Good morning everyone, happy Friday!  I apologize for not writing much lately, but I do have a few posts in the pipeline, they just take a while to get all the necessary details and dates.  Anyway, my December credit card statements just closed and a few of my credit cards had annual fees that posted.  Most of the time, I have already mentally decided if I will keep a credit card or cancel way before the annual fee posts, but even if I mentally decide to keep a credit card, I still call and see if there are any retention offers available.  It never hurts to call, the worst that can happen is that they say there are no offers, and if you never ask, you will never receive.  During this round of retention calls, I called regarding my American Express Business Platinum Charge Card, Chase IHG Rewards Credit Card, and Chase Hyatt Credit Card.  Here is how those retention offer calls went…

Retention Call 1 and 2: American Express Business Platinum Charge Card

I called American Express on Wednesday afternoon and told the rep that the $450 annual fee just posted on my American Express Business Platinum Charge Card and I wanted to close the card, but before I close the card, I wanted to see if there were any retention offers available.  She put me on hold for a few minutes, but then said that the department that was responsible for retention offers was really busy and that I should call back at a later time.

I then called back Thursday morning and told the second rep the same spiel.  He put me on hold for a few minutes to check my offers and came back with no offers.  I told him I put a lot of spend on my no annual fee American Express Blue Business Plus Credit Card (true) and earned lots of Membership Reward Points on that card and put very little spend on my American Express Business Platinum Charge Card (true), so why did I need both cards?  I told him I get good value out of the $200 airline incidental credit and occasionally visit the Centurion Lounges, but that did not justify paying the $450 annual fee.  He asked me what type of offer I was looking for and I said statement credits to offset the annual fee.  He didn’t have any statement credit retention offers and said that I could redeem my Membership Reward Points for statement credits.  No… that was not what I wanted.  He said he would transfer me to that department and then I hung up in annoyance.  Ugg, I will hold on to this card until get another AMEX Plat.  I’m currently eyeing the 60,000 point signup bonus on the American Express Platinum Charge Card from Charles Schwab.

Retention Call 3a: Chase IHG Rewards Credit Card

I have the JPMorgan Chase Ritz Carlton Credit Card phone number saved in my phone and called that number.  Seconds later, a JPMorgan Chase rep answered the call and asked what she could help me with.  I told her I was reviewing my credit card statements and saw that the annual fee just posted on my Chase IHG Rewards Credit Card.  I asked her if there were any type of retention offers available and, surprisingly, she said that she could give me a $25 statement credit.  That represents a 50% refund on the already unbelievably low $49 annual fee.  I asked if she saw any other retention offers, but that was it.  I said $25 is $25 and accepted that offer.

Retention Call 3b and 4: Chase Hyatt Credit Card

After I received the $25 statement credit on my Chase IHG Rewards Credit Card, I asked the rep to check for retention offers on my Chase Hyatt Credit Card.  I stated that my travel patterns changed and I didn’t stay at Hyatt properties as much as I used to (true).  I also shared my dissatisfaction about the new World of Hyatt loyalty program and told her that I did not like the new program as much as Hyatt Gold Passport.  She checked my account for retention offers but didn’t see any offers.  I asked her if she could do a one time courtesy statement credit or offer bonus points, but she said she could not do that.  I thanked her for her help and hung up.

A few hour later, I called the customer service number on the back of the Chase Hyatt Credit Card and my call was answered by someone in the JPMorgan Chase department.  I repeated my spiel to the new rep and he put me on hold for a few minutes.  When he returned, he told me there were no retention offers available.  I asked him if he could do a one time courtesy statement credit and he said no.  I asked him if it were possible to product change to a Chase Freedom Credit Card or a Chase Freedom Unlimited Credit Card and he said there were no conversion options available.  I told him I would keep the card open and decide later if I wanted to keep or cancel the card.

1 out of 4 retention calls is not bad, but I thought my arguments for retention offers were much stronger on my American Express Business Platinum Charge Card and Chase Hyatt Credit Card, than on my Chase IHG Rewards Credit Card.  Oh well, $25 for making a few calls is not too bad.  Maybe I will have better luck during my next round of retention calls.  If you have any questions, please leave a comment below.  Have a great weekend everyone!