How to Make Sure You Don’t Lose Credit Card Rewards When You Close Your Card
If you’re thinking of opening a bonus credit card just to get your bonus, or if you’re planning to quickly upgrade to a credit card that doesn’t have an annual fee, you might want to check your credit card’s fine print. …
In some cases, closing an account can mean the loss of hard-earned rewards.
The Points Guy shares an email from a reader who opened an American Express credit card and found that her welcome bonus had been withdrawn after she switched to another Amex card:
I received an email from American Express stating that they removed points from my account because I “engaged in abuse, misuse, or gambling in connection with earning or using points.” Of course, I logged in and found that 25,000 points were missing, so I called the Membership Rewards program and asked to speak with the manager. He informed me that they took the welcome bonus from my preferred Amex EveryDay® credit card from American Express because I upgraded to EveryDay Card within 12 months of opening an account (it was almost 11 months). I explained that the only condition I remembered to qualify for the bonus was to spend $ 2,000 over three months, but he said the rest was in the small print that came with the card.
If you read the small print of the Amex EveryDay Preferred Card , you will learn that American Express has the right to revoke your Membership Rewards Welcome Offer Points “if you cancel or downgrade your account within 12 months of purchasing it.”
What about other card issuers? The Chase Sapphire Reserve fine print warns that you could lose your points if “we believe you have misused the software in any way” and the following list of what counts as “misuse” includes “multiple opening or otherwise maintaining accounts credit card. in order to receive remuneration “.
The Travel Rewards Bank of America card warns you that “This Travel Rewards card will not be available to you if you currently have a Travel Rewards card if you have not had this Travel Rewards card for at least 24 months.” and notes that “If the card account holder (s) voluntarily close the card account, or if for any reason we close the card account, any unredeemed points associated with this account will be immediately forfeited, unless otherwise permitted by us.” …
Credit card issuers want you to hold their cards for a long time, rather than fray them before opening up a new card with a better bonus or a lower annual fee. This is why it is always important to read the fine print before registering with a credit card – and before canceling your card after registering.