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A year ago I received 50k points to upgrade to an Amex Biz Plat
At the time, I actually held another Amex Biz Plat ( which I was going to cancel), but was targeted for an upgrade on an Amex Biz Gold card that I concurrently held. I bit at the upgrade offer, and not only did I receive the 50k points, I cancelled the other Amex Biz Plat, and then used my new Biz Plat to refer 5 people to the then, 100k offer. My 50k turned into 175k points, and I was a happy camper. That upgraded Biz Plat was looking at an annual fee of $450 hitting mid December so I called into to inquire about retention offers. I was hoping to receive the 50k points, after $10k spend, many people had received during the summer, but alas, I didn’t. I was given two options:
- $100 statement credit
- 10,000 points
I went with the second option.
I value Amex points somewhere around 2 cents, so that’s like getting $200. Add in the $200 incidental airline credit, and my Gogo passes and I’m already ahead on another year of card membership. Not to mention Centurion lounge access, and a bevy of other perks.
A couple of other reasons.
I don’t hold another Amex that earns MR. Crazy, I know. I’ve been meaning to pick up an Everyday Preferred, and most likely will this year, but I either needed to downgrade the Amex Plat, or sign up for a card that would keep my points alive. I opted to keep my 5/24 number down, and enjoy another year of Amex Biz Plat perks.
I’ll also be flying through SFO more and more this coming year as my allegiance to Alaska/Virgin grows deeper. If I have more than an hour layover I’ll switch terminals at SFO and hang in the Centurion lounge during the layover. That benefit will get used more as I fly through there with more frequency. I’ll also fly through Seattle here and there, and accessing their lounge will yield residual benefits as well.
What would you have done?
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I also upgraded my Am Ex Gold to the Biz Platinum last year for 50K MR points. My card anniversary year just expired in November, and I was offered another 50K MR points with no spend necessary. I put a fair amount of spend on my card though throughout the year so that probably played a role (>$100K). It’d be interesting to know what factors Am Ex takes into account when offering retention bonuses so we know what spend targets etc. to shoot for. Just reading the comments it sounds like retention bonuses are all over the place. Keep up the good work Miles!
I had the same issue (Biz platinum expiring in December). I canceled and signed up for the Ameriprise Platinum (no fee for the first year and you get the same perks).
How much did you spend on the AmexPlatium this year……That would give us more knowledge on what we can expect …right
I cancelled today and was offered 15,000 or a $150 statement credit. I declined both offers.