Back in January I had a post about AMEX retention bonus points and I have had it in my “Essentials” tab for quite a while. But I think it could use an update so here it is and some Q&A.
Q1) What is a retention bonus?
Q2) What is a challenge?
Q3) When should I call?
Q4) What should I expect to get?
Q5) What will help me get more points?
Q6) Will my points I have earned go away?
Q7) Are there ways not to cancel a card and still avoid the annual fee?
Q8) Does it hurt my credit score to cancel a card?
Q9) Can I get the same card and new card points again?
These are all very common questions and the answers are not all the same for all banks so please keep this in mind. Also, results can be very different from person to person and card to card. Also never ever cancel a card say 3 or 4 months after you get it. There is no benefit to you to do this and it could result in the bank taking the points you earned back. This is rare, but again, why risk this when there is zero benefit for canceling early.
A1) A retention bonus is either an amount of points or a statement credit to keep you as a card holder. Some banks have a retention department that can offer you an amazing amount of points to remain a card holder. At other banks this is just handled by front line reps or supervisors. You may, in lieu of points, be offered no annual fee for another year.
A2) A challenge, often done by CitiBank, is a bonus point offer if you do certain tasks like spend $1000 or $5000 dollars in say 3 or 6 months. If you do this you will get 10k or 20k or some other amount of points. You may or may not get your fee waived for the year. Most times you are offered a choice of options.
A3) As I mentioned before, it is good to call before the annual fee hits. Say 10 or 11 months into holding your card. This will give you time to show you are using the card and you are a customer worth keeping. And this leads right into the next answer.
A4) This can vary by huge amounts. For example, did you only meet the minimum spend then never ever use the card again? Or, did you use the card a ton or even now and then for most of the past year. I have received 30,000 Skymiles from my Delta AMEX Reserve card but I spend $60,000 a year to get my 30k MQM’s so I show myself as a customer worth keeping. Other cards, where I have just met the spend and then not charged one dollar more, they offer me nothing and are happy to close my account (and to have me go away)!
A5) As you have seen in A4, spending and using a card will make a bank “show you the point love” more than if you don’t. Simple right; but there are other things too. You can always ask for a “challenge” that is, spend a certain amount to get the points. Or, with AMEX, be sure to ask for the retention department not just front line reps. Also, if you do not like a zero offer, say that you think you will keep the card open for now and call back a few days later and hope for a better rep. Just like with Delta, if you do not like the answer from rep one, call back as maybe rep two will offer more.
A6) Most of the time once you earn points they are yours. This is not ALWAYS the case. For example, if you close an AMEX Membership rewards points account & card, and you do not have another one tied to that account, your points are gone. Also, as I talked about already, never cancel quick. It can only hurt you. Chase has also been reported to take back Ultimate Rewards points for closing a card soon after you get your points. Additionally, the only time you would want to do this is say with Chase to be able to get approved for another card by closing the older card but at that point there should be no risk to your points.
A7) You bet. Some cards will be happy to waive the annual fee for another year or even many years if you keep asking and are using the card. Others, you may be able to “downgrade” to the same type card, often with less benefits, with no annual fee. Remember, to have a ton of cards does not hurt your credit score – not paying the debt off does! That leads to the next answer.
A8) YES! Think about this. If you, say, have $10,000 total credit available on 2 cards ($5,000 each) and you cancel one of them, you have lost 50% of your total credit available. Even if you have, say, $100,000 total credit available and cancel a $10,000 card, you have still dropped your available credit by 10% and even possibly upped your debt vs. your total available credit. Bottom line, having a ton of credit says your are worthy of risk for credit cards.
A9) It depends on the bank. With AMEX it is the close date that matters. You must not have had that “type” card for 365 days. If 366 then yes you can get the new card bonus again. With Chase, I have been told it is 24 months since close date to get the new customer bonus. With Citi, 18 months since application date (I still use close date to be safe but YMMV). With BofA & Barclays, you can get often the same card every 3-6 months but it would be wise to leave your FF number off the app and merge accounts later. With US BANK it would seem, you can get the same cards again and again and again!
So there you are. There are not only a ton of points from new cards, but you can also earn a bunch by keeping your cards or even from downgrading them. As I say, it never hurts to “beg for points“! – René
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Editorial Note: Any opinions, analyses, reviews or recommendations expressed in this article are those of the author’s alone, and have not been reviewed, approved or otherwise endorsed by any card issuer.
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Finally, a non-flying MQM bonus (small as it may be).
Stay at Hilton – make Delta your double-dip option, get 250 MQMs.
Requires registration at http://www.HHonors.com/deltamqm
@Steve – yep put it up at FT and will post later. Txs – Rene
http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/delta-skymiles/1393418-earn-100-250-delta-mqms-many-hilton-stays-back.html
gotcha. Hadn’t seen the FT thread yet. Any idea on if it counts for existing reso’s? (I have a doubletree booked for next week, booked it 2 months ago hoping I get the MQMs).
@ Steve – it looks like yes. As long as: *To be eligible for this offer, you must (1) select Delta Air Lines as your preferred Double Dip® Points & Miles Partner in your Hilton HHonors account profile, (2) complete a minimum 2-night stay at a hotel or resort within the Hilton Worldwide portfolio from October 1, 2012 through December 15, 2012, and (3) register online at HHonors.com/deltamqm prior to check-out. You must be a Hilton HHonors member to earn points and miles for hotel stays.
Be sure you have Delta as your airline and double dip picked. I have a photo up on the FT post.
That’s how I read it too. Thanks!
If I get a business reserve card, I get access to the sky club.. Do I need to be flying delta on that day or can I be on another airline?
@Ceres – Here are the T&C about that (ie you must be flying Delta) There are other cards like the PLAT AMEX MR card that give you access when flying ANY airline : The Delta Reserve Cardmember must be traveling on a Delta-coded or Delta-operated flight. Name on ticket must match name on Delta Reserve Card. The Delta Reserve Cardmember must be at least 21 years of age to enter Clubs with a selfservice bar, unless they are accompanied by a parent or legal guardian. The Delta Reserve Cardmember’s spouse and children under the age of 21 or up to two companions may enter the club as complimentary guests. Complimentary access is only for Delta Sky Clubs. Codeshare partner and other alliance partner lounges are not included. The Delta Reserve Cardmember must present his or her valid Card and same-day,airline ticket to club agents. Note that amenities may vary among airport club locations. Meeting rooms may be reserved for a fee. All Delta Sky Club rules apply. To review the rules, please visit delta.com/skyclub. Offer and rules subject to change. Additional restrictions may apply.
Rene’ when you call Amex about a card renewal bonus — what do you say to the rep? “My cards up for renewal again this year and I’d like a bonus?” or “I’ll cancel is you don’t give me a bonus.” or what? I’ve got a gold , should I ask them to upgrade me to platinum and waive the $450 fee?
@Steve – I never ever upgrade an AMEX card. That is 99.9999999% of the time a VERY bad idea. For the retention bonus read THIS post for AMEX. Any other questions feel free to please email me direct – rene@deltapoints.com
Quick question – if you’re offered a fee waiver or credit and you take it, do they take it back if you change your mind and decide to cancel the card after?
@Becca – no but why not keep the card and enjoy perks.
When I got my retention bonus with AmEx Delta, they made me verbally confirm that I won’t cancel the card. I don’t know how they would enforce something like that but I think cancelling the card might raise a red flag when I apply for it as part of a churn in 2 years time. Any opinions?
@Hitesh – why cancel when you got free points?
@Delta Points: Was just a hypothetical question…curiosity.
I currently have 4 chase visa cards, (Preferred, Preferred Shappire, Marriott and United) Once I have met the spending limit to get my bonus points, what should I do with the cards. Should I cancel the cards and reapply for more cards or keep the current cards and apply for more cards. Also how long should I wait between cards to apply for more. Or should I call and ask for another promotion. I’m New at this and trying to learn the best way to accumulate the most points in a short period of time.
@Dale – With Chase they are one time each card ever (unless they make a new one). Don’t cancel. Downgrade to no fee if you can. Keep all you can with no fee. If bonus for keeping nice, the pay fee and keep. Don’t rush too much. Long and slow and keep adding and building each 91+ days!
I put $100K+ on my Delta Reserve card last year. I called their retention department and received nada. My mistake is I applied for a Business reserve card a couple of weeks ago. So they knew I was going to stay a card member anyway. Still, I believe they were cheap. In the end, I think it’s fair since I would not have cancelled anyway – my wife is on this card too and the credit limit is way higher than for the Business reserve card. I might still cancel once I reach $30K in spend so I can get the MQM bonus. Plus, I am planning to use the companion ticket anyway.