A Hilarious Conversation With American Express

a credit card with white text

A few weeks back I got a call from American Express Customer Service asking if I had a few minutes to talk. She wanted to make sure that I was aware of all the benefits my Starwood Preferred Guest Business Card offered and answer any questions I might have. I always like to make sure I’m getting the most out of my credit cards so I was happy to chat.

She started by asking about my primary uses of the card, which is advertising and travel expenses. I noted that I had used it heavily when they’d offered the 3X points for Facebook Ad spend, but had since gone back to using my Business Gold Rewards Card which offers 2x points when that promo ended.

She congratulated me on good use of both my AMEX business cards and next asked what I used my points for, and had I considered using them for personal travel as well as business.  “Why yes, I often do” 🙂 Did I know that I could use my points for spend at hotels? I acknowledged I did, but that I found using the points for award stays was a better value. She then asked if I was familiar with their SPG Flights program, which lets you book whatever flights you want (no blackouts) using the points instead of cash. I admitted I was not, but that I preferred to save my points for first class international travel that I could never afford otherwise, rather than domestic flights.

She enthused on how great it was that I appeared to know how to get the most value out of my card and moved on to helping me determine if there were any additional expenses that I could be putting on my credit card.

She asked about my cell phone or internet expenses. I mentioned for that I used my Chase Ink Bold which offered 5X points.

Next up was office supplies. “Well, I don’t buy much, but when I do, I favor the 5x points from the Ink Bold. However if you all would start offering 5x points for internet or office supply spend I will happily switch!”

She laughed and commented how she was happy to be talking to someone who really understood their cards so well.

We talked about travel — I mentioned I put my gas expenses on my Business Gold Rewards. What about flights? Those usually go on my Business Gold Rewards or Chase Sapphire card for double points.

Hmmmm, well, what about insurance payments? I was stumped bc I knew I didn’t use any AMEX for that. And then she actually solved the problem — do they take AMEX? <lightbulb> Oh no! They don’t. I have to use my Visa.

At that point, she wrapped up the call, thanking me for my time, encouraging me to check out the SPG Flights program and complimenting me on my knowledge of points and credit cards.

A week later I got a hand signed note thanking me again for taking the time. While the call itself didn’t actually help me, it’s this kind of customer service and proactiveness that keeps me a loyal customer. And I’ll admit, it was kind of fun to test my knowledge 🙂

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2 Comments

    1. No, although I did forget to mention it in this post. She brought it up and I told her I actually use my SPG biz card at US Hyatts rather than my Hyatt Visa because the 3% + 1pt per $ is better than their 3 pts per dollar 🙂

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