November 11, 2020|Retention Bonus

I have had a lot of success lately with Amex retention bonuses on my cards that had large annual fees.  I wondered what would happen if I tried to get a retention offer on a no-fee card. 

I called the Amex retention line at (800) 452-3945 and gave my card number for my American Express Blue Business Plus card.  I love this card as you get 2X Membership Rewards on the first $50,000 in spend per year.   As Membership Rewards are worth 2 cents per point, that is a 4% return.  I told the agent I was considering canceling the card.  When asked why, I said I had other cards with no cap on bonus points.  She came back with two offers – 10,000 Membership Rewards Points or $300 in statement credits – $100 now and $200 if I spent $4,000 in 3 months.   I took the cash.

 I have a second Amex Blue for Business card and asked the same agent if she could check retention offers on that card.  She came back with the same offer.  Again, I took the cash.    

Later on, I tried on my wife’s Blue Business Plus card.   She was offered 5,000 Membership Rewards points now and another 5,000 points if she spent $3,000 in 3 months.   At this point, we will wait until January for the 2X points on the first $50,000 to reset and then put the $3,000 of charges on the card.  In effect, for $3,000 in charges, she will get an additional 11,000 points (plus the 5,000 initial points). 

This was a complete shock.  We will earn $600 and 10,000 Membership Rewards points (provided we hit the minimum spend) on no-fee cards. 

If you don’t have this no-fee card, its definitely worth getting.  Apply here.

Have you heard of this happening on any other no-fee cards?