topic Re: AMEX to Eliminate Prorated Annual Fees in Credit Cards

AMEX to Eliminate Prorated Annual Fees

UncleB — Mon, 06 Jun 2016 12:21:36 GMT

It's being reported on several websites that American Express will no longer be prorating the annual fees on their products effective September 1, 2016.

If this is correct it could be a bummer to many folks, but it makes business sense.

Here are a few highlights from Doctor of Credit:

Those with a billing address in Massachusetts will retain the old rules and will continue to get prorated refunds on the annual fee
You still get 30 days from the statement closing date that the annual fee appears; this might be more than 30 days from when the actual fee hit
The terms indicate that if Amex were to shut down your account for whatever reason, then they will prorate the annual fee; the new change only affects voluntary account closures

There are several sites reporting this; I've not yet received a statement on a card to verify the changes personally but when there's this much smoke there's usually some fire. I'm also very aware of the "echo chamber" effect (where a handful of websites all cite each other as sources) but with this many eyes looking at this I feel comfortable mentioning it here.

Here's my disclaimer: keep in mind that if you would be impacted by this change (i.e. you're planning on closing a card) you'll want to do your own due diligence and not rely solely on the information in this thread to make your decision. If you call or chat with an American Express CSR they should (?) be able to confirm the details (I will leave that for someone else to do - I'm not poking the AMEX bear at this time).

Here's a link to the article on the DoC site:

http://www.doctorofcredit.com/amex-eliminate-prorated-annual-fee-refunds-starting-septmeber/

Re: AMEX to Eliminate Prorated Annual Fees

jacetx — Mon, 06 Jun 2016 13:39:31 GMT

@UncleB wrote:
It's being reported on several websites that American Express will no longer be prorating the annual fees on their products effective September 1, 2016.

If this is correct it could be a bummer to many folks, but it makes business sense.

Here are a few highlights from Doctor of Credit:

Those with a billing address in Massachusetts will retain the old rules and will continue to get prorated refunds on the annual fee
You still get 30 days from the statement closing date that the annual fee appears; this might be more than 30 days from when the actual fee hit
The terms indicate that if Amex were to shut down your account for whatever reason, then they will prorate the annual fee; the new change only affects voluntary account closures
There are several sites reporting this; I've not yet received a statement on a card to verify the changes personally but when there's this much smoke there's usually some fire. I'm also very aware of the "echo chamber" effect (where a handful of websites all cite each other as sources) but with this many eyes looking at this I feel comfortable mentioning it here.

Here's my disclaimer: keep in mind that if you would be impacted by this change (i.e. you're planning on closing a card) you'll want to do your own due diligence and not rely solely on the information in this thread to make your decision. If you call or chat with an American Express CSR they should (?) be able to confirm the details (I will leave that for someone else to do - I'm not poking the AMEX bear at this time).

Here's a link to the article on the DoC site:

http://www.doctorofcredit.com/amex-eliminate-prorated-annual-fee-refunds-starting-septmeber/

I guess they are going after the people that apply for the Platinum card, collect the MR points, redeem airline credit, and then close the account and get part of the fee back.

Re: AMEX to Eliminate Prorated Annual Fees

UncleB — Mon, 06 Jun 2016 13:43:19 GMT

@jace8602 wrote:
I guess they are going after the people that apply for the Platinum card, collect the MR points, redeem airline credit, and then close the account and get part of the fee back.

That's what I am thinking as well.

I'm actually a bit surprised it took them this long to get around to it.

Re: AMEX to Eliminate Prorated Annual Fees

core — Mon, 06 Jun 2016 13:44:15 GMT

@jace8602 wrote:
I guess they are going after the people that apply for the Platinum card, collect the MR points, redeem airline credit, and then close the account and get part of the fee back.

Yeah that was going to be my plan for December. (Two airline credits that way for the price of one.) With this change, now I'll just have to do it sooner and only collect one. That, or I may just change my billing address to Mass. before closing the card.

Re: AMEX to Eliminate Prorated Annual Fees

UncleB — Mon, 06 Jun 2016 13:49:28 GMT

@core wrote:
@jace8602 wrote:
I guess they are going after the people that apply for the Platinum card, collect the MR points, redeem airline credit, and then close the account and get part of the fee back.
Yeah that was going to be my plan for December. (Two airline credits that way for the price of one.) With this change, now I'll just have to do it sooner and only collect one. That, or I may just change my billing address to Mass. before closing the card.

I had actually planned to roll the credit line from my Delta Gold over to my BCP (which you can't do until the 13th month), then close the Delta Gold. It looks like now I'll have to pay the AF for the first year rather than pay it then get most of it refunded when I close the card.

In my case, I'll likely just hang on to the Delta Gold for a bit longer for the Amex offers... which goes to show that implementing this plan will be effective for Amex... LOL.

Re: AMEX to Eliminate Prorated Annual Fees

SouthJamaica — Mon, 06 Jun 2016 14:10:19 GMT

@UncleB wrote:
@jace8602 wrote:
I guess they are going after the people that apply for the Platinum card, collect the MR points, redeem airline credit, and then close the account and get part of the fee back.
That's what I am thinking as well.

I'm actually a bit surprised it took them this long to get around to it.

While I think it's fair to spring this on those who churn the cards for the signup offers, it's a little bit unfair to those of us who were required to wait 13 months to product change a card. E.g., in my case I was dissatisfied with my Delta Gold, but had to wait 13 months to PC it into the no-annual-fee Hilton card. I'm pretty sure I got the partial refund when I did. It wouldn't have been fair to deprive me of that, but now that will be the effect it seems.

Re: AMEX to Eliminate Prorated Annual Fees

Imperfectfuture — Mon, 06 Jun 2016 14:13:36 GMT

@UncleB wrote:
It's being reported on several websites that American Express will no longer be prorating the annual fees on their products effective September 1, 2016.

If this is correct it could be a bummer to many folks, but it makes business sense.

Here are a few highlights from Doctor of Credit:

Those with a billing address in Massachusetts will retain the old rules and will continue to get prorated refunds on the annual fee
You still get 30 days from the statement closing date that the annual fee appears; this might be more than 30 days from when the actual fee hit
The terms indicate that if Amex were to shut down your account for whatever reason, then they will prorate the annual fee; the new change only affects voluntary account closures
There are several sites reporting this; I've not yet received a statement on a card to verify the changes personally but when there's this much smoke there's usually some fire. I'm also very aware of the "echo chamber" effect (where a handful of websites all cite each other as sources) but with this many eyes looking at this I feel comfortable mentioning it here.

Here's my disclaimer: keep in mind that if you would be impacted by this change (i.e. you're planning on closing a card) you'll want to do your own due diligence and not rely solely on the information in this thread to make your decision. If you call or chat with an American Express CSR they should (?) be able to confirm the details (I will leave that for someone else to do - I'm not poking the AMEX bear at this time).

Here's a link to the article on the DoC site:

http://www.doctorofcredit.com/amex-eliminate-prorated-annual-fee-refunds-starting-septmeber/

Dang it Uncle (it is so hot in Seattle, could not sleep last night, but got job, no start date ), poke the gosh darn bear!! Read my other post where it will not let me see a fee anywhere, even if I hit rates and fees for card.

Re: AMEX to Eliminate Prorated Annual Fees

jacetx — Mon, 06 Jun 2016 14:24:30 GMT

I'm glad my Gold Delta's 13th statement is in August. I'm planning to move the limit into my ED.

Re: AMEX to Eliminate Prorated Annual Fees

UncleB — Mon, 06 Jun 2016 14:25:22 GMT

@Imperfectfuture wrote:
@UncleB wrote:
It's being reported on several websites that American Express will no longer be prorating the annual fees on their products effective September 1, 2016.

If this is correct it could be a bummer to many folks, but it makes business sense.

Here are a few highlights from Doctor of Credit:

Those with a billing address in Massachusetts will retain the old rules and will continue to get prorated refunds on the annual fee
You still get 30 days from the statement closing date that the annual fee appears; this might be more than 30 days from when the actual fee hit
The terms indicate that if Amex were to shut down your account for whatever reason, then they will prorate the annual fee; the new change only affects voluntary account closures
There are several sites reporting this; I've not yet received a statement on a card to verify the changes personally but when there's this much smoke there's usually some fire. I'm also very aware of the "echo chamber" effect (where a handful of websites all cite each other as sources) but with this many eyes looking at this I feel comfortable mentioning it here.

Here's my disclaimer: keep in mind that if you would be impacted by this change (i.e. you're planning on closing a card) you'll want to do your own due diligence and not rely solely on the information in this thread to make your decision. If you call or chat with an American Express CSR they should (?) be able to confirm the details (I will leave that for someone else to do - I'm not poking the AMEX bear at this time).

Here's a link to the article on the DoC site:

http://www.doctorofcredit.com/amex-eliminate-prorated-annual-fee-refunds-starting-septmeber/
Dang it Uncle (it is so hot in Seattle, could not sleep last night, but got job, no start date ), poke the gosh darn bear!! Read my other post where it will not let me see a fee anywhere, even if I hit rates and fees for card.

You want me to poke the Amex bear? (LOL)

Actually I'll have a BCP statement in a little over a week, so once that generates I'll be able to look at the pdf version online and I should be able to see the new disclaimer.

I agree that it can be hard to find details on the Amex site (without looking at an existing online statement). I had to wait until I got my Delta Gold in the mail last week to see my own APR (if it's anywhere on the site I was unable to find it).

Congrats on the job! I've never been to Seattle but I hope to visit some day. It's hot and humid in the Southeast today as well.

Re: AMEX to Eliminate Prorated Annual Fees

core — Mon, 06 Jun 2016 14:27:01 GMT

@Imperfectfuture wrote:
it is so hot in Seattle, could not sleep last night

A small air conditioner would make your Amazon Prime card very happy! I asked my Seattle brother why he didn't have A/C. His response, "we don't have them here". Yeah, so? If you put one in, the cops come and get you or something? Heh. No clue.

Re: AMEX to Eliminate Prorated Annual Fees

sr383 — Mon, 06 Jun 2016 14:28:23 GMT

I was hoping that the loss of Costco and Fidelity (though different in type and scale) would lead AMEX to roll out more-competitive products. Instead, we're seeing the elimination of prorated annual fees and an increase in the BCP annual fee.

Re: AMEX to Eliminate Prorated Annual Fees

kdm31091 — Mon, 06 Jun 2016 14:29:43 GMT

@jace8602 wrote:
@UncleB wrote:
It's being reported on several websites that American Express will no longer be prorating the annual fees on their products effective September 1, 2016.

If this is correct it could be a bummer to many folks, but it makes business sense.

Here are a few highlights from Doctor of Credit:

Those with a billing address in Massachusetts will retain the old rules and will continue to get prorated refunds on the annual fee
You still get 30 days from the statement closing date that the annual fee appears; this might be more than 30 days from when the actual fee hit
The terms indicate that if Amex were to shut down your account for whatever reason, then they will prorate the annual fee; the new change only affects voluntary account closures
There are several sites reporting this; I've not yet received a statement on a card to verify the changes personally but when there's this much smoke there's usually some fire. I'm also very aware of the "echo chamber" effect (where a handful of websites all cite each other as sources) but with this many eyes looking at this I feel comfortable mentioning it here.

Here's my disclaimer: keep in mind that if you would be impacted by this change (i.e. you're planning on closing a card) you'll want to do your own due diligence and not rely solely on the information in this thread to make your decision. If you call or chat with an American Express CSR they should (?) be able to confirm the details (I will leave that for someone else to do - I'm not poking the AMEX bear at this time).

Here's a link to the article on the DoC site:

http://www.doctorofcredit.com/amex-eliminate-prorated-annual-fee-refunds-starting-septmeber/
I guess they are going after the people that apply for the Platinum card, collect the MR points, redeem airline credit, and then close the account and get part of the fee back.

This exactly. This is just another change to prevent abuse. You want the card, you pay the whole fee.

Re: AMEX to Eliminate Prorated Annual Fees

UncleB — Mon, 06 Jun 2016 14:30:04 GMT

@jace8602 wrote:
I'm glad my Gold Delta's 13th statement is in August. I'm planning to move the limit into my ED.

That was my plan as well (in my case moving the CL to the BCP)... and it was a good plan, dangit!

From what I understand depending on how the calendar falls it still might (?) be possible (if you put off paying until the last moment) but if I can get some decent Amex offers over the next few months I won't worry as much about it. (First world problems, right?)

Re: AMEX to Eliminate Prorated Annual Fees

sr383 — Mon, 06 Jun 2016 14:36:57 GMT

@core wrote:
@Imperfectfuture wrote:
it is so hot in Seattle, could not sleep last night
A small air conditioner would make your Amazon Prime card very happy! I asked my Seattle brother why he didn't have A/C. His response, "we don't have them here". Yeah, so? If you put one in, the cops come and get you or something? Heh. No clue.

I grew up in Houston--the most air-conditioned city in the world--and was quite shocked how few Seattle homes have air conditioners, much less central air. (It's hard to justify with only three 90-degree days per year, but that average is shifting upward.) We have two little 110s in our Seattle-area home, and no one has tried to fine us. But neither is in the bedroom, so I get the "could not sleep" statement.

Re: AMEX to Eliminate Prorated Annual Fees

jacetx — Mon, 06 Jun 2016 14:40:41 GMT

@UncleB wrote:
@jace8602 wrote:
I'm glad my Gold Delta's 13th statement is in August. I'm planning to move the limit into my ED.
+1

That was my plan as well (in my case moving the CL to the BCP)... and it was a good plan, dangit!

From what I understand depending on how the calendar falls it still might (?) be possible (if you put off paying until the last moment) but if I can get some decent Amex offers over the next few months I won't worry as much about it. (First world problems, right?)

Actually, I just checked and I was wrong, my 13th statement is in July. This card has been at a $0 balance for a few months, getting it ready for the CL transfer.

Re: AMEX to Eliminate Prorated Annual Fees

Imperfectfuture — Mon, 06 Jun 2016 15:05:49 GMT

@core wrote:
@Imperfectfuture wrote:
it is so hot in Seattle, could not sleep last night
A small air conditioner would make your Amazon Prime card very happy! I asked my Seattle brother why he didn't have A/C. His response, "we don't have them here". Yeah, so? If you put one in, the cops come and get you or something? Heh. No clue.

Not to derail, but it is in the box from Amazon . My small apartment is so cramped with huge and heavy boxes for the move, I can not even get to my fan, much less unbox my new air cooler and ionizer.

Re: AMEX to Eliminate Prorated Annual Fees

redpat — Mon, 06 Jun 2016 15:24:24 GMT

It's completely fair.

Re: AMEX to Eliminate Prorated Annual Fees

Imperfectfuture — Mon, 06 Jun 2016 15:45:39 GMT

@Imperfectfuture wrote:
@core wrote:
@Imperfectfuture wrote:
it is so hot in Seattle, could not sleep last night
A small air conditioner would make your Amazon Prime card very happy! I asked my Seattle brother why he didn't have A/C. His response, "we don't have them here". Yeah, so? If you put one in, the cops come and get you or something? Heh. No clue.
Not to derail, but it is in the box from Amazon . My small apartment is so cramped with huge and heavy boxes for the move, I can not even get to my fan, much less unbox my new air cooler and ionizer.

Okay, it was not in my abilities, but found a way to move huge heavy box by myself, and get fan. . Feeling much better. Almost ready for extended nap after I feed kitties.

Re: AMEX to Eliminate Prorated Annual Fees

RonM21 — Mon, 06 Jun 2016 21:27:04 GMT

@kdm31091 wrote:
@jace8602 wrote:
@UncleB wrote:
It's being reported on several websites that American Express will no longer be prorating the annual fees on their products effective September 1, 2016.

If this is correct it could be a bummer to many folks, but it makes business sense.

Here are a few highlights from Doctor of Credit:

Those with a billing address in Massachusetts will retain the old rules and will continue to get prorated refunds on the annual fee
You still get 30 days from the statement closing date that the annual fee appears; this might be more than 30 days from when the actual fee hit
The terms indicate that if Amex were to shut down your account for whatever reason, then they will prorate the annual fee; the new change only affects voluntary account closures
There are several sites reporting this; I've not yet received a statement on a card to verify the changes personally but when there's this much smoke there's usually some fire. I'm also very aware of the "echo chamber" effect (where a handful of websites all cite each other as sources) but with this many eyes looking at this I feel comfortable mentioning it here.

Here's my disclaimer: keep in mind that if you would be impacted by this change (i.e. you're planning on closing a card) you'll want to do your own due diligence and not rely solely on the information in this thread to make your decision. If you call or chat with an American Express CSR they should (?) be able to confirm the details (I will leave that for someone else to do - I'm not poking the AMEX bear at this time).

Here's a link to the article on the DoC site:

http://www.doctorofcredit.com/amex-eliminate-prorated-annual-fee-refunds-starting-septmeber/
I guess they are going after the people that apply for the Platinum card, collect the MR points, redeem airline credit, and then close the account and get part of the fee back.
This exactly. This is just another change to prevent abuse. You want the card, you pay the whole fee.

Hard to dispute. Like anything else, once something is abused that advantage is taken away.

Re: AMEX to Eliminate Prorated Annual Fees

Anonymous — Tue, 07 Jun 2016 00:37:42 GMT

@RM21 wrote:
@kdm31091 wrote:
@jace8602 wrote:
@UncleB wrote:
It's being reported on several websites that American Express will no longer be prorating the annual fees on their products effective September 1, 2016.

If this is correct it could be a bummer to many folks, but it makes business sense.

Here are a few highlights from Doctor of Credit:

Those with a billing address in Massachusetts will retain the old rules and will continue to get prorated refunds on the annual fee
You still get 30 days from the statement closing date that the annual fee appears; this might be more than 30 days from when the actual fee hit
The terms indicate that if Amex were to shut down your account for whatever reason, then they will prorate the annual fee; the new change only affects voluntary account closures
There are several sites reporting this; I've not yet received a statement on a card to verify the changes personally but when there's this much smoke there's usually some fire. I'm also very aware of the "echo chamber" effect (where a handful of websites all cite each other as sources) but with this many eyes looking at this I feel comfortable mentioning it here.

Here's my disclaimer: keep in mind that if you would be impacted by this change (i.e. you're planning on closing a card) you'll want to do your own due diligence and not rely solely on the information in this thread to make your decision. If you call or chat with an American Express CSR they should (?) be able to confirm the details (I will leave that for someone else to do - I'm not poking the AMEX bear at this time).

Here's a link to the article on the DoC site:

http://www.doctorofcredit.com/amex-eliminate-prorated-annual-fee-refunds-starting-septmeber/
I guess they are going after the people that apply for the Platinum card, collect the MR points, redeem airline credit, and then close the account and get part of the fee back.
This exactly. This is just another change to prevent abuse. You want the card, you pay the whole fee.
+1
Hard to dispute. Like anything else, once something is abused that advantage is taken away.

So (manufacturing rumors!) maybe the PRG is next, no waiver of AF the first year. That is an equivalent loophole.