We’d like to remind Forumites to please avoid political debate on the Forum.
This is to keep it a safe and useful space for MoneySaving discussions. Threads that are – or become – political in nature may be removed in line with the Forum’s rules. Thank you for your understanding.
📨 Have you signed up to the Forum's new Email Digest yet? Get a selection of trending threads sent straight to your inbox daily, weekly or monthly!
BA American Express Product Transfer (aka Product Change)
Marchitiello
Posts: 1,304 Forumite
in Credit cards
I would like to share my experience as I have searched the net for days and could not get a clear answer, so I called the CS this morning and after a good 30 minutes on the phone I finally got the answer.
Basically I have had the BA Amex blue since 2002, when initially had a fee if you did not spend a minimum amount on it per year. In all those years I only managed to get two European flight out of it, even tough for the last 6 years I have spent around 15-18k per annum. I also ended up spending anothe 6k pa on a Visa card with no rewards/cashback because Amex acceptance limitation. So I finally decided to look at different options and signed up for the basic Lloyds Avios Duo Amex/MasterCard which will get me 25% more miles on the Amex spent and something for the MasterCard spend as well.
The idea was that I would product change my BA Amex to the Platinum Cashback Everyday or the Basic Card for 6 months and then sign back up for the BA Premium getting the welcome bonus and then 1.5 miles per £1. All this as I did not want to lose the credit file record of having an Amex account since 2002.
However I could not get a definitive answer on the Internet and whilst I had already received the Lloyds card, I finally decided to call CS.
First of all Amex call it a Product Transfer rather then a product change like I believe is known in USA. I was told that the Blue BA Amex can only transfer to the to the Black Premium version and my only other option was to apply for a different product and then cancel this card/account.
Decided to share this experience as it took me a while for the CS rep guy to understand that I wanted a Product Transfer as it was the only way that credit reference agency could see how long I had been with Amex, as instead he was so keen to confirm that my "membership since 2002" with them would be retained even if I cancelled the BA Amex and had a newer account. After a bit of a struggle he finally understood that whilst that is nice within their organisation, it has no value to other credit providers.
On a slightly different note, I also discovered that the credit limit on Amex can only be increased after 6 months from the last increase.
Basically I have had the BA Amex blue since 2002, when initially had a fee if you did not spend a minimum amount on it per year. In all those years I only managed to get two European flight out of it, even tough for the last 6 years I have spent around 15-18k per annum. I also ended up spending anothe 6k pa on a Visa card with no rewards/cashback because Amex acceptance limitation. So I finally decided to look at different options and signed up for the basic Lloyds Avios Duo Amex/MasterCard which will get me 25% more miles on the Amex spent and something for the MasterCard spend as well.
The idea was that I would product change my BA Amex to the Platinum Cashback Everyday or the Basic Card for 6 months and then sign back up for the BA Premium getting the welcome bonus and then 1.5 miles per £1. All this as I did not want to lose the credit file record of having an Amex account since 2002.
However I could not get a definitive answer on the Internet and whilst I had already received the Lloyds card, I finally decided to call CS.
First of all Amex call it a Product Transfer rather then a product change like I believe is known in USA. I was told that the Blue BA Amex can only transfer to the to the Black Premium version and my only other option was to apply for a different product and then cancel this card/account.
Decided to share this experience as it took me a while for the CS rep guy to understand that I wanted a Product Transfer as it was the only way that credit reference agency could see how long I had been with Amex, as instead he was so keen to confirm that my "membership since 2002" with them would be retained even if I cancelled the BA Amex and had a newer account. After a bit of a struggle he finally understood that whilst that is nice within their organisation, it has no value to other credit providers.
On a slightly different note, I also discovered that the credit limit on Amex can only be increased after 6 months from the last increase.
0
This discussion has been closed.
Confirm your email address to Create Threads and Reply
Categories
- All Categories
- 351.8K Banking & Borrowing
- 253.4K Reduce Debt & Boost Income
- 454K Spending & Discounts
- 244.8K Work, Benefits & Business
- 600.2K Mortgages, Homes & Bills
- 177.3K Life & Family
- 258.4K Travel & Transport
- 1.5M Hobbies & Leisure
- 16.2K Discuss & Feedback
- 37.6K Read-Only Boards