Terms apply to American Express benefits and offers. Visit americanexpress.com to learn more.
The pandemic negatively impacted consumers wallets in a myriad of ways. Credit card issuers responded to people's changing spending habits and new financial constraints by offering higher rewards rates on certain spending categories or reducing the annual fee on select cards. While some banks were proactive in this area, many have asked their credit card issuers for better terms on their cards.
A recent LendingTree report found that of the 47% who asked for better terms on their credit cards, the majority had cited the pandemic as their biggest reason for doing so. Asking for different terms on your credit card can be anything from requesting a waived or reduced annual fee, a lower APR, a larger credit line or a larger sign-up bonus.
When you do decide to ask, it's best to make a phone call to customer service.
John Ulzheimer, a credit expert formerly of FICO and Equifax, distinguishes between the different types of requests that cardholders make to card issuers as being either a risk assessment issue or a marketing issue.
Ulzheimer describes marketing issues as requests for a larger welcome bonus or a reduced (or waived) annual fee. Credit card issuers are more open to fulfilling these small requests because they want to keep you on as a customer.
Some card issuers, like American Express, are known to be more responsive to requests. Amex has its own retention offer department that you may get transferred to when you call. According to a 2020 JD Power Credit Card Satisfaction study, Amex ranked highest in customer satisfaction among national card issuers.
Brendan Dorsey, a Select editor, and Brett Holzhauer, a Select reporter, each managed to score retention offers by calling or messaging Amex customer service.
Holzhauer was able to get a better interest rate and a bonus offer, which required a certain amount of spending within a window of time, on his Blue Business® Plus Credit Card from American Express in June 2020.
Dorsey more recently got a retention offer on three of his Amex cards: the American Express® Gold Card, the American Express Platinum Card® and the Hilton Honors American Express Aspire Card.
The American Express Gold Card is great for earning valuable Membership Rewards® points at restaurants worldwide and U.S. supermarkets.
- You can earn $400+ in dining and rideshare credits every year (Enrollment required for select benefits mentioned)
- Exceptionally rewarding for eligible restaurant and U.S. supermarket purchases
- No foreign transaction fees
- Larger annual fee
- Credits are more complicated, you earn them monthly or semi-annually
Highlights
Highlights shown here are provided by the issuer and have not been reviewed by CNBC Select's editorial staff.
- You may be eligible for as high as 100,000 Membership Rewards® Points after you spend $8,000 in eligible purchases on your new Card in your first 6 months of Card Membership. Welcome offers vary and you may not be eligible for an offer. Apply to know if you're approved and find out your exact welcome offer amount – all with no credit score impact. If you're approved and choose to accept the Card, your score may be impacted.
- Earn 4X Membership Rewards® points per dollar spent on purchases at restaurants worldwide, on up to $50,000 in purchases per calendar year, then 1X points for the rest of the year.
- Earn 4X Membership Rewards® points per dollar spent at US supermarkets, on up to $25,000 in purchases per calendar year, then 1X points for the rest of the year.
- New! Earn 5X Membership Rewards® points on prepaid hotel stays booked through AmexTravel.com or the Amex Travel App.
- Earn 3X Membership Rewards® points on flights booked through AmexTravel.com, the Amex Travel App, or purchased directly from airlines.
- Earn 2X Membership Rewards® points on prepaid car rentals booked through AmexTravel.com or the Amex Travel App and cruises booked and paid through AmexTravel.com.
- Earn 1X Membership Rewards® point per dollar spent on all other eligible purchases.
- Pay It® lets you tap in the American Express® App to quickly pay for small purchase amounts throughout the month and still earn rewards the way you usually do. Plan It® gives you the option to split up big purchases into equal monthly payments with a fixed fee. You'll know upfront exactly how much you'll pay.
- Updated! $120 Dining Credit: Earn up to a total of $10 in statement credits monthly when you pay with the Gold Card at Grubhub (including Seamless), Buffalo Wild Wings, Five Guys, The Cheesecake Factory, and Wonder. This can be an annual savings of up to $120. Enrollment required.
- $100 Resy Credit: Get up to $100 in statement credits each calendar year at over 10,000 qualifying U.S. Resy restaurants after you pay for eligible purchases with the American Express® Gold Card. That's up to $50 in statement credits semi-annually. Enrollment required.
- $84 Dunkin' Credit: Earn up to $7 in monthly statement credits after you pay with the American Express® Gold Card at U.S. Dunkin' locations. Enrollment required.
- $120 Uber Cash on Gold: Enjoy up to $120 in Uber Cash annually with your Gold Card. Just add your Card to your Uber account and you'll get $10 in Uber Cash each month to use on orders and rides in the U.S. when you select an Amex Card for your transaction.
- New! As an American Express® Gold Card Member, you can enjoy complimentary Hertz Five Star® Status. Enjoy benefits like skipping the counter at select locations, adding an additional driver at no additional cost*, and vehicle upgrades**. Benefit enrollment and Hertz Gold+ registration are required. *Additional drivers must meet standard rental qualifications and must be a spouse or domestic partner to qualify as complimentary. Other additional drivers subject to fees. **Benefits are subject to availability and vary by location. Additional Hertz program Terms and Conditions including age restrictions apply.
- Take advantage of a $100 credit towards eligible charges* at over 1,300 upscale hotels worldwide when you book The Hotel Collection through AmexTravel.com or the Amex Travel App **. *Eligible charges vary by property. **The Hotel Collection requires a two-night minimum stay.
- Book your travel through the Amex Travel App with added peace of mind – backed by American Express® service and support. Only for American Express® Card Members.
- Whenever you need us, we're here. Our Member Services team will ensure you are taken care of. From lost Card replacement to statement questions, we are available to help 24/7.
- No Foreign Transaction Fees.
- Annual Fee is $325.
- Terms Apply.
- See Rates & Fees
Foreign transaction fee
None
"I asked if there was any way they could waive the annual fee on my credit cards. I mentioned that it was hard to justify paying so much in annual fees for travel credit cards during a period of restricted travel because of Covid-19," Dorsey said.
Dorsey managed to earn 30,000 Membership Rewards points on his Platinum Card, 10,000 Membership Rewards points on his Gold Card and 10,000 Hilton Honors points on his Aspire card without having to meet any spending requirements. He notes that he's been able to get similar retention offers in non-pandemic years as well.
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Matt Schulz, Chief Credit Analyst at LendingTree, emphasizes that regardless of whether there's a pandemic or not, there are still relatively high rates of success when it comes to requesting better terms on your card.
"We're having really high success rates when it comes to asking for lower APR or waived fees," Schulz said. "This isn't just a function of the pandemic."
Asking for a lower interest rate or increasing your credit limit
Ulzheimer suggests that people keep their expectations reasonable when making bigger requests, which he describes as risk assessment issues. This includes asking for a significantly lower APR or a much higher credit limit.
These requests typically require card issuers to do a hard inquiry into your credit report, which can result in a slight drop in your credit score. If you're planning on applying for a mortgage or purchasing a car anytime soon, you might want to hold off on these requests because of the drop it will cause in your credit score.
Schulz says that people don't negotiate because they often don't know that they can. The LendingTree study found that 28% of those who said they don't ask for different terms on their credit cards didn't know they could.
"A lot of people just don't know that they can [negotiate]. There's also a big group of folks who don't like negotiation and don't like confrontation and don't pick up the phone, just because they're scared to do so. It's understandable because trying to negotiate against a giant, behemoth financial institution can be intimidating," Schulz said. "But the truth is, people need to realize that they have more power in their relationships with their credit card issuers…"
Regardless of whether you're asking for something small from your issuer, like a reduction of your annual fee or a larger request, like a doubling of your credit limit, you have nothing to lose by picking up the phone and talking to your bank. Doing so could end up saving you real money and the worst they could say is 'no'.
For rates and fees of the American Express Gold Card, click here.
