It is certainly not very common to ask and actually receive retention offers on no annual fee credit cards. Usually the incentive is for the company to keep you as a customer and continue to pay the annual fee. However American Express has been offering retention offers on no fee cards. For me one of them is the American Express Business Blue credit card.

2x points on everything for first $50,000 spend

Even in the middle of a Pandemic it is important to keep an eye on your credit card portfolio. Cards that we might have used in the past for their travel benefits, might be less effective now. Therefore it is always worthwhile to review your cards. That is also a reason why it is great to have some no annual fee credit cards.

One of the reasons I have the American Express Business Blue card is for all my spend that doesn’t earn multiple points somewhere else. So this includes internet and cable and my insurances. I am happy to earn 2x membership points for those on a reoccurring basis, even though near where the $50,000 potential. Add the fact that there is no annual fee on this card and it has a long-term place in my wallet. It also ensures I don’t lose my points, should I close another card.

How did I get a Retention Offer from American Express?

I hadn’t consider calling American Express about the card, until I saw some reports in blogs that people were getting retention offers. Not one to check on an opportunity I tried to chat with Amex. They referred me to their customer service line. Once I had a representative on the line, he asked some questions about my business . My business is this blog. He also asked about my spend habits. After about a minute or two of chat he said that he could offer me a $50 statement credit right away with an additional $100 statement credit after I would spend $2,000 within the next three months. A fantastic offer in my book, as I had bigger purchase coming up that would allow me to get both credits.

8-12 weeks in reality is a few days

As per usual they have to read you some disclosures and referenced that it could take 8-12 weeks for the credit to appear in the account. For me the $50 actually appeared within two days, so expect it to be faster. Coincidentally my account was also targeted with a spending offer. To spend $4,000 in three months to get an additional 6,000 MR points. This worked out pretty good for me with the increased spend on the account. Membership points along with Chase points are my favorite points, so happy that I will continue to earn them.

10,000 bonus points through referral

Currently while there is no public bonus offerings, you could sign up through my referral link and earn 10,000 membership points after spending $3,000 in 90 days. The bonus on this card has never been above 10,000. Therefore 10,000 MR points is not a bad deal for this card.

Summary

I wouldn’t have thought about calling, but glad I did, as I was able to achieve $150 worth in savings for a No Annual fee card. Overall it took me about 10min of my time. Take the travel/credit card wins whenever you can.