Oh, no!
A few reports (1, 2, 3) indicate that Amex is again freezing Membership Rewards accounts of those who applied using the 100k Platinum link that surfaced a couple weeks ago. [This issue is with the leaked personal 100k link, not the public 100k business Platinum card offer.]
This is the same thing that happened back during the May leaked Platinum 100k offer. First they froze the Membership Rewards accounts, then they clawed back the bonus.
Now, some people who got in on the November 100k offer are seeing that their MR accounts are frozen. Points earned from all MR Amex cards are frozen. Both this time and last time, the freeze began around two weeks after the applications.
Let’s hope they don’t claw back the points again this time. So long as you did your part, you should get the bonus points, but we’ll have to see if that happens.
Last time around, Amex used two strategies to skirt their obligations when people challenged them:
- If the minimum spend was met utilizing manufactured spend and thus they aren’t eligible
- Since you already got a signup bonus on a different version of the Platinum card you aren’t eligible
In this case, just make sure to meet the spend requirement without MS to get out of the first problem. If you previously got a Platinum bonus on a different version of the Platinum card, they might crack down and not give you the bonus. We shall see. 🙁
Probably not worth calling in; just wait to see what Amex does. It’s likely an issue that affects hundreds of people together. If you applied for the Platinum 100k offer and your account isn’t frozen it might be worth transferring out what you’ll need soon.
It was my firt Platinum ever. I used the same link. My card did not arrived after approval because the adress was incorrect. So I called to corrected the adress, after receiving the card I called to AMEX just to activate the card and confirm if I was assigned the 100,000 bonus and they say no, there is no sign up bonus on this card. But if you give me your code I am happy to apply the 100k bonus. I didnt have a code for the 100k so I asked to cancel card to avoid anual fee. Let me know if you get the 100k points.
i just chatted with amex and they confirmed the 100k bonus. did you ask through chat? did you happen to ask another csr to see if the first csr was right? i really hope that the first csr was right. hope you get a targeted offer soon.
DIdi you use the december 100 link? I was approved received the card and call to see if there was a bonus attached to the card. Representative says no, there was no sign up bonus on the card so I cancel the card… did that happen to you as well?
yes, i applied and was approved for the leaked thanksgiving plat. i never confirmed whether there was a bonus attached to my card but after you said that, maybe i should. is your account still or was it ever frozen?
as of yesterday, my points were frozen and has been for the last 14 days. i tried to make a transfer today and it went through.
Since I was actually expecting this to take much longer, not every day. Maybe every 4-5 days I tried to initiate a small transfer. Quite surprised tonight when it worked!
i see. i did see a dp where one person was able to transfer a few points and when he tried again, his points were frozen again. hope that’s not the case for you.
100k points posted today…but total points balance still frozen. Seems like pay with points via Amazon still works, I’m guessing other pwp avenues as well
Update: points unfrozen. Successfully transferred 1000 MR to Etihad guest 🙂
interesting. been trying to transfer for the last 14 days and no luck. i have seen a few dps here in there where people have been able to transfer. do you currently or did you in the past have another plat product? thanks.
Actually I still currently have an Ameriprise plat open. With this new 100k plat I had to create a new log in separate from my other Amex cards with the Ameriprise. Pleasantly surprised to have gotten the 100k with minimal trouble. Never contacted Amex about the points freezing and it seems they unfroze without any effort on my part…
Strangely enough after I was approved I SMed with live chat about the bonus. Rep said that since she could see I had a Plat already I may not be eligible for the bonus. I said that mine was the Ameriprise and with the different point earning and AF structure it should be a different product. She also said that she saw the bonus attached to the account but since I had another plat I may not be eligible and she wanted to write a message to a specialist department to confirm if I would receive the bonus. Obviously i told her to hold off on doing that as I had a feeling the points would post automatically and they did! Another example of how we often know better than reps…
that’s awesome. how often would you check if the points are still frozen?
Apply using the link posted and received the card.. however there was no sign up bonus on the card when I called to verify which sign up bonus I was assigned to.. So.. I CANCEL the card after 1 hr.
So, can someone summarize what happened last time around? Following months old reddit strings is pretty rough. So, Amex freezes MR accounts before the 100,000 posts. Then, presumably people meet the min spend and then the 100,000 posts. And, then, it’s still frozen. Then, Amex claws back the 100 grand after letting it post? Are there successful resolutions whereby Amex checks the spend, says, yep you met the spend legit and then simply unfreezes the account or does it always take a CFPB complaint to get them to move on it? Thanks to anyone who can sum up the data points.
Last time around, it was pretty bleak. It might be a few people managed to get the points back, but it wasn’t easy – even for people who were pretty legit.
Just checked any my account is frozen too, is it wise to continue taking advantage of Amex offers to buy GCs (store only) or add more spend to cover for those charges?
As I said when this was originally posted, but the Doctor of Credit removed my comment…the URL that was used for this offer wasn’t actually meant for the public…it’s an internal URL for the IT team’s testing purposes…..
We don’t remove comments, it might have gone into the spam filter but I don’t see any with the e-mail address you used on this comment.
I got a different frozen code. Anyone got the same one? I can’t even access my MR account. I have been stuck for several days now. I can see the MR points on the right side of my card summary. When on click on the link to MR, I get below message.
WE’RE SORRY We apologize for the inconvenience, the system is currently unavailable. Please try your request again by refreshing the page.
If you require further assistance please call Membership Rewards® Customer Service at 1-800-AXP-EARN (297-3276). CODE: LA01-101