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Well, this confirms that I'm an idiot!
Back in late August, I was approved for the AMEX SPG Luxury card just prior to the deadline when Marriott/AMEX shut down the ability to receive a sign-up bonus if you'd already had one on the Ritz or Marriott cards. At the time, the SUB was 100,000 points for spending $5,000 within three months. No problem, I thought...
I had until late November to put $5,000 on the card, which I set about doing. The AMEX website makes it easy to monitor how much has been charged to the card. Once I exceeded $5,000 by a couple hundred dollars--well before the deadline--I thought I was home-free.
However, I forgot about the rule that the annual fee ($450) doesn't count towards the spend requirement! So when I checked with AMEX today, they told me I fell just a few dollars short. I asked them if they'd give it to me anyway, as I plan to keep the card and stay at Marriott properties frequently. No dice, they said...
The motto of this story: Don't forget that the annual fee charged to a card doesn't count toward meeting the initial spend requirement to qualify for a sign-up bonus! Sheesh...
Bummer op!
Sorry that happened!
That hurts just to hear. What an annoyance!
Kudos to you for not blaming Amex. I sucks when we have mental farts.
I would call a few more times or ask for customer retention. Don't give up so easily.
I’d agree that you have a lot to gain if you CAN find a sympathetic ear. That really hurts me to read.
@charp150 wrote:
I would keep up the fight. It looks like you have some top tier AMEX cards in your portfolio, their ear will probably be more sympathetic given the AFs you are paying. Especially if you've been a member for a while and give them decent spend. That hurts. But if I were in your shoes I'd be pretty optimistic.
Well, it would be a good DP anyway! Amex are very tough (as in "no") about things like matching increased SUBs, and to me this is somewhat similar. The terms "clearly" state that AF isn't part of required spend ("Eligible purchases do NOT include fees or interest charges.....") and so they may be unwilling to bend. If OP puts a LOT of spend, chances might be better.