Last month, I applied for and was instantly approved for the American Express Platinum card. The benefits that the card offers are among the best in the reward points/miles game. American Express makes applying for this card a no-brainer for active duty military. The card offers 5X points on airline tickets when booked directly through an airline or AMEX travel. It also offers 5X points on hotel stays booked ONLY through amex travel. The card offers 2X points on Uber rides and 1X points on all other purchases.
My first statement closed on August 25th and I expected to see points in my Membership Rewards account a few days later. I expected this because EVERY other card that I have disburses points within a week of the monthly statement closing. I gave American Express until the 1st of the month and I checked my account…
I started to wonder what could be different about this card. I quickly found that i had a small balance…
…which I promptly paid. I gave it a few days to process the payment (AMEX states that it could take 48 hours for payments to process).
No points in sight. To make matters worse, two people told me that used my Refer a Friend link and were approved for the card. I have not received those points either. I reached out to American Express for clarification. The agent informed me that I should wait until the second statement closed before I became concerned about missing points. Lastly, she assured me that any referral bonus should arrive in my account in less than eight weeks.
While I was thankful for the explanation, American Express’ process is not the industry standard when it comes to disbursing points/miles. Luckily, I do not have a pressing needs for the points. This situation gives me more incentive to reach the $5,000 spend requirement for the 60,000 Membership Rewards points faster. This huge bonus will not be missed. I will continue to monitor my account…I just wish that American Express did not complicate this process.
Have you had issues with American Express Membership Rewards points disbursement?
