It’s wise to periodically look at the credit cards you hold and gauge the value they provide. Sometimes, cards you may have opened for specific benefits stop being useful. And other times, bonus categories can become less (or more) valuable if there’s a shift in your spending habits. If you’re paying an annual fee, a card you no longer use may not be worth keeping.
However, before you decide to cancel or downgrade as your card renewal approaches, you should talk to a customer representative to see if you can score a retention offer that makes the card worth keeping for another year.
Here’s what you need to know about these valuable incentives to hold onto your top credit cards.
What are retention offers?
Once a credit card issuer has spent hundreds of dollars (with a welcome bonus in cash back, points or miles) to entice you to open a card, it needs to find a way to recoup that investment. If you close your card after only a year or two — especially if you aren’t using it regularly — the issuer will likely lose money on you.
In an effort to recoup that investment, some (but not all) issuers will extend targeted retention offers to encourage customers to keep a card open longer. These offers can take the form of bonus points, statement credits, reductions or outright waivers of an annual fee — anything that helps persuade you to keep the card open (and, in the issuer’s eyes, keep you spending on the card).
For example, multiple cardholders of The Platinum Card® from American Express have reported the $695 annual fee (see rates and fees) being partially offset with a statement credit, or they were offered a points bonus when they call or chat using the app to tell a representative that they are considering canceling.
Related: Here’s why you should never close your credit cards before the one-year mark
How to ask for a retention offer
One common misconception about retention offers is that you can only get them if you’re trying to close a card. Indeed, you’ll generally have the most success asking for a retention offer right around the time your annual fee posts (since that’s when many people decide to cancel a card), but you can try your luck at any time.
Related: My Amex Platinum retention bonus: 20,000 Membership Rewards points
Daily Newsletter
Reward your inbox with the TPG Daily newsletter
Join over 700,000 readers for breaking news, in-depth guides and exclusive deals from TPG’s experts
With more companies using automated systems, how you phrase your request is very important. Instead of saying, “I’d like to close my credit card” and hoping the agent makes you an offer, you need to say, “I’m considering closing my card,” or, “I’m not sure I want to keep paying the annual fee on my card.”
We’ve heard horror stories of people who said they wanted to close their card, and the automated system shuttered the account before they could ever speak to a human being about it.
Each issuer handles retention offers differently. Some, like American Express, have a dedicated retention department to which you can ask to be transferred. You can also use the chat feature online or on the mobile app with Amex. For other cards, a front-line customer service representative might be able to help you. You can adapt the script to suit your own needs, but my calls or online chats usually go something like this:
“Hi, I noticed that the annual fee on my ______ card just posted, and I’m really not sure I can justify paying it for another year. I really like (insert your favorite benefits), but I’m just not sure about this annual fee. I was wondering if you could check if there were any retention offers available on my account that might help me make up my mind?”
At this point, you can expect the corporate marketing to kick in, and the agent will read you some talking points about why the card is so great and worth keeping. You’ll need to deflect, which you can do by bringing the discussion back to the annual fee you don’t want to pay.
Try mentioning that you have other cards with similar perks (especially if you have multiple Marriott, Delta or Hilton cards, for example), or consider saying that you don’t find yourself spending much on the card. Remember, at no point should you actually say, “I want to close the card” — only that you’re thinking about it.
This is purely anecdotal, but we’ve found American Express to be the most generous with retention offers. Some TPG staffers have even received retention offers on multiple cards within the Amex family in recent years.
Chase rarely gives them out (though it’s more common on cobranded Chase cards than the issuer’s Ultimate Rewards-branded cards).
One TPG staffer was denied a retention offer on their Chase Sapphire Reserve® and ultimately decided to downgrade it. Other card issuers may do so, but much less frequently.
What types of offers are there?
Depending on the issuer, there are three different offers you might receive:
- Annual fee reduction or waiver: Depending on the card, this can be as good as cash. Even if you don’t plan to use the card much, if you get an annual fee waiver, you can keep the card open for another year, which could boost your credit score. When you factor in perks like statement credits or elite status, an annual fee reduction may be enough to push the card past its break-even point.
- Bonus points or miles: Sometimes you’ll be awarded points for agreeing to keep the account open, though more often than not, it will be an offer similar to an initial welcome bonus: spend a certain amount of money in a specified period to earn bonus rewards.
- Statement credits: Same as above, sometimes statement credits are applied directly to the account but more often comes with a spending requirement.
It goes without saying that the more you spend on a card, the more likely you are to receive an offer. Issuers want to keep their most valuable customers.
Sometimes, you might even be given a choice between a statement credit or bonus points, in which case you can quickly pull up TPG’s monthly valuations and decide which offer is better.
As an example, one TPG staffer once received a retention offer on their Amex Platinum after simply saying they didn’t feel like they were receiving good value from all of the benefits to justify the high annual fee.
After speaking with a customer representative, the staffer was given the choice between 40,000 Membership Rewards points after spending $3,000 in the next three months, a $400 statement credit for $3,000 in spending or a $150 statement credit with no spending requirement.
With TPG’s valuations (at the time) valuing 40,000 points at $800, it was a no-brainer, and the staffer picked the 40,000 points.
Some other TPG teammates also shared some retention offers they’ve received:
- Marriott Bonvoy Brilliant® American Express® Card: “I got an offer of 20,000 points for $2,000 in spending in three months — was hoping for a bit more since I was on the fence about keeping the card but decided to keep it for one more year!” — Becca Manheimer, senior director of marketing and communications
- Marriott Bonvoy Business® American Express® Card: “I was given the option to earn a $200 statement credit for adding an authorized user and spending $2,000 on the card in the next six months — effectively a return of 10%.” — Nick Ewen, senior editorial director
- The Platinum Card® from American Express: “I had just one offer, which was 50,000 Membership Rewards points after spending $4,000 in the next three months, so I immediately jumped on it!” — Danyal Ahmed, credit cards writer
- Delta SkyMiles® Reserve American Express Card: “I was on the fence about keeping my card after an annual fee increase and change to benefits. I asked if there were any retention offers available that could help offset the annual fee and give me more time to evaluate the card’s value. The agent offered me 30,000 Delta SkyMiles after spending $2,000 or more on the card within the next three months. Based on TPG’s valuations at the time, the offer I received was worth $345.” — Tarah Chieffi, senior writer
Related: What are points and miles worth? TPG’s monthly valuations
Bottom line
Every time an annual fee is looming on one of your cards, you have to make the decision to keep it open, downgrade or cancel it.
We recommend spending a few minutes on the phone with an issuer to see what type of retention offer you might receive; in terms of pure return on time, there aren’t many better deals.
For rates and fees of the Amex Platinum, click here.
ADVERTISEMENT:
Hai, para pengemar slots pernahkah denger semboyan “slot gaco”? Kalau tidak, siap-siap jatuh hati dengan konsep ini. slot demo adalah mesin slots yang selalu kasih kemenangan. Yup, mesin-mesin ini bisa dikatakan adalah jagoannya buat bawa come back hasil. tapi, gimana sih caranya nemuin slot demo yang benar? Santuy Bro, kita bahas tenang aja di sini
Permainan terpopuler waktu sekarang satu-satunya berada Indonesia yaitu akan memberikan return tertinggi
Daftar hanya di :
Informasi mengenai KING SLOT, Segera Daftar Bersama king selot terbaik dan terpercaya no satu di Indonesia. Boleh mendaftar melalui sini king slot serta memberikan hasil kembali yang paling tinggi saat sekarang ini hanyalah KING SLOT atau Raja slot paling gacor, gilak dan gaco saat sekarang di Indonesia melalui program return tinggi di kingselot serta pg king slot
slot demo gacor
slot demo gacor permainan paling top dan garansi imbal balik hasil besar bersama kdwapp.com
akun demo slot gacor
akun demo slot gacor permainan paling top dan garansi imbal balik hasil besar bersama kdwapp.com
akun slot demo gacor
akun slot demo gacor permainan paling top dan garansi imbal balik hasil besar bersama kdwapp.com
akun demo slot pragmatic
akun demo slot pragmatic permainan paling top dan garansi imbal balik hasil besar bersama kdwapp.com
akun slot demo pragmatic
akun slot demo pragmatic permainan paling top dan garansi imbal balik hasil besar bersama kdwapp.com
akun slot demo
akun slot demo permainan paling top dan garansi imbal balik hasil besar bersama kdwapp.com
akun demo slot
akun demo slot permainan paling top dan garansi imbal balik hasil besar bersama kdwapp.com
slot demo gacor
slot demo gacor permainan paling top dan garansi imbal balik hasil besar bersama jebswagstore.com
akun demo slot gacor
akun demo slot gacor permainan paling top dan garansi imbal balik hasil besar bersama jebswagstore.com
akun slot demo gacor
akun slot demo gacor permainan paling top dan garansi imbal balik hasil besar bersama jebswagstore.com
akun demo slot pragmatic
akun demo slot pragmatic permainan paling top dan garansi imbal balik hasil besar bersama jebswagstore.com
akun slot demo pragmatic
akun slot demo pragmatic permainan paling top dan garansi imbal balik hasil besar bersama jebswagstore.com
akun slot demo
akun slot demo permainan paling top dan garansi imbal balik hasil besar bersama jebswagstore.com
akun demo slot
akun demo slot permainan paling top dan garansi imbal balik hasil besar bersama jebswagstore.com
slot demo gacor
slot demo gacor permainan paling top dan garansi imbal balik hasil besar bersama demoslotgacor.pro
akun demo slot gacor
akun demo slot gacor permainan paling top dan garansi imbal balik hasil besar bersama demoslotgacor.pro
akun slot demo gacor
akun slot demo gacor permainan paling top dan garansi imbal balik hasil besar bersama demoslotgacor.pro
akun demo slot pragmatic
akun demo slot pragmatic permainan paling top dan garansi imbal balik hasil besar bersama demoslotgacor.pro
akun slot demo pragmatic
akun slot demo pragmatic permainan paling top dan garansi imbal balik hasil besar bersama demoslotgacor.pro
akun slot demo
akun slot demo permainan paling top dan garansi imbal balik hasil besar bersama demoslotgacor.pro
akun demo slot
akun demo slot permainan paling top dan garansi imbal balik hasil besar bersama demoslotgacor.pro
slot demo gacor
slot demo gacor permainan paling top dan garansi imbal balik hasil besar bersama situsslotterbaru.net
akun demo slot gacor
akun demo slot gacor permainan paling top dan garansi imbal balik hasil besar bersama situsslotterbaru.net
akun slot demo gacor
akun slot demo gacor permainan paling top dan garansi imbal balik hasil besar bersama situsslotterbaru.net
akun demo slot pragmatic
akun demo slot pragmatic permainan paling top dan garansi imbal balik hasil besar bersama situsslotterbaru.net
akun slot demo pragmatic
akun slot demo pragmatic permainan paling top dan garansi imbal balik hasil besar bersama situsslotterbaru.net
akun slot demo
akun slot demo permainan paling top dan garansi imbal balik hasil besar bersama situsslotterbaru.net
akun demo slot
akun demo slot permainan paling top dan garansi imbal balik hasil besar bersama situsslotterbaru.net
situs slot terbaru
situs slot terbaru permainan paling top dan garansi imbal balik hasil besar bersama situsslotterbaru.net
slot terbaru
slot terbaru permainan paling top dan garansi imbal balik hasil besar bersama situsslotterbaru.net
elangwin88 permainan paling top dan garansi imbal balik hasil besar bersama elangwin88.me
eyangslot88 permainan paling top dan garansi imbal balik hasil besar bersama eyangslot88.biz
fendi88 permainan paling top dan garansi imbal balik hasil besar bersama fendi88.asia
gaco888 permainan paling top dan garansi imbal balik hasil besar bersama gaco888.net
gacoan888 permainan paling top dan garansi imbal balik hasil besar bersama gacoan888.biz
gacor666 permainan paling top dan garansi imbal balik hasil besar bersama gacor666.biz
gambar88 permainan paling top dan garansi imbal balik hasil besar bersama gambar88.org
gameboy777 permainan paling top dan garansi imbal balik hasil besar bersama gameboy777.com
ganas88 permainan paling top dan garansi imbal balik hasil besar bersama ganas88.me
gasing77 permainan paling top dan garansi imbal balik hasil besar bersama gasing77.asia
gasing88 permainan paling top dan garansi imbal balik hasil besar bersama gasing88.info
geber888 permainan paling top dan garansi imbal balik hasil besar bersama geber888.net
gemoy77 permainan paling top dan garansi imbal balik hasil besar bersama gemoy77.live
gercep888 permainan paling top dan garansi imbal balik hasil besar bersama gercep888.asia
giga333 permainan paling top dan garansi imbal balik hasil besar bersama giga333.live
happybet88 permainan paling top dan garansi imbal balik hasil besar bersama happybet88.asia
harum88 permainan paling top dan garansi imbal balik hasil besar bersama harum88.live
heroslot888 permainan paling top dan garansi imbal balik hasil besar bersama heroslot888.info
jejuslot88 permainan paling top dan garansi imbal balik hasil besar bersama jejuslot88.co
kenzo88 permainan paling top dan garansi imbal balik hasil besar bersama kenzo88.me
kerangwin88 permainan paling top dan garansi imbal balik hasil besar bersama kerangwin88.com
kijangwin88 permainan paling top dan garansi imbal balik hasil besar bersama kijangwin88.asia
kingdomtoto4d permainan paling top dan garansi imbal balik hasil besar bersama kingdomtoto4d.asia
kingdomtoto77 permainan paling top dan garansi imbal balik hasil besar bersama kingdomtoto77.asia
king selot permainan paling top dan garansi imbal balik hasil besar bersama kingselot.com
king slot permainan paling top dan garansi imbal balik hasil besar bersama kingslot.bio
king slot permainan paling top dan garansi imbal balik hasil besar bersama kingslot.com
kingselot permainan paling top dan garansi imbal balik hasil besar bersama kingselot.com
kuta88 permainan paling top dan garansi imbal balik hasil besar bersama kuta88.asia
ladangtoto88 permainan paling top dan garansi imbal balik hasil besar bersama ladangtoto88.asia
ligaciputra88 permainan paling top dan garansi imbal balik hasil besar bersama ligaciputra88.asia
mabar888 permainan paling top dan garansi imbal balik hasil besar bersama mabar888.info
mamen88 permainan paling top dan garansi imbal balik hasil besar bersama mamen88.info
mami88 permainan paling top dan garansi imbal balik hasil besar bersama mami88.live
maniaslot88 permainan paling top dan garansi imbal balik hasil besar bersama maniaslot88.pro
mantra888 permainan paling top dan garansi imbal balik hasil besar bersama mantra888.asia
mawartoto4d permainan paling top dan garansi imbal balik hasil besar bersama mawartoto4d.pro
maxwin888 permainan paling top dan garansi imbal balik hasil besar bersama maxwin888.pro
mega88 permainan paling top dan garansi imbal balik hasil besar bersama mega88.org
mekar999 permainan paling top dan garansi imbal balik hasil besar bersama mekar999.asia
milan96 permainan paling top dan garansi imbal balik hasil besar bersama milan96.asia
olxtoto77 permainan paling top dan garansi imbal balik hasil besar bersama olxtoto77.asia
olxtoto88 permainan paling top dan garansi imbal balik hasil besar bersama olxtoto88.life
panen4d permainan paling top dan garansi imbal balik hasil besar bersama panen4d.asia
pisang88 permainan paling top dan garansi imbal balik hasil besar bersama pisang88.org
planet7777 permainan paling top dan garansi imbal balik hasil besar bersama planet7777.com
prediksi777 permainan paling top dan garansi imbal balik hasil besar bersama prediksi777.live
prediksi88 permainan paling top dan garansi imbal balik hasil besar bersama prediksi88.asia
preman88 permainan paling top dan garansi imbal balik hasil besar bersama preman88.asia
preman96 permainan paling top dan garansi imbal balik hasil besar bersama preman96.asia
premium88 permainan paling top dan garansi imbal balik hasil besar bersama premium88.asia
prima88 permainan paling top dan garansi imbal balik hasil besar bersama prima88.live
kingselot permainan paling top dan garansi imbal balik hasil besar bersama kingselot.com
rajaslotjp88 permainan paling top dan garansi imbal balik hasil besar bersama rajaslotjp88.com
roma88 permainan paling top dan garansi imbal balik hasil besar bersama roma88.asia
salju888 permainan paling top dan garansi imbal balik hasil besar bersama salju888.asia
semutwin88 permainan paling top dan garansi imbal balik hasil besar bersama semutwin88.info
king slot.com permainan paling top dan garansi imbal balik hasil besar bersama kingselot.com
sultan777 permainan paling top dan garansi imbal balik hasil besar bersama sultan777.asia
sultan888 permainan paling top dan garansi imbal balik hasil besar bersama sultan888.asia
sultan99 permainan paling top dan garansi imbal balik hasil besar bersama sultan99.asia
super333 permainan paling top dan garansi imbal balik hasil besar bersama super333.live
suster12 permainan paling top dan garansi imbal balik hasil besar bersama suster12.com
tokekwin88 permainan paling top dan garansi imbal balik hasil besar bersama tokekwin88.info
tokyo777 permainan paling top dan garansi imbal balik hasil besar bersama tokyo777.info
tumi88 permainan paling top dan garansi imbal balik hasil besar bersama tumi88.live
vioslot88 permainan paling top dan garansi imbal balik hasil besar bersama vioslot88.asia
dora777 permainan paling top dan garansi imbal balik hasil besar bersama dora777.asia
dp88 permainan paling top dan garansi imbal balik hasil besar bersama dp88.biz
fila888 permainan paling top dan garansi imbal balik hasil besar bersama fila888.org
gaco888slot permainan paling top dan garansi imbal balik hasil besar bersama gaco888slot.com
gadunslot88 permainan paling top dan garansi imbal balik hasil besar bersama gadunslot88.asia
gagah88 permainan paling top dan garansi imbal balik hasil besar bersama gagah88.info
gaskan888 permainan paling top dan garansi imbal balik hasil besar bersama gaskan888.biz
gatotkaca88 permainan paling top dan garansi imbal balik hasil besar bersama gatotkaca88.info
gemoy888 permainan paling top dan garansi imbal balik hasil besar bersama gemoy888.biz
gemoy888slot permainan paling top dan garansi imbal balik hasil besar bersama gemoy888slot.info
gocap888 permainan paling top dan garansi imbal balik hasil besar bersama gocap888.net
god777 permainan paling top dan garansi imbal balik hasil besar bersama god777.biz
hari888 permainan paling top dan garansi imbal balik hasil besar bersama hari888.biz
hermes88 permainan paling top dan garansi imbal balik hasil besar bersama hermes88.biz
holywin999 permainan paling top dan garansi imbal balik hasil besar bersama holywin999.com
indojaya88 permainan paling top dan garansi imbal balik hasil besar bersama indojaya88.org
indomaster88 permainan paling top dan garansi imbal balik hasil besar bersama indomaster88.asia
jablay88slot permainan paling top dan garansi imbal balik hasil besar bersama jablay88slot.net
janjigacor88 permainan paling top dan garansi imbal balik hasil besar bersama janjigacor88.net
jeniustoto88 permainan paling top dan garansi imbal balik hasil besar bersama jeniustoto88.com
jeniustoto88slot permainan paling top dan garansi imbal balik hasil besar bersama jeniustoto88slot.com
juara88 permainan paling top dan garansi imbal balik hasil besar bersama juara88.info
juara88slot permainan paling top dan garansi imbal balik hasil besar bersama juara88slot.org
jwtogel88 permainan paling top dan garansi imbal balik hasil besar bersama jwtogel88.net
kasih88 permainan paling top dan garansi imbal balik hasil besar bersama kasih88.info
kawantogel88 permainan paling top dan garansi imbal balik hasil besar bersama kawantogel88.com
kawantogel88 permainan paling top dan garansi imbal balik hasil besar bersama kawantogel88.net
kedai88 permainan paling top dan garansi imbal balik hasil besar bersama kedai88.asia
king9999 permainan paling top dan garansi imbal balik hasil besar bersama king9999.org
kkslot88 permainan paling top dan garansi imbal balik hasil besar bersama kkslot88.info
kongsi888 permainan paling top dan garansi imbal balik hasil besar bersama kongsi888.com
kutu88slot permainan paling top dan garansi imbal balik hasil besar bersama kutu88slot.com
liga899 permainan paling top dan garansi imbal balik hasil besar bersama liga899.org
lisboa777slot permainan paling top dan garansi imbal balik hasil besar bersama lisboa777slot.com
