Amex makes you wait and wait and wait for the rewards.

[trant3]

OP has every right to be disaapointed, no need to be so harsh Donny10 (ease up a little). From my experience, by BCE/BCP bonuses were rewarded within 2-3 days, not sure why its taking a while for you. 

[Anonymous]

---

@trant3 wrote:

OP has every right to be disaapointed, no need to be so harsh Donny10 (ease up a little). From my experience, by BCE/BCP bonuses were rewarded within 2-3 days, not sure why its taking a while for you. 

---

No thank you. I disagree.

[Anonymous]

---

@UpperNwGuy wrote:

---

@Anonymous wrote:

---

@UpperNwGuy wrote:

---

@Anonymous wrote:

---

@Anonymous wrote:

Amex is kind of disappointing when it comes to their rewards redemption. First of all they make you wait nearly 30 plus days to get rewards (BCE cash back) and then they dont have option to transfer cash to a bank account ,only give statement credit. I think Nfcu has spoiled me . I can transfer nfcu rewards ( as soon as the purchase posts)to nfcu checking instantaneously . And even to an outside institution. There is no minimum . Amex is borrring.  I even discovered something new about nfcu that i didnt know before. I shopped through their member mall but used a citi card (by mistake ) purchase from walmart .com. But nfcu credited 2% cash back rewards to my rewards balance ! ( i just used nfcu member mall not nfcu cc) thats really amazing.  And its a whole another story that someone at walmart packaging screwed up and sent me a brand new microwave(which i did not order or pay for) along with whatever i had ordered . Lol.

---

That's why you should do your homework on a credit card before you apply. If you did your research then you would have known better.

It's only disappointing because you had no idea what you were applying for when you applied for the BCE. Sorry for sounding harsh, but your disappointment is your own fault.

Because if you knew, you wouldn't be disappointed.

---

You sound very harsh.  I, too, was disappointed by the BCE and dropped the card after a year.  I did my homework before I applied, and I knew about the $25 minimum redemption.  What the websites and the user forums neglect to tell you, unless you know to search for it, is that the rewards don't post to your account until after the second statement after you incur the charge.  In my case, I still had to call Amex, because nothing had posted a week after my second statement.  They said it was a computer glitch....

---

So sorry you feel that way.

I got my bonus within a few days of my spend when I first got my BCE.

I guess everyone has different experiences.

---

I wasn't talking about the signup bonus (which is small on this card).  I was talking about the 3% cash back from regular monthly grocery store spending.

---

Do you mean it takes them a long time to give you your statement credit when you redeem?

[Anonymous]

---

@wasCB14 wrote:

Two thoughts not specifically about Amex, but about cash back redemptions in general:

1. If you're willing to wait two months to earn 2% instead of getting 1.5% instantly, you're getting a 462% annualized return for waiting. Granted, not much money is involved and waiting can be frustrating.

2/1.5=1.3333

[1.3333^(12/2)]-1=462%

2. If someone has a card for the rewards, and it takes a long time to earn $25...maybe he or she doesn't spend enough for the rewards to justify the extra complexity (though perks, utilization, etc. may justify it).

---

I agree, in general, but Amex does make the situation a little worse!   So if you spend enough to earn $49 in the first month, you will be only able to redeem $25 of that,  after the second statement.   The $25 increment means you are nearly always unable to redeem your whole reward for another month (and then you leave some of that).

Which doesn't make the card useless, but it can be annoying (as the OP said)

[Anonymous]

---

@Anonymous wrote:

---

@UpperNwGuy wrote:

---

I wasn't talking about the signup bonus (which is small on this card).  I was talking about the 3% cash back from regular monthly grocery store spending.

---

Do you mean it takes them a long time to give you your statement credit when you redeem?

---

Well, not certain what UpperNwGuy was referring to, but most of the complaints are about the speed of posting earnings, not the redemption speed.   Simply, if your statement cut date is say 31st,  the rewards for purchases in July don't appear until the Aug 31st statement (and often aren't available to redeem until a few ays later).  A month later than most/all other issuers.

[Anonymous]

Oh wow. Just now logged in to amex online and saw that my rewards can be redeemed at 25$ increment only. Really?? Its very limiting.  

Anyways. @donny let me give you an opportunity to expand your perspective/mind. Just because I am feeling  disappointed in amex rewards system does not mean or equal to ' i shouldnot have applied'' or 'its some one's fault' etc. Its not that linear / black and white because it does not negate the rewards earned ,card used so obviously there is benefit from using the card and because ultimately i am earning my rewards no matter how slow it is. The card is useful but not briliant. Thats my experience. One can feel or express disappointment about something without completly invalidating its other benefits or assigning fault or making it right or wrong.etc. that would be a very limited perspective. Its not this or that. Its This AND that. I use the card coz it gives 3% on groceries and i dont have any other 3% on groceries card  so i will continue to use it and i am disappointed in its rewards system. Thats how i feel. Try not to jump to conclusions about what others should or should not have done etc just because they expressed something . Try to think multidimensional not linear.

Btw i got my bonus on time , no problems. I even got the mr points with in a few days after meeting the spend. Its the cash back rewards and redemption thats very slow and limiting. Thats my experience. 

Amex is great in some offers and features and not so good in some others. This and that both are valid facts at least to me.

[wasCB14]

---

@Anonymous wrote:

---

@wasCB14 wrote:

Two thoughts not specifically about Amex, but about cash back redemptions in general:

1. If you're willing to wait two months to earn 2% instead of getting 1.5% instantly, you're getting a 462% annualized return for waiting. Granted, not much money is involved and waiting can be frustrating.

2/1.5=1.3333

[1.3333^(12/2)]-1=462%

2. If someone has a card for the rewards, and it takes a long time to earn $25...maybe he or she doesn't spend enough for the rewards to justify the extra complexity (though perks, utilization, etc. may justify it).

---

I agree, in general, but Amex does make the situation a little worse!   So if you spend enough to earn $49 in the first month, you will be only able to redeem $25 of that,  after the second statement.   The $25 increment means you are nearly always unable to redeem your whole reward for another month (and then you leave some of that).

Which doesn't make the card useless, but it can be annoying (as the OP said)

---

Definitely annoying. It's like making an interest-free loan to Amex of up to $25 at a time.

Just not very significiant from a time value of money view.

[UpperNwGuy]

---

@Anonymous wrote:

---

@Anonymous wrote:

---

@UpperNwGuy wrote:

---

I wasn't talking about the signup bonus (which is small on this card).  I was talking about the 3% cash back from regular monthly grocery store spending.

---

Do you mean it takes them a long time to give you your statement credit when you redeem?

---

Well, not certain what UpperNwGuy was referring to, but most of the complaints are about the speed of posting earnings, not the redemption speed.   Simply, if your statement cut date is say 31st,  the rewards for purchases in July don't appear until the Aug 31st statement (and often aren't available to redeem until a few ays later).  A month later than most/all other issuers.

---

Yes, I am talking about the lack of speed for posting earnings available for redemption.  I thought I was being quite clear.  

The $25 minimum to actually redeem those posted earnings is also annoying, but that's a more common practice in the credit card industry.  The delayed posting is not a common practice.

[Anonymous]

Spend bonuses post almost immediately with Amex. Like 2-3 days at max. MR Points and Cash Back USUALLY post the next statement, but they can be slow. Both these facts are pretty well known for Amex.

Sorry they don't live up to the expectationsof NFCU  that's what happens when you get spoiled 

[Anonymous]

---

@Anonymous wrote:

Spend bonuses post almost immediately with Amex. Like 2-3 days at max. MR Points and Cash Back USUALLY post the next statement, but they can be slow. Both these facts are pretty well known for Amex.

Sorry they don't live up to the expectationsof NFCU  that's what happens when you get spoiled 

---

+1