“American Express abandoned me in Italy”

Mariah Nunn has been a loyal American Express cardmember for the last quarter century. When she heard the line, “Don’t leave home without it,” she took it to mean Amex would never leave her either, especially when she was out of the country. But she was wrong.

Nunn, who now lives in Italy, had her card stolen recently. Then she missed a payment. And then she discovered that more than 25 years of loyalty to American Express were meaningless.

I called to cancel the stolen card on April 5. They were very friendly and told me not to worry, a new card was being issued immediately. Look for it within the week.

Two weeks later I called to say it had not arrived. Apologies, apologies, sending it right out. Watch for it in the next week. Another two weeks passed. Today I called again to be passed to three different people only to find out that they have canceled my card completely. No reissue. The lady tells me it is for inactivity.

I was told, sorry, if you would like to re-apply for a card, I can transfer you, but your credit history with us is gone. American Express abandoned me in Italy. Can you help me?

I asked Amex to take a look at Nunn’s case. A representative responded to her by e-mail:

I deeply regret any inconvenience you have experienced with the Account listed above. Our records reflect where the Annual Membership was not paid within the terms of the Cardmember Agreement; therefore the Account was cancelled as Inactive.

Unfortunately, due to the amount of time that has elapsed we are unable to reinstate this Account and must ask that you apply for a new account in the country in which you reside.

Ms. Nunn, please trust that we would never take any action to intentionally damage our valued relationship. Thank you for taking the time to advise us of this matter.

It’s no secret that American Express is trying to get rid of some cardholders. But this may not be the most customer-friendly way of doing it.

Nunn is taking it in stride.

I have decided to look at my canceled card with American Express as a gift. It’s like showing up to the dock only to find out that because I am wearing red my ticket has been revoked. At first I am incredulous, but after the Titanic sails without me, I have a nice lunch in a little nearby pub.

Not only has American Express lost its mind but it is in dangerous waters with the masses.

I think Nunn will find plenty of readers who will agree with her.

  • Andre K.

    AMEX is committing financial suicide. Its horrific practices are well known to me at this point.

    They have been arbitrary canceling cards of people, often without notice, in several cases leaving customers abandoned in the middle of nowhere.

    They are simply throwing out their good standing customers, while their profits fell by 56% and they supposedly don’t know why.

    Here are more complaints about the practice:
    http://www.my3cents.com/search.cgi?criteria=American+Express

  • Mindy

    Since when does Elliott do CC stories? I searched this piece to try to figure out how it related to travel… I mean.. sure, she is in Italy.. but she lives there!

    Okay. Just a little strange.

  • http://www.twclimited.com/blog Carter

    I am appalled by the story above, but feel a need to say I feel that my AMEX has never let me down. The other question I would have about the story would be- was it a so called “co-branded” AMEX where a third party company was applying their rules to the AMEX product? No excuse for poor service- but I wondered.

    As a road-warrior, I would be lost without my AMEX. While I do admit that recently they have been a little to quick to “refer” some of my purchases for validation- it has only been in instances where I have switched continents within a day or so of my last purchase.

    While some don’t feel the annual fees worth it, I get value for my money with AMEX.

  • Heather Collins

    >On May 21st, 2009 at 7:04 am Mindy said

    >Since when does Elliott do CC stories? I searched this piece to try to figure out how it >related to travel… I mean.. sure, she is in Italy.. but she lives there!

    >Okay. Just a little strange.

    Mindy has completely missed the point just because the word ‘vacation’, ‘travel’ or the like is not in the story. Read between the lines. The POINT is that if someone is
    away from home, whether it be some international location or another state, they could suddenly be without funds to pay for essentials or emergencies. This could have easily been a VISITOR in Italy. AMEX is canceling accounts without regard to where someone is at the time of cancellation.

  • http://nodebtworldtravel.com brian from nodebtworldtravel.com

    I think this is relevant to travel, because cutting a credit line or canceling a credit line without warning can leave many people hanging out to dry, especially when traveling overseas.

  • B

    How is that legal? Cancelled due to less than 2 months of inactivity (assuming we’re talking about 2009)? What about those who only use certain CCs for emergencies? Or those trying to pay down a balance and aren’t using the card for a while? That’s ridiculous… yet another reason why I’m not an AMEX customer.

  • Carver

    Chris obviously has the right to blog about anything he wants. However, I’m with Minday. I view Chris blog because he has experience within the field of travel. I don’t necessary agree with him, particularly in the area of loyalty programs, but I respect his opinion. Personally, however, I think this story is tangentially related to travel. The fact that Mariah is not in the US is immaterial to the story.

    It seems to me that for a story to be travel related either the person is away from home or contemplating being away from home, or goods or services are being provided to the expectation of facilitating same. Hence the wrod travel.

  • http://hodgespart.com Caroline

    Regarding the relevancy to travel – I’m in favor of this post.
    AMEX has a brand synonymous with travel…or at least it used to. When AMEX starts abandoning customers it’s a reason to consider what, if any, of its services are worth counting on when your are away from home. I certainly might leave home without them in the future. So, who, or what, do you think might replace the services they used to provide?

  • Bill

    I highly recommend leaving home without Amex. Although Amex has some policies I don’t agree with, I think it is important to have cards from at least two credit card companies in case one of them runs amuck on you – and I recommend that AMEX not be one of those two companies.

  • david

    MY AMEX card was canceled and AMEX could not tell me why. It was declined for a couple of purchases and I call to find out why and the guy could not tell me. He said I”I don’t understand, you have always paid on time and you never been late.” So I appears they are just getting rid of card holder’s

  • Judy

    Sometimes their is more to the story than is being told. American Express and other Credit companys go through a lot of people not paying credit card bills

    It is sad though when someone who does pay on time has a card cancelled. Yes it puts you in a bind So if you want the card reapply have another card sent to you.

    Sometimes things happen customer service may do something wrong your card is inactive the credit card company has rules they have to follow good or bad. The reason they have these rules are because a lot of people don’t pay their bills so everyone pays for that even the customers in good standing.

    I will say this I would have been mad as heck but would of said I want the same card I had with the same interest how do I get another card.

    Most of the people I talk to who have American Express have never had a problem with them and if they did it was taken care of right away.

  • Terri Black

    I have been an AmEx user for years. I just cancelled my card with them and will never us this CC company again. I travelled to Istanbul, Turkey for 7 days. I called AmEx 3 -4 weeks before going to let them know I would be travelling out of the country. I went to make a purchase with my AmEx and the card would not go through. I called to find out what the problem was, and was told that my account was being reviewed. They lowered my credit limit to a quarter of what it was. I told them it was unaccpteable since I called in advanced. They raised the limit a little bit, but when I tried to use the card again, it still would not go through. I have always paid my bills on time and never had a problem before with AmEx when I traveled overseas. I cancelled my Account with them and will never use AmEx again.

    Also, I had AmEx travellers checks and was charged a 5% fee everytime I used them. Apparently they are not welcomed everywhere in the world anymre. I will stick with my Visa card from now on

  • http://wheninrometours.blogspot.com Regina

    Wow, good to know I am not alone. After 13 years of always paying my balance n full, after one student loan payment was late, they cut my credit line from 15,000 to 2,000 dollars. i can’t even book two plane tickets with the stupid card!
    Good think I’m already in Italy :)

  • Mindy

    I don’t believe I’ve missed the point at all. As any seasoned traveler knows.. never leave home with only one CC. If you travel with ONLY your Amex as means of plastic payment then you may find your self in trouble.

    You may find yourself in the same boat if you leave with any Visa or MasterCard.

    So.. once again.. not sure why the CC story. I suppose it might be the AmEx is a travelers card thing might fly.. I suppose. But sheesh.. this person WAS at home, not traveling.

    I mean, Nunn’s statement “Amex abandoned me in Italy” is just about as ridiculous as “Amex abandoned me in OHIO” OHIO! LOL. It’s where you live. They didn’t cancel your card mid-travel. Why is Chris fighting for you on this one?

    Still don’t really get it.

  • SpotLightofTruth

    Shoddy and indifferent service from American Express is not a new phenomenon. I had a Gold Amex Card with annual fees hooked to a bank line of credit for over 25 years. Several years ago, I disputed an obviously duplicate charge by a merchant. The merchant was American Express Travel services.

    With any other credit card that I use, this dispute would have been easily corrected as an unfortunate error. No big deal.

    But neither Amex operation would take responsibility, I suppose because they felt they controlled both ends of the transaction. After much letter writing, it was corrected.

    I cancelled the card. Not a peep was ever heard from Amex. They really did not care whether I was a customer or not. I will start my own credit card company before I will apply for another American Express credit card.

  • exBFF

    …and what was the point of this story?

  • Bela Fleck

    This IS news, just not news meant for this blog. I agree – not really travel-related. C’mon Chris. I’ve already seen you write this story from the perspective of someone who really was away from home. What gives?

  • Mariah Nunn

    Hi Mindy,

    Yes, Amex abandoned me in Italy. I am living here in Italy for a stay, but am still a US citizen, paying my bills from a good old US bank. Try finding out that the card you are carrying for emergencies, while traveling abroad (or even in Ohio) has been canceled. Not fun. It was not a third party card. It was an Amex gold card I have been loyal to for 25 years. As for why not just reapply? They wiped out my 25 year credit history. And a good credit history is something I have built over the last 25 years. Reapplying puts me back at day one. I find that canceling me for being late on a membership fee (I had no other charges at the time) is a bit extreme for a 25 year member. I wrote to Mr. Elliott for help because I am traveling abroad when this happened. Travel related, I think. And I very much would like to thank Mr. Elliott. Without his help, I doubt Amex even would have bothered sending me their form e-mail…

  • Carver

    Hi Mariah

    No one disputes that Amex treated you very badly. The question that many of us have is that as this is a travel blog, how does this relate to travel? Citizenship notwithstanding, it appears that your residence is in Italy and you were home when the card was cancelled.

    The immediate consequences of a card being cancelled are different at home then when traveling. I suspect these consequences are even more dire when traveling abroad.

    As i previously stated, a travel story,IMO, is about someone who is away from home, planning on being away from home, or obtaining goods and services related to being away from home.

    Your situation, though unfortunate, is not related to any of the above.

    Good luck with Amex.

  • Mariah Nunn

    This *is* a travel story. Just because I am here for more than a few months, my mailing address is still in the US. In fact, the person house sitting for me is the person who paid my membership fee late. I am on a visa here. I am not a resident. My bill arrives to my address which is in the US and my bill gets paid from there. How is this not a travel related story? I had my bag snatched, with everything in it and called to cancel my card only to find out they had already done that for me because, after 25 years, my membership fee was late. I am confused as to why, when your home is in one country and you travel to another, if you are not “vacationing” this doesn’t count as a travel problem? On an extended stay, having your card canceled while you are not at “home” to deal with it, is a travel related problem. I guess what I am saying is my problem has been dealt with. I am happily no longer with Amex, nor will I ever be again. But cut Mr. Elliott some slack. This is travel related, and he was a huge help when I was far from home. How long I am here for seems trivial when Amex is basically changing its slogan from, “don’t leave home without us” to “let them eat cake.” They are *the* travel company. Amex Travelers Checks, Amex Sign and Travel, they are all about travel…

  • carver

    I respectfully disagree. The story stated that you live in Italy. Not that you were vacationing, on sabbatical, or otherwise suggested that your stay in Italy was temporary or that you maintained a permanent address in the US and that your mail went anywhere other than Italy.

  • Mindy

    The length of travel has very much to do with this being a ‘travel’ related issue. You are not stuck paying through the nose for a daily hotel charge because you can’t settle at the end of your trip. You are not stuck trying to find a way to cover your airline ticket home. You can go back to your ‘temporary home’, sit on your OWN phone and call the CC company. You can then wait two weeks to get a response.
    That you maintain a US residence and are a US citizen makes no difference. Should you be treated differently by AmEx because you are a citizen on an extended trip abroad? You’ve obviously been there long enough to have Chris say that you LIVE there. You have been there long enough to have AmEx say you RESIDE there. Shoot… you’ve been there for enough time to be able to go to your bank and get $$. In fact; you could have your housesitter MAIL you a check..standard post if you need $$. You are by no means stranded.

    NOW, I completely agree that AMEX is terrible. I personally won’t do business with them. I’m sorry they did you wrong.

  • Jenniferwriter

    To Mindy et al,

    You people crack me up. For all of the time you’ve spent whining and moaning about whether this post was sufficiently ‘travel’ related, you could have moved on and read any number of travel-related blogs. If it’s essential that your time is thusly spent, haven’t you wasted enough of your time – and ours? It’s really quite simple – if it doesn’t interest you, move on…

  • Elvis

    Mariah, thanks for sharing your story.

    In case you didn’t already notice, Chris’s comment sections are overrun by trolls who always side with the big company. Obviously, they all lived charmed lives and nothing bad EVER EVER happens to them. Therefore, if it happens to you, it must be your own fault!

    The only thing I can’t figure out is why they keep reading the blog, since they hate it so much?

  • Carver

    @Jennifer

    Do you see the irony of your post.

    You state, “if it doesn’t interest you move on…” Well, if our discussion of whether this is a travel story or not “doesn’t interest you, move on…”

    @Elvis

    I can only assume that you haven’t actually read any of the posts. Nearly everyone agrees that mariah was badly treated. Second, no one suggests that Mariah was at fault.

    More importantly though, I object to the ad hominem that any one is a troll. Leave that trash talk for Flytertalk. This is a civilized board.

  • Jenniferwriter

    @Carver,

    I think you entirely missed the point – I think many are perhaps more interested in discussing the topic related to the original post, i.e. the merits – or lack thereof – of actions by Amex.

    Frankly, it makes little difference to me – it just seems that some are engaged in a silly back and forth, and it seems to upset them a bit. But, ah, life is so short – so, like I said, it makes no difference to me and so those are who so inclined, have at it!

  • http://Travel-Writers-Exchange.com Travel-Writers-Exchange.com

    Well,well AMEX isn’t what they’re cracked up to be. Interesting. It’s probably a blessing in disguise. Who’s to say that AMEX will not be eventually bailed out by the U.S. Government like all the other ones? They’re doing what they have to do to stay afloat. That’s how it goes. Find another card company, it’s time to start anew.

  • David

    i travel professionally and am on the road for half the year or more, and have been every year for the last 15 years. i’ve had an amex card for over a decade, and until this year, had both a gold business card and personal card, as well as a corporate card. i have done hundreds of thousands of dollars worth of business on these accounts over the years without a hitch. then, this year they left me out to hang in the wind on the middle of a long trip. refused charges, added mystery fees, began calling me 6 times a day (from india, no less!) to ‘straighten things out’. i limped through the rest of that run on another card and took care of things with amex once i got home (i wasn’t at all happy with what they regarded as ‘service’, or their on-the-fly rules changes). i also got a visa account set up to handle the high levels of charges i run up when traveling. good thing i did! just over a month later, amex pulled the same stunt for a second time. i’ve had enough. they don’t have to worry about whether i’ll be coming back next year.

  • Ed

    My own story involves a BofA rewards credit card. I had had the card since the early 90s and spend on average about $60k/year on this card…I had an excellent rate (7.25% fixed) and a wonderful credit limit ($25,000). I used this card for everything! Then one day, I get a letter from them saying that they will be raising my rate to 11% + Prime..and that there would be no further discussion about this. I called BofA and informed them that I am what could be termed as a “good customer” and that by doing this, they will be losing me as a customer.
    They told me that they are raising everybody’s rates and that this is the “industry norm” since “everybody is raising rates”.
    I argued with the rep, telling me that with my 780 credit rating, nobody raises rates on a person with that rate. I said that I will get a new credit card and will just stop using the BofA card even though it offers rewards.
    She challenged me to find a bank that would offer me what I had with them.
    Well, I did. I now have a new credit card that has a fixed 7% rate and a super limit…and I found it in my own back yard…my credit union!
    BofA is once again shooting them in their foot…and as an asside, I signed the petition to have the CEO removed from the BofA board of directors, and now we are trying to have Lewis removed as CEO…it’s only a matter of time before he is forced to leave BofA in shame!

  • Carver

    @Jennifer

    No, I understood your point clearly. I stand by my position that this is not a travel story. This is a credit card story. Your own post that some people are interested in discussing the merits or lack thereof of AMEX further proves that point.

  • David

    well, as far as i’m concerned, being left out in the cold (mid-trip no less!) by a credit card company that won my business by marketing itself to me on the merits of their travel related services (including automatic insurance for car rentals, an actual travel agency that would book entire trips for me with just a single call, ‘anywhere in the world’ service offices, etc…) pretty clearly counts as a travel story. travel related services are a core business for amex (remember the ‘don’t leave home without it’ commercials?). other cards seem to be aimed more at ‘around town’ type spending patterns. my visa, for example, doesn’t offer any ‘miles’ or ‘stays’ points when booking travel, but does pay a reward in points that get me free food at local restaurants. amex, on the other hand always offered benefits on booking travel related items (hotels, cars, airfare) and paid out in free airfare and hotel stays…

  • Jay

    What I read here is that she did not pay the annual fee. Why wouldn’t she get cancelled. This is part of her original agreement with American Express. I have had AMEX for 22 years and have always had impeccable service. But then again, I use the card.

  • Robbin

    This very thing happened to me as well. Had the exact same account/number for 15 years.

    Sorry, you’re inactive, you’re closed.

  • Denise

    My husband is a small business owner, and he has an Amex card through Costco. I am an authorized user of the account with my own card, and I am the account manager on the online services. That is where the convenience and common sense end.

    – It never fails that when he travels, his card gets a “security hold” put on it. They did this to my card once, but after being force-fed a piece of my mind when I was embarrassed by having my card declined at a nice restaurant, they haven’t put one of those holds on my account again, no matter how far from home I travel.
    – Even though I’m the account manager, I am not authorized to clear up security holds on his card.
    – CS reps are quick to bounce calls to other departments without listening to the actual problem you’re having with their online services.

    We anticipate being dropped or restricted by Amex any time now, if only because they’re losing money on us. We use the card and pay it off that day over the internet (free bill pay at our bank, no matter how many e-checks get written in a month) and we’re collecting 5% back on gas & travel, 3% back on Costco shopping & dining, and 1% or 2% back on most everything else. We make money off our card by using it for just about everything we buy, but only by making making sure that we’re buying things we need anyway and would buy with cash.

  • http://americaonline barbie45

    the post sure does deal with travel; because of the so called credit crunch many cards are cutting down onthe credit levels you have; sometimes these notices of a credit decisions do not reach you in a timely vacation ie your on your trip; the new credit card consumer bill which frankly does not really do the consumer that much good is an added incentive for credit card to lower limits; even living in a wrong zipcode area.

  • John Smith

    What a company. American Express. They just got me. I make no money for them so the sent me a notice to up my rates to 27%. I pay the card off before the intrest. I guess they do not want people like me I cost them money. So I had to cancel the card or take the rate hike. I canceled.

  • Emanuel Levy

    I know this is old but if you do reapply for an American Express card they will backdate the member since date to when you originally became a member.