@Anonymouswrote:
I just called in to American Express to cancel my Blue Cash Preferred card (don't really like the way the cash back program works, and I prefer MR, I think). I was still planning to cancel my card if Amex offered me a retention offer, but I wasn't really expecting that I wouldn't even speak to a human. The automated system asked me what I wanted, I said I wanted to close my card, and it just had me say my info and agree to certain terms, and then it was over. Have other people experienced this with Amex or other banks?
Yes, this can be a problem for those who want retention offers (sounds like what happened was OK for you). A while back I submitted an email asking about closing (can't remember which issuer) and the card was closed.
So for those that really want to at least consider a retention offer, always call and get routed to a rep, avoiding terms like "close" at automated prompts.
It's just possible that the system is smart enough so that it knew you weren't marked as "Retain" (so there were no retention offers) but if you want them, get to a rep! (With no guarantees of course)
