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Editor Update to the original article as of 4/8/2020:
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American Express reached out to us to clarify the reason for the random statement credit we received. It turns out, it only affected a small population of cardmembers, and Dave & I happened to be two of them. AMEX made the following statement on why we received them.
“There were limited instances where a small population of Card Members received a manual $250 Resort credit, as a prior credit they received was applied to the incorrect anniversary year.
These credits and subsequent corrections are not tied to a broader COVID 19-related relief effort, and Card Members will be receiving communications explaining the reasoning for the credit shortly if they have not already.”
We apologize for our error in thinking this may have been COVID-19 related due to us not being able to use them. I am almost certain that I had already received this credit though, over the summer, I did ask to clarify what year the credit is to be associated with. Let us know if you received one.
Original Article:
Times are crazy! It seems like there are changes taking place left and right every day which have been quite overwhelming. Today has been one of those days. I already wrote about the Big Moves by Delta this morning and now I logged onto my American Express Credit Card Portal today as part of my regular Sunday Financial Review. As I’m clicking through each of my Credit Cards to review my balance and when payments are due I came across something huge – a $250 Surprise Credit Back from Amex!
Hilton Honors American Express Aspire Card
Earn a 150,000 Welcome Bonus once you spend $4,000 on purchases within the first 3 months from account opening. Hilton Aspire Card includes Complimentary Diamond Status, Annual Free Weekend Night Award, $250 Resort Credit, and a $250 Airline Incidentals Credit. $450 annual fee. (Rates & Fees). Terms Apply. Learn More Here.
All information about Hilton Honors American Express Aspire Card has been collected independently by basictravelcouple.com
Hilton Honors American Express Aspire Card
I clicked on my Hilton Honors American Express Aspire Card and to my surprise found a $250 Statement Credit on my account! Lisa then checked her account and also found the same $250 Hilton Resort Credit Refund.
Getting a Check
I then used the Amex Chat feature to message an agent about the credit. Anytime you receive a credit on a Credit Card, the option to receive a Cash Check in the mail is open to the cardholder. Sometimes this happens when someone overpays on a bill that’s due or an annual fee refund. I asked the Amex Chat Agent to provide me with a check for the amount of the credit. After verifying my identity, the Customer Service Agent confirmed that a check will be mailed to my house!
Basic Breakdown
I haven’t seen any news of Amex refunding Credit Card Annual fees anywhere else online or from any members of the Basic Travel Community. I’m wondering if I happened to stumble on a move that Amex is announcing soon for it’s customers or some sort of system wide glitch. Check out your account and let us know down in the comments or over in the 3,500+ Member Facebook Group if you received a $250 Credit!
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8 comments
David – Thanks for the info. When is your Aspire card anniversary?
Hey Chris – My anniversary isn’t until September. With 5 months to go, I was really surprised to see that credit today!
Can I ask which month you paid the annual fee and did you use $0 of the resort credit last year? Thanks
Hey Nun – Great questions. My Annual Fee was Issued and Paid in September/October and I actually used all $250 my last cardmember year. I didn’t use any for this cardmember year but did have 5 months to go. Definitely a surprise to see that today.
Same answers for your wife? Had you had any recent stays they could have mistakenly issued credit for?
Nothing on my account.
Lisa’s Anniversary date is in October. I actually have had only one paid stay since my anniversary date and it was at a Homewood suites for $160 back in December.
So does their explanation make sense given your and your wife’s stay history. They’re basically saying they shorted you before, which I would have figured you would have noticed, If they didn’t short you why else would they give this credit.
Nope, it does not fit our situation. We definitely each used our $250 credits last summer in Japan. I upgraded to the Aspire in November 2018 and used the credit in summer of 2019 before the Annual Fee hit again. Paid the Annual fee last November 2019 and hadn’t used the credit yet. So out of the two possible credits, I only used one and was reimbursed for two. Definitely not complaining here! lol