You Should Never Pay Your Credit Card Annual Fee Without Doing This First
Exact step for how I got offered 25,000 AMEX points in 15 minutes—without calling anyone
Last week, I called American Express and walked away with an offer to earn 25,000 points.
All under 15 minutes.
The American Express Gold Card is one of my top everyday spending cards in my wallet.
Since getting the card, I’ve earn 244,799 AMEX membership rewards points. It’s easily worth around $4,895 if you value these points at 2 cents a point.
It’s one of the best cards for dining and groceries on the market.
Earning me 4x points on restaurants everywhere in the world and 4x points at US supermarkets.
At these earning rates, points rack up quickly just from everyday spending. But when the annual fee hits, it does stings.
Last year, I paid $250 when I first got the card.
This year, it jumped to $325. That’s not a small increase.
If enjoy travel and play the points and miles game to travel more often—or more luxuriously—you’ve probably wondering how can you make keeping this card in subsequent years still worth the annual fee.
Here’s the good news: you don’t have to cancel your card to save money or earn more points.
You just need to ask for a retention offer from American Express.
I’ll walk you through exactly how I got 25,000 Membership Rewards points from American Express in less than 15 minutes—without calling anyone.
Step-by-Step Instructions:
1. Wait for the annual fee to post
AEMX won’t give you a retention offer before your annual fee appears on your statement.
So step one is to wait. As soon as the fee posts in your account, that’s when you get in touch with AMEX customer service.
2. Use the online chat feature
No need to call.
Just log in to your Amex account on a desktop browser. Click on “Help” in the top right corner. Choose “Chat with Us.”
This connects you to a live agent.
Here's exactly what I wrote:
“Hi there, my annual fee for the Amex Gold just posted. I’m considering whether to keep the card for another year and was wondering if there are any retention offers available.”
Be polite and to the point.
3. Be ready for the agent to pitch the credit card’s value
The agent started by telling me how much I had spent:
“In the past 12 months, you’ve spent around $17,900 at restaurants and $3,500 at supermarkets. That earned you up to 85,600 Membership Rewards points worth about $856.”
This is normal.
The agent wants to remind you of how valuable your spending has been. It’s their way of encouraging you to keep the card without offering you anything just yet.
Just acknowledge what they’ve said, but make your concerns clear.
Here’s how I responded:
“Thanks for the breakdown. I do have other cards that give me similar rewards on dining and everyday spending.
Plus, I haven’t been able to fully use the credits like the monthly dining or Dunkin credits. And the fee also increase from $250 to $325, which was disappointing.
Are there any retention offers that might make keeping the card more worthwhile this year?”
Again keep the conversation clear and polite.
4. Evaluate the offer
The agent came back with this retention offer:
“You can earn 25,000 Membership Rewards points if you spend $2,500 in the next 3 months.”
After some quick calculations, I thought it was a reasonable offer.
Grocery and dining are big spending categories in our family, so meeting that minimum spend in 3 months isn’t too hard.
And if you value Membership Rewards points at 2 cents per point (like I do), that’s about $500 in potential value.
You might get a different offer depending on your spending habits and history.
To note, in points and miles forum, some people have shared that they received an annual fee waiver or reduction, or a higher points offer with a higher spend requirement.
Before accepting the offer, I did ask this:
“Are there any other offers available? Perhaps a reduced annual fee or a higher points offer?”
The answer was no. But it doesn’t hurt to try.
5. Accept and confirm
If you’re happy with the offer, confirm with the agent that you want to accept it.
The agent will send you a disclosure statement in the chat. Read through it. Then give your consent.
And you’re done.
Now, I just have to meet the spend requirement ($2,500 in 3 months), and the 25,000 points will land in my account within 8 to 12 weeks.
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Wrap up
In a quick 15 minutes live chat, I scored an opportunity to get 25,000 points to make keeping the credit card for a second year and the hefty annual fee more worth while.
And I would have naturally spent $2500 in 3 months anyway.
If you agree to a retention offer, make sure you keep the card open for another year. If not, you risk getting your points clawed back.
You don’t need to be pushy or know any special scripts to earn more points.
Just wait until the annual fee posts, hop onto chat, and ask nicely.
And if you didn’t get an offer you liked today, try again tomorrow—the offer could be different.
So next time your credit card annual fee hits your account, don’t just pay it and move on. Ask for a retention offer before deciding the card is no longer worth keeping.
Have you ever asked for a retention offer before? If not—what’s stopping you?
And if you’ve had success with other cards, I’d love to hear about it. Hit reply and let me know what worked for you.
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This is great! I get really shy and non-confrontational about things like this. Having a script definitely helps. If I speak up, I can save myself time and money in a lot of places.
Thank you for the step by step!! I'm going to try it when my Chase annual fee posts (but that's not for a couple months). Gonna star this in my mail so I remember!