I'm posting this because I got inaccurate advice on this very issue in the past and wanted to make sure people understand the process in case they need to deal with it in the future.
I called in to Amex and closed out my PRG. They didn't make a retention offer and I didn't bother asking because based on my research there was no offer that I have seen them make that was going to be high enough to make the card worthwhile to me. My situation is the statement just cut and I have a balance due next month. The AF also posted in this most recent statement. I was advised by the CSR that you do NOT have to pay the balance off before closing the card. Also, she said she would credit back the AF so it does not appear that I will have to pay it first to get the credit back. My membership reward points are safely tucked away with my amex everyday account, so I do not lose them. Finally, as was mentioned in prior threads the cancelled account stays on your profile so you can pay through the website even though its been closed out. It was a painless experience and had I known before that I could close the card with a balance I would have closed it prior to the AF posting to begin with. So my dealings with amex in the past two days have been very simple and they were able to answer every question I have.
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@red259 wrote:I'm posting this because I got inaccurate advice on this very issue in the past and wanted to make sure people understand the process in case they need to deal with it in the future.
I called in to Amex and closed out my PRG. They didn't make a retention offer and I didn't bother asking because based on my research there was no offer that I have seen them make that was going to be high enough to make the card worthwhile to me. My situation is the statement just cut and I have a balance due next month. The AF also posted in this most recent statement. I was advised by the CSR that you do NOT have to pay the balance off before closing the card. Also, she said she would credit back the AF so it does not appear that I will have to pay it first to get the credit back. My membership reward points are safely tucked away with my amex everyday account, so I do not lose them. Finally, as was mentioned in prior threads the cancelled account stays on your profile so you can pay through the website even though its been closed out. It was a painless experience and had I known before that I could close the card with a balance I would have closed it prior to the AF posting to begin with. So my dealings with amex in the past two days have been very simple and they were able to answer every question I have.
Good to know, thanks! Too bad no rediculous rentention bonus though 
@CreditJim wrote:I called to close my PRG a couple of months ago and was offered 35k MR points to keep it open, which I took. Even at just a 1c/point statement credit it more than covered the AF.
What kind of spend did you have on the card for the year? Did they require any spend to get the bonus?
When I looked into it I never saw anyone who claimed to be offered more than 25k bonus for renewal and the people who got that offer had some serious spend, including 200k+ a year on the card. My spend was much lower on this card, so I think the best I could possibly hope for was 15k and that was not going to be enough.