Normally when we talk about the best credit card deals here, we are talking about credit cards you can apply for. Today, American Express is putting a new twist on this concept, offering some cardholders $300 to CLOSE their American Express credit card account. Described as a way to simplify your finances, American Express announced that it will pay certain cardholders $300 if they pay off their balances in full by April 30, 2009. Here’s the release found on the American Express credit card website:
Pay off your entire balance between March 1, 2009 and April 30, 2009, and we will send you a $300 value prepaid card1 to thank you. Enrolling in this promotion will automatically cancel your account.
Enter your 14-digit RSVP code from your mailing, or if you are registered to manage your account online, enter your user ID and password.
The prepaid card will arrive within 4 weeks of the end of the promotion. The prepaid card can be used to help you with your day-to-day expenses including purchases at your pharmacy, grocery store, or virtually anywhere
American Express® Cards are excepted.
There is one catch. If you haven’t used all your reward points by the time your account is closed, you could lose them. American Express warns that if “you are a Blue from American Express® or Optima®Card Cardmember and enrolled in the Membership Rewards Express® program be sure to use any points before enrolling.”
According to Bloomberg, who reported on the American Express credit card closure deal, “This is an offer we made to select cardmembers to incent them to help pay down their balance,” said Molly Faust, an American Express spokeswoman, in a telephone interview today.
So if you are one of the cardholders that gets this offer, you can decide whether holding on to that American Express credit card is worth $300.
