I wrote about an odd situation in which a customer had their accounts frozen by Amex, only to have the reinstated later once the customer reached out to Amex. In this latest case, a customer wanted to cancel their card via chat. However, in this case, the rep canceled the wrong card. The customer saw with great shock that the Amex Platinum Card (which had 6 authorized users) was shut down.
Wrongful Amex Platinum Card Closure
As per this post on Reddit, this customer reached out to an Amex chat rep to close their Business Platinum Card. However, the Amex chat rep instead closed the consumer Amex Platinum Card. According to the original post, this customer had carried the Amex Platinum Card for 16 years and was a customer in good standing.
I’ve had a personal Amex platinum for 16 years along with 6 authorized users. Last year I got a business platinum and the annual fee hit recently. I haven’t got the value from it so I chatted with customer service last night to cancel it. The CS rep instead canceled my personal platinum and all 6 authorized users. 16 years of credit history gone.
Another chat and new rep said he could reinstate it. Yay! Except….he didn’t.
I called them this morning and it was full of hot potato passing me around- ending with a promise to research it and call me back in 2 hours. No call ever came.
I called back and just finished talking to a supervisor. Due to the error clearly documented in the chat, they are reinstating my cards. And for all my trouble? Nothing except they said they will cancel the correct card. Thanks Amex?!?
The Pundit’s Mantra
Every now and then, I post these stories whenever I come across them. If you’ve been in the miles and points space for long enough, you’ll likely run into some issue once in a while. In this case, if you’re looking to close a card via chat, here’s what you should ideally do.
Firstly, clearly mention which card you want to close. Usually, I also mention the last five digits of the card in addition to the full name of the card. Secondly, you can scroll back and check Amex’s chat history. I always make it a point to take screenshots as a backup.
Most recently, I was offered a retention bonus when an annual fee was charged to one of my cards. I also took a screenshot of the chat just for my reference, in addition to having the chat saved in my chat history with Amex.
In this case, it does seem though like the customer did all the due diligence but the customer service rep simply dropped the ball and canceled the wrong card.
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