British Airways Amex card fee

WillPS

mawfortyone said:

WillPS said:

Just because you expect something to be free does not mean it is.

I just expect that a fee means you get something in return. I've asked for and had nothing in return so it seems very obvious that no fee should be payable. If I walked into a shop and bought something, then turned around and said "I'm so sorry I've made a mistake, I don't want this" and it was clear that the product was exactly as it was on the shelf, most decent shop owners would simply give you your money back because they recognise an innocent mistake when they see one.
AMEX know exactly what has happened here and they refuse to be reasonable - that speaks volumes about the culture and ethics of the organisation.

Yes, they see it just as clearly as all the contibutors to this thread other than yourself. Have a think about that.

eskbanker

mawfortyone said:

WillPS said:

Just because you expect something to be free does not mean it is.

I just expect that a fee means you get something in return. I've asked for and had nothing in return so it seems very obvious that no fee should be payable. If I walked into a shop and bought something, then turned around and said "I'm so sorry I've made a mistake, I don't want this" and it was clear that the product was exactly as it was on the shelf, most decent shop owners would simply give you your money back because they recognise an innocent mistake when they see one.
AMEX know exactly what has happened here and they refuse to be reasonable - that speaks volumes about the culture and ethics of the organisation.

You've had the ability to spend money and earn rewards - the fact that you've chosen not to do this is on you rather than them.  Your shop purchase analogy is flawed - you've had the card for several months, so it's more like signing up for a 12 month phone contract and trying to get a full refund several months later on the basis that you hadn't made any calls....

artyboy

mawfortyone said:

WillPS said:

Just because you expect something to be free does not mean it is.

I just expect that a fee means you get something in return. I've asked for and had nothing in return so it seems very obvious that no fee should be payable. If I walked into a shop and bought something, then turned around and said "I'm so sorry I've made a mistake, I don't want this" and it was clear that the product was exactly as it was on the shelf, most decent shop owners would simply give you your money back because they recognise an innocent mistake when they see one.
AMEX know exactly what has happened here and they refuse to be reasonable - that speaks volumes about the culture and ethics of the organisation.

This really REALLY isn't one of those "big bad banks treating a poor little consumer badly" situations. My fear is you've come on here hoping to get some validation of your sense of being somehow "wronged", and despite it being obvious that opinion is against you, you want to plough on regardless.

It's not AMEX being unreasonable here, it's you. You made a mistake, accept it, pay up and move on. And consider yourself lucky to have even got £60 off!

lr1277

As stated above, Amex will give you a pro-rata refund depending on how long you have kept the card within the card year.

I was wondering if that £60 was actually the pro-rata refund for cancelling before end of the card year. But that would imply the OP had had the card more than a few months.

So the quicker you pay off your balance on closing the card, the more of a refund you will get.

So pay off the balance ASAP and hope you get a fee refund that adds to the £60 pound discount you were given.

TBH though I have never had an Amex so taking this view based on things I have read on the internet.

cymruchris

mawfortyone said:

I'm pretty shocked by most of these responses, it almost feels like AMEX monitor this site and get their employees to respond!😂

Just to be clear, I have received zero benefit from this card...nothing for my £250. How can that be right? People make mistakes and so long as they have not gained any benefit, any ethical organisation would just write the fee off.

I can understand you feel aggrieved at having just found out about this gigantic fee - especially as you didn't read the screens presented to you throughout the application process where the fee was detailed quite clearly. I definitely don't work for Amex - and neither do I have an Amex - but a simple comparison on the Amex website does show that the card you signed up for not only had a fee - but in exchange for that fee you had the potential of earning more points per £ and a bigger welcome bonus had you chosen to use it. As it turns out, you didn't use it. That's not a justification for a refund of your fee. It's like signing up for Amazon prime, paying £9 a month, then after 6 months wanting a refund as you didn't order anything.

I've shrunk the detail to 50 percent to get it in one screen shot - but it really is easy to compare the cards and see the differences, they really don't make it difficult:

https://www.americanexpress.com/uk/credit-cards/compare/british-airways-avios-credit-cards/

DullGreyGuy

mawfortyone said:

WillPS said:

Just because you expect something to be free does not mean it is.

I just expect that a fee means you get something in return. I've asked for and had nothing in return so it seems very obvious that no fee should be payable. If I walked into a shop and bought something, then turned around and said "I'm so sorry I've made a mistake, I don't want this" and it was clear that the product was exactly as it was on the shelf, most decent shop owners would simply give you your money back because they recognise an innocent mistake when they see one.
AMEX know exactly what has happened here and they refuse to be reasonable - that speaks volumes about the culture and ethics of the organisation.

How about the person that signs up for a 12 month Gym membership as part of their new year health drive and then decides not to go? 

You are buying a service not a product, if you choose not to use the service (because you decide your not a gym bunny after all)  that doesn't mean you haven't got anything for your money its just you've chosen not to maximise what you could get from your investment. 

They gave you a statutory cancellation period, you chose not to exercise it. Try taking a car back after a couple of months (its not clear how long you held the card) and ask for a full refund because it just say on your driveway the whole time as you realised you didn't need a 2 seater sports car but a large budget family car.

Durban

The fee is very clear on the site and you will get a pro rata refund when you close the account.

I took mine out knowing full well that there was a £250 fee. Met the terms and condtions and booked 2 long haul return flights to Cape Town , one leg of which was Business Class for £600 in total.

Cancelled the card and got a pro rata refund

Very , very pleased with Amex and have had various cards from them for years and no I am not an employee of Amex

mawfortyone

WillPS said:

Just because you expect something to be free does not mean it is.

Amex provide a free BA card, and yet you chose the one with a fee. I can believe you overlooked the fee element (which is your mistake) but I can't believe you genuinely cannot see any value in the card you applied for over that one. Therein lies the justification for the fee.

There is nothing "unethical" at all about charging for banking services. There are ethical issues with agreeing to terms you haven't made any effort at all to read or understand however.

It seems the term 'unethical' has a different meaning to banks and financial institutions than any other business sector, I guess that's why the FSA was created! I think people who work in that industry genuinely believe they are operating ethically but that is purely conditioning after decades of dodgy practices. It seems to me, the more regulated you are, the more you convince yourself that you are ethical and ignore your natural human judgment "Is this right, is it a fair and reasonable way to behave" gets ignored in favour of "It's within the rules/regulations" 

DullGreyGuy

mawfortyone said:

WillPS said:

Just because you expect something to be free does not mean it is.

Amex provide a free BA card, and yet you chose the one with a fee. I can believe you overlooked the fee element (which is your mistake) but I can't believe you genuinely cannot see any value in the card you applied for over that one. Therein lies the justification for the fee.

There is nothing "unethical" at all about charging for banking services. There are ethical issues with agreeing to terms you haven't made any effort at all to read or understand however.

It seems the term 'unethical' has a different meaning to banks and financial institutions than any other business sector, I guess that's why the FSA was created! I think people who work in that industry genuinely believe they are operating ethically but that is purely conditioning after decades of dodgy practices. It seems to me, the more regulated you are, the more you convince yourself that you are ethical and ignore your natural human judgment "Is this right, is it a fair and reasonable way to behave" gets ignored in favour of "It's within the rules/regulations" 

The Financial Service Authority wasnt really "created", it was just the Securities and Investments Board that was renamed to the FSA in 1997. It gained more powers through FSMA 2000 but wasnt created by it. 

Not sure how you think service subscriptions are unique to banks? Gyms, software, dating websites, webhosting, club memberships etc all offer subscriptions and if you sign up to one you dont get a refund just because you decided not to use the service you agreed to pay for. In fact AmEx is better than most of those because they give you a pro-rata refund for a mid year cancellation whereas most of the above you pay for a year you dont get any refund if you want to cancel after 6 months.

It feels much more of buyers remorse and entitlement where everything has to be someone elses fault rather than putting your hands up and admitting your mistake. 

Marchitiello

This must be the most bizarre post and follow up argument I have read anywhere in a long while..

the OP stated that “ someone mentioned that I could get Avios points if I booked a BA flight and paid via a BA Amex card”. So from that someone’s mention he decided to land on the Amex webpage where there are two BA cards, which have different  benefits associated to each,  the most rewarding one carry a fee, and he choose that one…. Just to be clear main difference for that fee is that you would earn 1.5 Avios per £1 spent (instead of 1) and 3 Avios per £1 spent on BA (instead of 2), but most importantly you get  to earn a voucher at £10k spent per year, that allow you a companion reward ticket in premium cabin, including First Class (this one, over the last 3-4 years, has been worth £3-4K for me). The fee and benefits are clearly highlighted on the product page and cannot phantom as one would have missed it.

As others have rightly pointed out and explained, many other subscription services including other premium rewards cards where you pay an annual fee upfront, will not offer you any sort of refund  for early cancellations (HSBC Premier WE would not for instance) but Amex is pretty generous in effectively refunding you pro- rata for the months left in the year (at around £20.83 per month). Assuming you only had the card for a couple of months , take the £60 gesture of goodwill to cover interest, cancel the card and  get the pro-rata refund for £187-208 and be happy that your mistake has only resulted in a loss of few pounds (but do pay what is due ASAP as that situation is only damaging your credit profile)

As I have said before on this site, the BA Amex PP do not suit everyone, especially one that may do one long haul flight only once in a while and only would want to use the card to pay for that one flight (that was bad advice on “the mention” and/or should have been completed by a full explanation by the giver, and further investigation and questioning by the OP).  

I am an avid Amex promoter and I maximise my annual referral bonus but I always explain exactly how it works and offer continuous advice and/or point them to relevant posts/articles on sites like flyertalk and Heads for Points.

I have both the Amex Platinum Chargecard (£575 fee) and BA PP (£250) and for my profile it makes a lot of sense to have both (£300 dine in credits, £100 Harvey Nichols credit, plus other card cashback offers that I made full use of meant that it only really cost me £50 for the Platinum and I got to use the Centurion Lounges for 4-6 people few times, used fast track security at few European airports, have made great use of Hotels status in my work and leisure trips in USA, Middle East, Africa and Europe, and the same with Avis- discounted car rental tariff and category upgrades, without considering the great Travel Insurance for me and my family -including car rental excess policy). I already explained the value I get from the companion voucher but also probably get back the £250 value from the extra Avios earned already compared with the free version of the card.