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$300 Bonus To Close AMEX Account!

Posted in Credit Card Deals, Expired Deals by DealMaven
February 24, 2009 12:08 PM - 13 Comments

You know the economy is bad when credit cards start paying customers to cancel their cards.

But that’s what it’s come to at American Express, which is offering some members $300 to go away.

Letters have gone out to an undisclosed number of customers “with sizeable balances, with little account activity,” according to American Express spokesperson Molly Faust. (If you didn’t get a letter, you can’t call and ask to be included.)

Faust described the voluntary program as “one of the steps we take to prudently manage risk based on customers’ overall credit profile.”

Translation: These cardholders are making the minimum payment on an account that’s bouncing up against its credit limit and we’re worried they’ll default.

Customers have until Feb. 28 to accept the offer, and another two months to pay off their balance. Once that’s done, American Express will send a $300 prepaid gift card as their bonus.

Cardholders who accept the deal but don’t pay off the balance by April 30 will still have their accounts closed and forfeit the bonus.

Participants must also redeem any membership reward points by then or they’ll be lost when the account is closed.

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Comments (13)
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  1. hallmonitor said:
    on February 24th at 05:11 pm

    Couldn’t have said it better myself. When the card companies pay you to go away you know it’s bad! For everyone who is standing there in shock at how lenders could lend to sub-prime customers and not imagine they would default in large numbers…I have only one thing to say. Just wait until the credit card ‘tsunami’ is disclosed.

  2. Johns Wu said:
    on February 24th at 07:26 pm

    That’s pretty cool.

  3. Edgar C said:
    on February 24th at 10:18 pm

    This is total crap once again responsible customers are paying for the squanders.

    I am calling Amex to request a $200 credit to my account to keep my account open. Otherwise I am closing with out the $300 bucks (after I get my cash back that is).

  4. Tsunami Cid said:
    on February 25th at 01:01 am

    I agree with Edgar C. Close your credit card accounts. I’ve switched to debit. Let’s all pay today rather than tomorrow, especially for everyday consumer spending!

  5. BloggingBanks said:
    on February 25th at 02:32 am

    Well, you can close it and get the $300 only if they send you a special code. I am posting more on the subject today. Stay tuned.

  6. AE card member said:
    on February 25th at 05:33 am

    I have only $30 balance.
    I don’t like American Express anyway.
    Can I get $300 bonus if I call to cancel my card?

  7. Jesse said:
    on February 25th at 09:38 am

    We just payed off a $1,800 balance and closed our account. I wish I knew about this offer before hand. We always paid more than the minimum so I don’t think we would have been eligable anyway. Plus a couple K is not big enough. I’d guess they’re targeting accounts with 10K and up.

  8. Sue said:
    on February 25th at 12:09 pm

    This whole stimulus thing is a reward for bad behavior. I pay all my bills, pay them on time, and no one is offering me a bonus. This is sickening.

  9. Tsunami Cid said:
    on February 25th at 06:15 pm

    To Sue:

    As they say in the House of Cards, it’s called “the darwinian flush”.

  10. Terrin said:
    on February 25th at 09:23 pm

    People with large balances who are only paying the minimum are paying a lot of interest. American Express has already made much more then $300 from these people. The two month pay off limit is essentially paying off people to transfer balances somewhere else and will most likely barely cover the 3% balance transfer fee that is necessary to do so. It is smart on American Expresses part.

    I will never use American Express. They treat customers like dirt. She had an American Express card forever and never missed a payment. She charged a Macbook on it recently. She paid half of it off in one payment. The balance was around $500. The company recently sent her a notice that is was canceling her card without any reason. There was no offer of a bonus either.

  11. ReichsUnterFurhrer said:
    on February 27th at 10:00 am

    Once again, the deadbeats will be rewarded and the responsible people take it in the shorts. This country sucks.

  12. Sweet Freedom said:
    on March 26th at 11:20 am

    Why don’t you JUST move to Iraq or Afganistan, then you can wear a dress instead of shorts, but don’t tell them you don’t like IT there, they will sever your HEAD… We only need people who want to fix this mess Not whine about it.
    I can’t cancel my Am Ex then I couldn’t get in Costco?

  13. Donel said:
    on March 30th at 09:05 am

    People kill me when they say they get no reward for paying there bills on time, Its called GOOD CREDIT. And we all know with good credit things are cheaper and interest rates are lower. What more do you want? I’m not making excuses for people that don’t pay there bills on time, but if some on offers to help people that are in need people are so quick to say “what about me.” How about this, if you pay you bills on time be satisfied with good credit or improving your credit score. And if you have made a mistake and are in debt or are in danger of being in debt accept the help, but learn from your mistake and make it your last.

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