Is this really how Neo's "waived" annual fee works, or is this deceptive marketing?
Hey everyone,
Just ran into a frustrating situation with the Neo World Elite Mastercard and wanted to see if anyone else has experienced this.
Their promotional landing page proudly advertises: **"Get your first year annual fee waived"** alongside a $100 bonus for spending $1,500 in the first 3 months.
However, after a hard credit check and talking to support, I found out how it actually works:
**Upfront charge:** They charge you the **$149 annual fee upfront** out-of-pocket the moment you're approved.
**The "waiver" is just a refund:** You aren't actually getting a fee waiver; you have to meet their spending requirements just to claw your own money back as a statement credit later.
**Support admission:** The live chat agent literally admitted to me that *"the details of this promotion may not be clearly shown on all website or landing pages"* and told me to **save screenshots** of the offer because their public marketing doesn't match their actual billing policy.
To make matters worse, it is practically impossible to get a straight answer or hold of them. Customer support kept ghosting the chat and bouncing me across three different agents without a resolution.
Has anyone else dealt with this? Feels pretty misleading to advertise a fee as "waived" while quietly billing you upfront.