Amex Delta Reserve retention offer - not!

[W261w261]

Well, this was just try #1, but still surprising. My Delta Reserve renewed about a week ago, and I figured of my 3 cards, this would be the easiest to get get several some good miles after threatening to downgrade. Their offer was not appealing - get someone else to sign up as an AU and they'll give me 15k (I think) miles. Shocking! I say.

I'll try again tomorrow.

Anyone have advice on how to do a better job on this? I thought for sure that there would be a lot of people that basically flushed $550 in the past year because of covid and that Amex/Delta would be eager to keep them around in a premium card, rather than a lesser version. So either they figure travel us going to explode, or my retention technique is not good

[K-in-Boston]

That doesn't sound like a retention offer; it sounds like the CSR or chat agent may have thought you were just asking if there were any offers available for your account.

I've not heard of an answer that doesn't fit in either the "there are no retention offers, we can offer Card X with a lower/no AF (if applicable)" or "we can offer you Y points/miles/dollars with no (or Z) spend" categories.  If the answer you received is definitely the answer to "I'd like to close my card," then you don't have a retention offer, as that offer is available whether you renew or threaten to not renew.

As any retention offers are loaded into Amex's system automatically, HUCA doesn't typically work to get a different result.  Did you put a fair amount of spend on the card the past year (like enough to get the $25k MQD waiver or any Status Boost MQM bonuses each $30k spend)?

[AverageJoesCredit]

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@W261w261 wrote:

Well, this was just try #1, but still surprising. My Delta Reserve renewed about a week ago, and I figured of my 3 cards, this would be the easiest to get get several some good miles after threatening to downgrade. Their offer was not appealing - get someone else to sign up as an AU and they'll give me 15k (I think) miles. Shocking! I say.

I'll try again tomorrow.

Anyone have advice on how to do a better job on this? I thought for sure that there would be a lot of people that basically flushed $550 in the past year because of covid and that Amex/Delta would be eager to keep them around in a premium card, rather than a lesser version. So either they figure travel us going to explode, or my retention technique is not good

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Threatening to close a card is a fantastic  way to make a lender learn who wears the pants in the family. Just make sure to tell them you'll take your business elsewhere unless they acquiesce.

[K-in-Boston]

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@W261w261 wrote:

Anyone have advice on how to do a better job on this? I thought for sure that there would be a lot of people that basically flushed $550 in the past year because of covid and that Amex/Delta would be eager to keep them around in a premium card, rather than a lesser version. So either they figure travel us going to explode, or my retention technique is not good

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You added this after I replied.  Again, the offers (if any) are preloaded into your account.   They are not at the whim of the CSR or chat agent and it's not a negotiation.  You can get different offers before and after an AF has posted, but I have not heard of them ever changing for other reasons in a short period of time.  The sequence to "I would like to close my account" is:

a.) List features of card, ways to earn.

b.) If customer still wants to close, list retention offer choices as applicable.

c.) If no offers or customer still wants to close, offer lower or no AF product change.

d.) If no PC available or customer still wants to close, close.

Air travel in the US is back to 2019 levels with 2 MM + passengers going through TSA checkpoints daily.  Staffing issues and plane shortages have made airline cards more desirable than before.

[W261w261]

I'm haven't been a good Delta Reserve customer. I'd have to had spent my way into even 1st level FF status, and at 1% on everything other than tickets, it just wasn't worth it. So my leverage is limited, plus I do want the cell phone insurance (5 lines), the lounge access, the high rental car coverage, and the any-class companion ticket. Sigh, so if they call my bluff I guess I'll keep the card no matter what. Or maybe I can try again and see. But it's hard to be stared down by Amex. 

[SouthJamaica]

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@W261w261 wrote:

Well, this was just try #1, but still surprising. My Delta Reserve renewed about a week ago, and I figured of my 3 cards, this would be the easiest to get get several some good miles after threatening to downgrade. Their offer was not appealing - get someone else to sign up as an AU and they'll give me 15k (I think) miles. Shocking! I say.

I'll try again tomorrow.

Anyone have advice on how to do a better job on this? I thought for sure that there would be a lot of people that basically flushed $550 in the past year because of covid and that Amex/Delta would be eager to keep them around in a premium card, rather than a lesser version. So either they figure travel us going to explode, or my retention technique is not good

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I think they figure travel is going to explode.

I don't have anywhere near as much knowledge about this stuff as @K-in-Boston  but the one time I asked for a retention offer it sure seemed like a negotiation.  The representative first offered me nothing, then offered me something. And then, after I went on and on about why I thought I deserved something better, he came up with a great offer.

[redpat]

IMO, it's tough with a card that offers a companion certificate which can save the cardholders more than the AF.

Also, because of COVID they let the certificates rollover, I have 2 left plus my current one.  Plus a boat load of guest passes to the lounge.

Good luck!

[W261w261]

With regard to guest passes, a couple of weeks ago our flight out of Sarasota was late. Several of us, even after a heroic March to another concourse at ATL, missed the flight to Hartford. We all got a hotel chit + $60 in meal credits, and 6 of us showed up at the Delta lounge at 9:30-ish. The lounge closes at 10:30, and only 1 person in each couple had lounge access. We were suitably bedraggled, and visions of the bar and a meal danced in my head. The lounge management comped all the guests, which went a long way towards repairing my mental health. 

[W261w261]

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@K-in-Boston wrote:

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@W261w261 wrote:

Anyone have advice on how to do a better job on this? I thought for sure that there would be a lot of people that basically flushed $550 in the past year because of covid and that Amex/Delta would be eager to keep them around in a premium card, rather than a lesser version. So either they figure travel us going to explode, or my retention technique is not good

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You added this after I replied.  Again, the offers (if any) are preloaded into your account.   They are not at the whim of the CSR or chat agent and it's not a negotiation.  You can get different offers before and after an AF has posted, but I have not heard of them ever changing for other reasons in a short period of time.  The sequence to "I would like to close my account" is:

a.) List features of card, ways to earn.

b.) If customer still wants to close, list retention offer choices as applicable.

c.) If no offers or customer still wants to close, offer lower or no AF product change.

d.) If no PC available or customer still wants to close, close.

Air travel in the US is back to 2019 levels with 2 MM + passengers going through TSA checkpoints daily.  Staffing issues and plane shortages have made airline cards more desirable than before.

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Thanks for the step-by-step. That's exactly what happened. Finally, I asked if there was a retention offer on the account. Nope! Darn! Prob no spend = no offers. They did offer a no- AF lower-level Delta card.

The Rolling Stones said it best: "You can't always get what you want."

[Anonymous]

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@W261w261 wrote:

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Thanks for the step-by-step. That's exactly what happened. Finally, I asked if there was a retention offer on the account. Nope! Darn! Prob no spend = no offers. They did offer a no- AF lower-level Delta card.

The Rolling Stones said it best: "You can't always get what you want."

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Right, with no spend, all Amex got was the AF and they presumably had costs associated with the benefits, used or not.     But while it is obviously nice to get a good retention offer, at every renewal you should always ask yourself "Is it worth keeping this card (at full price)"   It sounds like for you the answer might be yes.  (This makes not getting a retention offer even more annoying as you can't get the fleeting satisfaction of closing "You can take your overpriced piece of garbage and shove it up your....  Oh, maybe it's just me that says that)