I just wanted to share my recent experience using the Purchase Protection benefit of my Amex Zync card. I personally was curious about how this benefit worked and I thought others might be as well. If anyone else has experience using Amex Purchase Protection please feel free to share your story as well.
For anyone not aware of this benefit, basically when you use your AMEX card you get 90 days of protection against accidental damage or theft. You file a claim and they repair or replace the item or reimburse you the purchase price.
Anyway, on to my story. I had purchased a cheap but fancy looking glass water pipe (aka glass bong) online for $69 as a gag gift - long story. While I was preparing to gift rap it I set it down on my counter and I guess I hit it a little too hard in just the right spot and it broke. Then I remembered that I had used my Zync card to buy it and I figured I might as well give them a call since I was curious about this benefit anyway. I was about to call and I started thinking about it, should I really call a company that is extending credit to me and tell them that I broke a bong? I was worried they would think I was some kind of stoner who got high and broke a bong and since I had only had the card for about 6 month I was a little worried that I would receive some sort of AA. I thought about it for a while and decided to give it a shot anyway.
I called the number they have listed on the website and explained what had happened to a very nice phone rep. I called it a glass water pipe and he asked if it was a smoking pipe, I said it was a tobacco smoking pipe, I was a bit nervous about what his reaction would be, but he didn't even blink an eye at that. He asked me a few questions about the transaction, like when I made the purchase, what the company I bought it from was called, the total amount of the transaction and the price of the broken item. He then told me that I would be contacted soon if they need any additional information and he told me not to throw away the broken item. The whole phone call was under 5 minutes.
It was a Friday when I called so I was expecting to hear from them Monday and figured I would have to send them pictures of the broken pipe. Because it was only $69 I didn't expect to have to mail it to them but I was prepared to if they asked. So Monday morning I logged into my Amex account and I see a $69 credit PURCHASE PROTECTION BENEFIT PAYMENT. A few days later I received a letter in the mail saying that I had received my credit and the case was closed. I was genuinely surprised just how easy the whole process was.
I am sure this would have been an entirely different process if it were an expensive item. But I am very happy with the service I received.
Starting Score: 639 (Walmart TU)