American Express Consumer Reviews - Page 3

Let me start off by stating how displeased I am with American Express. I have been a loyal card member for several years now. I have always paid my bill on time and usually pay more than what is due. I went online today to pay my bill and noticed that both of my accounts have had a credit limit reduction. I called and spoke with Andre **; he explained that due to abnormally high credit card usage, American Express has decided to lower my credit limit. Mr. ** stated that beginning in April of this year my credit card use has doubled.

I explained to him that my father passed away and I used my Amex card for an emergency situation to pay for a flight to Thailand, my father's hospital expenses, and then pay for funeral services, and also had to use other cards to fly my father's remains back to the United States. This all occurred over a 2-month period because that it is not easy to ship human remains back into the country and having to wait for availability at Arlington National Cemetery.
I explained to Mr. ** that I had to use all cards to pay for this and hotel rooms in Arlington and that I intentionally spread the fees over several cards so no one card would be maxed out.

He then stated that he was "sorry" for my loss but the decision would not be reversed. Mr. ** stated that American Express could not afford in this economy to take a risk on someone defaulting, especially with someone who chooses not to use their credit wisely. I explained to him that I have been a member for years and have never once defaulted; I in fact usually pay more than the minimum due. I am never late on any payments for any card. He said the decision was actually based on my credit report. I told him he needs to look at my report beyond the number because it will fluctuate due to usage but my payments are never late!

I in fact have a blue card with Amex that has a zero balance and IF I "chose not to use my credit wisely" this card would be maxed out. Mr. ** stated that he had the authority to reverse the decision but even with the facts presented, he stated he would not because Amex could not risk default. I attempted to explain again that my credit usage was not abnormally high before my father's death and not high after his funeral in June. I in fact used it on Saturday for a high purchase ($950) to purchase a laptop for work but other than that hardly at all. I actually pay a fee for this card and can easily transfer this balance to another card(s).

American Express is not the most user friendly card to have. Many merchants will not accept it; trust me I know firsthand because I had to call 5 funeral homes before I found one that would take the card. Given the fact that I do pay a fee for this card and I do pay all my bills on time every month, I am asking that the decision to reduce my line of credit be reversed on both my Amex cards.

Mr. ** stated that Amex could not risk me losing my job due to the economy. I stated that that has nothing to do with my history with Amex and that I am in the medical field as a Nurse Practitioner, and am at no risk of ever losing my job! He then stated that I could get sick and not be able to work. I then explained that that is why I have insurance. To me, it seems that Mr. ** is grasping for a reason. It has been hard enough dealing with the government, the Veterans Administration, and the various agencies concerning the passing of my father. I never thought American Express would turn their back on me.

I always thought that American Express would always be there for me in emergency situations and was a company that had compassion and understanding for individual card members. This is obviously not the case. I am not asking for more than I had, just to be reinstated to my original credit limits. All I am asking is that Amex be as loyal to me as I am to them.

SOUTH CAROLINA -- Had a wrong charge on the card and they are so incompetent they could not figure it out. I figured it out and told them what happened. Without investigating it, they just issued a new card and then it happened again. I cancelled the card after twice reissuing me a new card. They do not care about the customers.

ILLINOIS -- Called AMEX, representative had solution but phone disconnected. Called again, representative said first representative was wrong. Moved to a manager who would escalate to Customer Relations and they would call me. Customer relations never called as was promised. I called again, and this representative had another story... nobody would be calling me! Case closed. They are awful. Have two AMEX cards. Cancelled one. The other will cancel soon. There are a lot of card providers to pick from... like VISA, Discover! (credit score 800+).

OLYMPIA, WASHINGTON -- I got an AE card through Delta Skymiles. I signed up for automatic payment. But every month AE messed it up and I got duplicate bills anyway. After three times and wasted hours, I cancelled their card. All my other bills are paid automatically but AE could never get it right.

Took 1 week to book due to website outages, 10 + hangups. Wrong dates on transfers, no call backs, changed upgrade, no upgrade. Holland American said call Amex. Amex says call Holland. No answer 15 calls 9 emails a day. Trip on Sunday and I am completely stressed out.

RICHMOND, VIRGINIA -- I'm cancelling my credit card with American express, the travel was what appealed to me mostly and the customer service and their momma is pure sh*t. The wait time is ridiculous, customer service points the finger at u, and they are just incompetent point blank. I basically got robbed of 300 bucks. IF YOUR LOOKING FOR GREAT PRODUCT AND SERVICE.....GO THE OTHER WAY

They send dozens of offers per week. Be wary. You sign up for one and they tell you that you did it wrong or their system was down at the time so you don't get the offer you actually signed up for. DO NOT BOTHER. They are the worst around. My suggested alternatives are Discover (incredible onshore service) and Citi. Amex just keeps burying themselves. No love lost here.

CALIFORNIA -- Didn't get what I paid for and because vendor refuses to refund, they tell me that it can't be refunded. After dealing with this for 3 months, I've talked with the supervisors and they are far more incompetent than the customer service. CANCEL AMEX! Why does this company still exist if the cost of business is more and yet less service. Bye, taking my business to better companies.

I have never had a bad experience with Amex. When I challenged Ticketron, they were there for me. I love the rewards. I sound like I work for Amex, but I don't. I'm a teacher. I'm just bummed because I heard that Costco is dumping them. They get slammed left and right, but I'm a believer!

NEW YORK, NEW YORK -- I tried Amex Starwood before and canceled it later on. But family felt the last hotel we stayed at was not so bad (even though they did place us in a room next to the elevator) so I applied for it again in 2013. Due to lack of experience, we did not click on the offer terms (who would?). I got approved quickly. The company did not tell us upfront that we would not qualify for the 30K points as had been advertised.

In the next few months, we called at least 3 times to learn why we hadn't received the points. We were told to be patient each time, that you had not spent 5K yet, that it needs a few weeks to process. Until the last time there were no more excuse. They told us we did not qualify as we had had the product in the past 12 months.

We debate a few points: the dates they used to calculate the 12 months (even the way they did it it was only 4 days short of 12 months). 2nd why wouldn't tell us the truth earlier? Amex just replied it was representative mistake and they had given the feedbacks to the reps. But who cares about that? After many attempts we realized it's a hard to win battle. It's amazing how little they care about customer complaint.

Just a few weeks back we were shopping at a furniture store and at the time we tried to pay they found out the price of the furniture was much lower than marked. You know what the manager did? They just gave us the lower price as it was the company mistake! I was thrilled by their customer service. Compared to them Amex is a much larger and financially stronger company and it's a shame how they deal with customers. Maybe that's exactly how they get there.