Retention Bonuses

gmenrule

Level 2 Member
Called for retention on Aviator Red for me and my wife. Waived fee on mine- had received targeted spend offers every quarter. Waived fee on my wife's too, and also gave 5k for spending $1k/3mo- hadn't gotten any targeted offers all year for her.
nice to know the fee hits us at then of the month
 

idearr

Level 2 Member
Aviator Red - same as Flanman -they waived annual fee, offered 5K for spending $1k in 90 days, and also gave 0% APR until October. I'm pretty sure they've waived the annual fee on this card all three (or four?) years I've had it. And this was the former US Air card that earns 10,000 miles every year at renewal.
 

JD101

Level 2 Member
Called Barclaycard for retention offer, they said they would give me $50 for spending 3K in 3 months. I went ahead and closed the account.
 

Flanmann

Level 2 Member
No offer for Chase Mileage Plus Explorer, downgraded to no annual fee version and reallocated credit.
 
Citi AA Platinum card got hit with $95 annual fee. Called them up and they offered 95 if I spent 1000 in the next 3 months.
Took that offer. Once I complete 1K in purchases, I'll go ahead and cancel the card to get my annual fee back.
 

calvarado58

New Member
Closing cards without having similar credit line on another; does it impact your FICO? i normally try to open one card before closing another one or move credit from one card to another. Good success with Chase until the 5/24 rule.
 

baffld

Level 2 Member
Closing cards without having similar credit line on another; does it impact your FICO? i normally try to open one card before closing another one or move credit from one card to another. Good success with Chase until the 5/24 rule.
Here's my understanding: If you didn't open another card with a similar credit line (or talk the company into letting you slide your closing card's credit line onto another card you already have with them), FICO could be affected to the extent of the diminished total credit line vs utilization.

However, your payment history established with the closed card would continue to be reported for 7 years before dropping off, so the card being closed wouldn't negatively affect your FICO.

If anybody knows differently or more, I'd be interested in knowing that, too!
 

baffld

Level 2 Member
I just tried to get my annual fee waived for my $55 AmX Delta card. CSR wouldn't do that, but offered to switch to it to the no-fee Delta Blue card. Appeared to be no loss of benefit - and in fact, now will get 2 miles per $ for dining (as well as for flying.) So I did that (same card #, no credit inquiry.) If I begin flying enough with them to need extra benefits, I can upgrade at that time. So I count this as a small win!
 

Cmonman76

Level 2 Member
Here's my understanding: If you didn't open another card with a similar credit line (or talk the company into letting you slide your closing card's credit line onto another card you already have with them), FICO could be affected to the extent of the diminished total credit line vs utilization.

However, your payment history established with the closed card would continue to be reported for 7 years before dropping off, so the card being closed wouldn't negatively affect your FICO.

If anybody knows differently or more, I'd be interested in knowing that, too!
Yes, closing a card can affect your Fico's if you carry a balance on other cards and/ or if you only have a couple cards. However if you have more than 3 (or 30+ like many of us) and always pay before the statements close then closing one won't make any difference.
And good accounts will stay on your report for 10 years. Negatives fall off at 7 years.
 

zceuxbhjutf

Panel 3 Member
Barclay Aviator Red Success Report

The FT thread has a post recommending 866-928-8598 instead of the number on the back of the card so I used that...

- $89 AF credited back to the account
- 5000 miles after $1000 spend in next 3 months
- instant $4000 CL increase

...which comes close to negating my upcoming loss of JCB CL (JCB is dropping outta US market).

Before I could start talking to a human, the robot offered me a 2X (to max 2500) bonus miles offer, which I'd previously had over the summer and which was pretty much my only spend on the card in the past 12 months. Instead of saying yes to that I said "operator", but if folks just want that they should call the number irrespective of when their AF hits.

BTW I asked if they could change me from World MC to World Elite MC. He said I should call MC for that. Anybody try? He said the Barclay website has an MC number somewhere but I haven't checked yet.
 

milesaway733

Level 2 Member
Barclay Aviator (was a US Air with grandfathered 10K miles/yr) - no offers for credit stmt or spending. No spend on card and was it has been years since I was targeted for any spend offers. Closed card.

SPG Biz - rec'd $95 stmt credit from a regular representative. Rep said that if the system prompted her she would send me to the retention dept., I didn't feel like transferring anyway. Was surprised to get anything on the SPG Biz.
 

mec

Silver Member
Did you have to ask to cancel the card to get the offer or did you just ask for an offer?
 

Josh F

Level 2 Member
Charity Forum Mod
10k for paying the fee on SPG Biz. Spent about 20k during the year.
Did you have to ask to cancel the card to get the offer or did you just ask for an offer?
My card had minimal spending - no offer (mine got canceled through automated prompts only - never talked to a real person). My wife's card had minimal spending - got/accepted the 10K Offer (she said she wanted to cancel too but got routed to a real person afterthe automated prompts)
 

mec

Silver Member
My card had minimal spending - no offer (mine got canceled through automated prompts only - never talked to a real person). My wife's card had minimal spending - got/accepted the 10K Offer (she said she wanted to cancel too but got routed to a real person after the automated prompts)
Interesting.

I have a business SPG card that is due for a fee next month. When I called and asked for retention the rep said they didn't have an offer but could attempt to cancel the card and that that sometimes prompted an offer to be transferred to a retention specialist. I chose to hold off to think it over. I put a bit over 40k on it since opening the card. About 75%-25% MS-RS. Still thinking it over, but I will probably consider canceling to try and shake a bonus free. The rep did offer me a slate of business cards that I was qualified for during the conversation, all at the public bonus offer levels.
 

Ttitle

Level 2 Member
I
Interesting.

I have a business SPG card that is due for a fee next month. When I called and asked for retention the rep said they didn't have an offer but could attempt to cancel the card and that that sometimes prompted an offer to be transferred to a retention specialist. I chose to hold off to think it over. I put a bit over 40k on it since opening the card. About 75%-25% MS-RS. Still thinking it over, but I will probably consider canceling to try and shake a bonus free. The rep did offer me a slate of business cards that I was qualified for during the conversation, all at the public bonus offer levels.
Just my two cents, but I wouldn't cancel it. I think it's the most valuable card out there in many ways and being a business card helps too since a high balance doesn't hurt your score. It's number #1 in my wallet.
 
Reactions: mec

mec

Silver Member
I

Just my two cents, but I wouldn't cancel it. I think it's the most valuable card out there in many ways and being a business card helps too since a high balance doesn't hurt your score. It's number #1 in my wallet.
You know, I feel the same way. If I had to keep only one travel program credit card the SPG Business might be the one. Too bad the program will be going away. I wouldn't cancel it if I felt like there was not going to be a retention bonus and I would have to close the card even though I have the SPG personal as well. I just think it may be useful to have as many derivations of Marriott Starwood cards as one is able when the programs announce their plan for merger. That said I wonder if I could initiate closure and decide to keep the card open mid process if I don't receive a retention offer.
 

HariOm

Transcendent Level
Reminder that if you got an SPG retention offer last year, they generally make you wait 13 months until another one becomes available.
 

baffld

Level 2 Member
Chase Sapphire Preferred $95 annual fee was about to hit, so I called. I don't use this card much, so hard to justify fee. Was offered product change to Freedom Unlimited with 1 1/2% back, slid over credit line, no hard inquiry. Don't get sign up bonus, but still feels like a win to me!
 

Josh F

Level 2 Member
Charity Forum Mod
Chase Sapphire Preferred $95 annual fee was about to hit, so I called. I don't use this card much, so hard to justify fee. Was offered product change to Freedom Unlimited with 1 1/2% back, slid over credit line, no hard inquiry. Don't get sign up bonus, but still feels like a win to me!
I always feel like this is the best way to "get" cards that typically have a minimal sign up bonus - rather than tying up a 5/24 spot with a new application.
 

spottedcat1234

Level 2 Member
SPG biz AF had just hit around 2 months ago. Called in for a retention offer, and they offered me 10k SPG straight-up without any spending requirement. By way of background, I had put about $60k spend on the card, with about 4/5 of that being MS.
 

Walmero

Level 2 Member
SPG biz AF had just hit around 2 months ago. Called in for a retention offer, and they offered me 10k SPG straight-up without any spending requirement. By way of background, I had put about $60k spend on the card, with about 4/5 of that being MS.
10K Old points or new points?
 

spottedcat1234

Level 2 Member
10K Old points or new points?
They offered 10k old Starpoints (which would be 30k Marriott points). Most people I know from the forums were getting offers of 7.5k or 5k Starpoints, but with some level of spending requirements. Was surprised they offered me 10k flat out. Maybe had to do with the level of spending since 60k is pretty substantial (and the rep noted the spending before making the offer).
 

spottedcat1234

Level 2 Member
Chase Sapphire Preferred $95 annual fee was about to hit, so I called. I don't use this card much, so hard to justify fee. Was offered product change to Freedom Unlimited with 1 1/2% back, slid over credit line, no hard inquiry. Don't get sign up bonus, but still feels like a win to me!
I think this is a smart route and its something I plan to do. I have CSR and my wife has CSP. And I'm always there for big dining/travel purchases anyway. So might as well PC the CSP to FU for her and avoid the AF.
 

notalent

Michael Bolton
Got $35/$50 on my sw rapid rewards plus/premier. They said I could upgrade to the new card, but no bonus to upgrade
 

LearnMS

Level 2 Member
Having difficulty waiving AF on Aviator Red card. They are not waiving it the second time for me. Yes, there was no spend. But I may use 200k AA miles later this year and early next year that will enable me the 10% redemption. That's 20k miles I will lose and the whole 18k CL if I close this card.

What are the magic words to get the AF waived on this card? Now they have automated option to close the card even.
 

spottedcat1234

Level 2 Member
Having difficulty waiving AF on Aviator Red card. They are not waiving it the second time for me. Yes, there was no spend. But I may use 200k AA miles later this year and early next year that will enable me the 10% redemption. That's 20k miles I will lose and the whole 18k CL if I close this card.

What are the magic words to get the AF waived on this card? Now they have automated option to close the card even.
A few things to keep in mind. The 10% back has a cap of 10,000 miles per calendar year. So if you redeem 100,000 AA miles for award flights in a year, you get 10k back, and the same applies if you spent 200,000 AA miles (i.e., you still only get 10k miles back since that is the max). That being said, 10k miles is still valuable.

Have you considered opening a Citi AA Platinum Select WorldElite Mastercard? That card offers the same 10% back cap (keep in mind that you can only get the 10% back once, regardless of how many overlapping cards you have that offer the same AA point rebate benefit). Also, the AA Platinum Select has no AF the first year (and its $95 after that, but no need to ever pay the AF if you decide to close afterward). So one approach may be to apply for and obtain an AA Platinum Select card from Citi, close the Aviator to avoid the AF, and then book the award flight since you will get the 10% rebate (up to 10k miles back), without any AF on the Citi card. Though perhaps all of the calculus changes for you in light the fact that you will only get 10k miles back, and not 20k.
 

LearnMS

Level 2 Member
A few things to keep in mind. The 10% back has a cap of 10,000 miles per calendar year. So if you redeem 100,000 AA miles for award flights in a year, you get 10k back, and the same applies if you spent 200,000 AA miles (i.e., you still only get 10k miles back since that is the max). That being said, 10k miles is still valuable.

Have you considered opening a Citi AA Platinum Select WorldElite Mastercard? That card offers the same 10% back cap (keep in mind that you can only get the 10% back once, regardless of how many overlapping cards you have that offer the same AA point rebate benefit). Also, the AA Platinum Select has no AF the first year (and its $95 after that, but no need to ever pay the AF if you decide to close afterward). So one approach may be to apply for and obtain an AA Platinum Select card from Citi, close the Aviator to avoid the AF, and then book the award flight since you will get the 10% rebate (up to 10k miles back), without any AF on the Citi card. Though perhaps all of the calculus changes for you in light the fact that you will only get 10k miles back, and not 20k.
Thanks. Yes, I plan to redeem 100k this year and another 100k early next year. So calculating as 20k total.

I had the Citi AA Platinum card until an year ago. So not going for that. Maybe I can with the business version to avoid 5/24.

Problem with closing Aviator is I will lose CL completely from Barclay. Downgrading is another option....
 

LearnMS

Level 2 Member
Thanks. Yes, I plan to redeem 100k this year and another 100k early next year. So calculating as 20k total.

I had the Citi AA Platinum card until an year ago. So not going for that. Maybe I can with the business version to avoid 5/24.

Problem with closing Aviator is I will lose CL completely from Barclay. Downgrading is another option....
Btw, I am gathering that Citi Biz Plat has 70k sign up bonus but it doesn't have 10% redemption anymore....so no use for me to sign up.

When I called Aviator, I got an offer to reverse AF if I spend $1000 each month for 3 months......Is that a good deal?
 

spottedcat1234

Level 2 Member
Btw, I am gathering that Citi Biz Plat has 70k sign up bonus but it doesn't have 10% redemption anymore....so no use for me to sign up.

When I called Aviator, I got an offer to reverse AF if I spend $1000 each month for 3 months......Is that a good deal?
Its a pretty good deal, though it really all comes down to opportunity cost. If its all 1x spending, then it may make sense to divert 1,000 of monthly 1x spending to the Aviator. Think about it this way. If you spent $1,000 on your Chase card on 1x purchases, its 1,000 Chase UR, which is worth somewhere in the range of $15-$20 bucks depending on how much you value UR. If you put that same spend on your Aviator, you effectively get back around $47 bucks. I reached that number because 1,000 AA miles are worth about $15 (assuming they are worth about 1.5 cents per point), plus the $32 or so of the AF that you get back (yes, you would get it back as one lump sum once 3 months pass, but I'm prorating it over 3 for purposes of calculation).

Of course, the above calculus totally changes if most of your expenses are travel/dining and you have, say, the Chase Sapphire Reserve. Or if you buy lots of office supplies and would be diverting spend away from your Ink Cash card.
 

Belisarius

Level 2 Member
Couldn't get a retention offer on SPG Biz card. Had it 3 years. Spent 30K in 2016, 35K in 2017, 13K so far this year. Closed it down.
 

Belisarius

Level 2 Member
Did you HUCA? Can never hurt to try and speak with someone else if the first person turns you down.
I'd called before a week ago. I'm usually more persistent with Citi or other less organized issuers. I don't mind closing it: I need to make room applying for the SPG Luxury Card.
 
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