Misled by Amex UK agents twice BEFORE opening a Platinum card—third agent confirmed the errors on the call logs. 10-yr customer. Help!
Hey everyone, looking for some advice or insight from anyone who has dealt with the Amex UK executive complaints team. I've been a loyal Amex customer for 10 years, but the last 48 hours have been an absolute nightmare of misinformation.
Here is exactly what happened:
- Call 1: I currently hold an Amex Gold card. I called them to ask about transitioning to the Platinum. I specifically asked if an upgrade would get me the welcome bonus. The agent explicitly told me that yes, an upgrade was fine and I would get the welcome bonus. I didn't create or open the card during this call.
- Call 2: I then saw a referral link for a 100k points + £250 travel credit offer. I called Amex a second time specifically to confirm everything before doing anything. I asked if I could use this referral link instead. This second agent explicitly assured me that yes, it was completely fine to do it that way.
- The Trap: Based entirely on the confirmation from these two separate calls, the card application went through.
- The Admission: When I spoke to a third agent today to sort it out, they dropped the bombshell that both previous agents had given me completely incorrect information regarding how upgrades and welcome bonuses work. Crucially, the third agent actually listened to the call logs right there and explicitly confirmed to me that the previous agents completely misled me.
Because of their staff's incompetence, I am now stuck with a brand new Platinum card but I am hit by the "Once in a Lifetime" rule—meaning the system has completely locked me out of using that 100k + £250 travel credit referral link.
I acted in 100% good faith and did my due diligence by calling twice to double-check the rules before the card was ever created. Amex has literally admitted internally that they messed up.
I know I am within my statutory 14-day cooling-off period to cancel the card completely without paying the annual fee, but I'm worried if I cancel now, it will completely close the door on getting this fixed.
My questions for the sub:
- Since a phone agent has already explicitly admitted on the phone that the call logs prove I was misled, what are my chances of the Executive Team honoring the 100k + £250 credit?
- Should I hold onto the card while the complaint is being investigated, or just use my 14-day right to cancel right now and wash my hands of it?
Appreciate any advice. I'm incredibly frustrated that a 10-year history with them means nothing when their own staff screws up.