How to get a credit card retention offer
When you open a lot of credit cards in travel hacking, you’re likely going to encounter some with annual fees. And while there are some we unequivocally recommend despite the fee, there are others where it’s less clear. If you’re questioning whether to close a credit card with an annual fee, it’s worth considering if you can get a retention offer in order to keep the credit card open.
I recently had the annual fee ($250) hit my American Express Gold card. While the card offers 4x on dining and groceries, I wasn’t using the monthly benefits to make this fee worth it. $250 is my highest annual fee – my other annual fee cards are only $95 with benefits I use far more often. I also found that I wasn’t even using the card that much as Q1 for Chase Freedom and Freedom Flex cards offered 5x on groceries and I had a promotion on my United Card that offered 5x on dining during Q1 as well.
So, when I saw the annual fee hit, I decided to take my chances and reach out to American Express to request a credit card retention offer.
How to do it
When your annual fee hits, you want to reach out within 30 days. If you do decide to close your card, you will be refunded the fee if it’s within that timeframe.
I logged into the American Express website and started a chat. My initial message was something like this: “Hello, the annual fee on my American Express Gold card recently posted. While I like the card, I’m not sure if the annual fee is worth paying for another year. Are there any available offers that may help me justify keeping the card?” (There are plenty of scripts out there on Google if you don’t like mine).
The person I was connected to first stated that the highlights of the card are the 4x on dining and groceries and asked how much I typically spend on those categories monthly. I responded that I was aware of those elevated categories but that I had cards from other providers that gave similar or sometimes higher multipliers. I also shared that the American Express Gold card was the highest annual fee card I hold.
The American Express representative then started explaining the monthly benefits (e.g. $10 monthly on Uber), which I am aware of. However, I haven’t really used the monthly credits in the year-plus I’ve had the card. I explained that to the representative as well.
After a bit of back and forth, the representative offered me 15,000 Membership Rewards points for $2,000 worth of spend in three months. I’m wrapping up a sign-up bonus in the next couple weeks and with our regular spend, $2,000 is feasible, so I accepted the offer. I saved documentation of our conversation in case I don’t see the points post after I hit the spend requirement.
Conclusion
I haven’t heard of anyone getting a credit card retention offer from Chase, so I deliberately chose American Express. I’m a bit biased towards Chase because of all the ways to earn points and the travel partners. Had I been declined the retention offer, I likely would have cancelled my card. P2 has an AmEx Gold and I could become an authorized user (AU) on it for our grocery shopping to get 4x. Even if you’re an American Express devotee, it may be worth asking for a retention offer. The worst they can say is no!
