The AF just posted to this account, and I skipped the call last year, so it was time to call retention.
FYI Amex retention offers seem to be available every two years. I got one two years ago when my then PRG turned a year old. I think that time it was 10K points for $1500 spend.
This is my primary dining and grocery card, so it normally gets a decent amount of spend. This past year it was on and off, though, as I worked through spend offers on other accounts. I'd say it was 50/50 front of wallet and in the sock drawer over the past year.
The offer was:
10K points with no spend requirement, or...
$75 statement credit for $750 spend, or...
downgrade to Green
I took the points. It doesn't quite compensate the whole $250 AF, but... I value MR points at 1.25 cpp minimum, so that's at least half. I'll likely use it enough over the next few months to meet whatever spend requirement, anyway, but it's nice to not have to keep track of it.
I admit, I was hoping they would be more generous, though, especially since they didn't do anything to sweeten the appeal of this card like they did with many of their other products over the past 6 months.
What kinds of retention offers have you guys been seeing?
@MrDisco99 wrote:The AF just posted to this account, and I skipped the call last year, so it was time to call retention.
FYI Amex retention offers seem to be available every two years. I got one two years ago when my then PRG turned a year old. I think that time it was 10K points for $1500 spend.
This is my primary dining and grocery card, so it normally gets a decent amount of spend. This past year it was on and off, though, as I worked through spend offers on other accounts. I'd say it was 50/50 front of wallet and in the sock drawer over the past year.
The offer was:
10K points with no spend requirement, or...
$75 statement credit for $750 spend, or...
downgrade to Green
I took the points. It doesn't quite compensate the whole $250 AF, but... I value MR points at 1.25 cpp minimum, so that's at least half. I'll likely use it enough over the next few months to meet whatever spend requirement, anyway, but it's nice to not have to keep track of it.
I admit, I was hoping they would be more generous, though, especially since they didn't do anything to sweeten the appeal of this card like they did with many of their other products over the past 6 months.
What kinds of retention offers have you guys been seeing?
On my Hilton Aspire card, I got a retention offer for $300 on $1250 3-month spend.
@lhcole77 wrote:
@MrDisco99 wrote:
I took the points. It doesn't quite compensate the whole $250 AF
The AF is more than covered by airline, food, and other credits throughout the year.
Your 10K MRPs actually put you well over the top.
Sure... if I actually use those credits. I haven't gotten much benefit from them lately, though. GrubHub here kinda sucks unless you want fast food delivery, and even then the credit pretty much just offsets the increased prices. There isn't a Cheesecake Factory or Shake Shack anywhere near here. And I can't remember the last time I went to the airport.
Amex credits are notoriously difficult to use. I typically just don't count them at all when figuring out card product value.
@MrDisco99 wrote:
@lhcole77 wrote:
@MrDisco99 wrote:
I took the points. It doesn't quite compensate the whole $250 AF
The AF is more than covered by airline, food, and other credits throughout the year.
Your 10K MRPs actually put you well over the top.
Sure... if I actually use those credits. I haven't gotten much benefit from them lately, though. GrubHub here kinda sucks unless you want fast food delivery, and even then the credit pretty much just offsets the increased prices. There isn't a Cheesecake Factory or Shake Shack anywhere near here. And I can't remember the last time I went to the airport.
Amex credits are notoriously difficult to use. I typically just don't count them at all when figuring out card product value.
I used to have the gold card, and I was constantly thinking of how to offset the $250 annual fee. I was eating food from Shake Shack once a month because I can't stand the way Grub Hub takes about 25% off the top from the restaurants. And I don't like going to chain stores in general.
Eventually, when Amex declined to pay a $3k veterinarian's bill, because I hadn't previously spent $3k on the card, I decided to trash that card.
The entire time I had it I felt like I was working for Amex, instead of them working for me.
@SouthJamaica wrote:
I used to have the gold card, and I was constantly thinking of how to offset the $250 annual fee. I was eating food from Shake Shack once a month because I can't stand the way Grub Hub takes about 25% off the top from the restaurants. And I don't like going to chain stores in general.
Eventually, when Amex declined to pay a $3k veterinarian's bill, because I hadn't previously spent $3k on the card, I decided to trash that card.
The entire time I had it I felt like I was working for Amex, instead of them working for me.
Yikes... Thankfully my experience hasn't been that bad.
Part of it for me is when I first got the card, it was the Premier Rewards Gold card, which had a $195 AF waived the first year and no dining credit. Of course, back then, cashing in the $100 airline credit was easier than it is now. I had every intention of cancelling the card when it turned a year old. But then the revamp to the "new Gold" was announced right before renewal time, and didn't take effect until right after, so I snuck in with a $195 renewal fee.
I never really got into that mindset that I had to offset the AF. I just used the card organically, and made a decision each year on whether or not I should pay to keep it.
Since that first year, the airline credit got a lot harder to use, and I've only used the dining credit once in a blue moon when I was feeling particularly lazy. I've racked up on MR points like a boss though. I'm all set for another big free vacation whenever the world gets back to something like normal.
So yeah... for me it just comes down to whether I spend enough on the 4x categories to make it worth it. So far it's been worth keeping just for that. I try not to resort to altering my spending habits to make the card worth keeping. That way leads madness. It's the same reason I don't have any of those $450+ AF cards. Usually there's a bunch of hoops you have to jump to offset the fee, and I'd rather not play those games.
I have thought about alternatives. I like collecting MR points because their transfer partners work best for me and the Gold+BBP combo is a nice and simple way to earn. I also kinda like earning non-cash as it forces me to save them for something fun as opposed to a small offset I could just as easily turn around and spend right away. However, cash back has been pretty attractive lately. I could replace 4x on grocery earning with 6% cash back on a BCP for $95, and combine that with 4% on dining from a USBank Altitude Go if I could get approved for it. That's not quite as much earning, but I'd be paying less in fees. Of course, I already have the Savor, but I don't plan to renew it.
If I wanted to pay zero AF and not app for anything new, I guess I could settle for 3% cash back on those categories (or 2x MR points, depending on what they are worth to me at the time). 4x MR is a lot more attractive, though, if I can make it worth the fee. So far, so good.
@MrDisco99 wrote:
@SouthJamaica wrote:
I used to have the gold card, and I was constantly thinking of how to offset the $250 annual fee. I was eating food from Shake Shack once a month because I can't stand the way Grub Hub takes about 25% off the top from the restaurants. And I don't like going to chain stores in general.
Eventually, when Amex declined to pay a $3k veterinarian's bill, because I hadn't previously spent $3k on the card, I decided to trash that card.
The entire time I had it I felt like I was working for Amex, instead of them working for me.
I never really got into that mindset that I had to offset the AF. I just used the card organically, and made a decision each year on whether or not I should pay to keep it.
The second approach is the always the winner: if you have to work hard to justify an annual fee, it means that you're getting the wrong card -- or you're getting the right card for the wrong reasons (perceived status, etc.).
I've had the Amex Platinum for a few years and it has always made a ton of sense for me without having to even obsess over credits: I just spend that much on airplane tickets every year to easily offset the fee with the 5x points, and I'm a rideshare user (didn't even have a car until recently). That's it. The rest is icing.
The Amex Gold makes sense for people who eat out a lot and spend enough in grocery stores each year: the 4x points in those categories, minus the 2x or 3x you could get from other (cheaper) cards, should be enough to justify the annual fee. If you have to rely on all the benefits at the same time for the card to be worth it, it's probably not the card for you.
