Good News for AmEx Simply Cash Cardholders
The other day I wrote about the fact that AmEx has decided to scale the cash back rebates on gas purchases made with their Simply Cash card from 5% to 3%.
A reader named EN was particularly displeased by this turn of events given that he had just applied for the card, and hadn’t even received it yet.
I have since heard from EN that he contacted AmEx customer service and was assured that Simply Cash cardholders such as himself would receive “the same reward structure for the next 12 months.” In other words, he should be getting 5% cash back for the next 12 months, at which time he’ll be downgraded to 3% rewards on gas.
EN also inquired about the possibility of converting from the Simply Cash card (which is a business card) to a consumer card like the Blue Cash rewards card. As it turns out, AmEx is fine with people converting from business cards into consumer cards (and vice versa) as long as they are the same general type (i.e., credit vs. charged cards). Since both the Simply Cash and Blue Cash reward cards are credit cards, there shouldn’t be a problem with doing the conversion.
Just in case you’re not already earning bonus rewards on your gas purchases… Be sure to check out this list of the best cash back credit cards for buying gas.
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I just got my SimplyCash card about a month ago. Like EN I was also unhappy with the decrease in cash back. Is every SimplyCash card member going to be “grandfathered” in? Or do I need to call?
Comment by Matt M — Jul 7th 2008 @ 6:12 pmI have an important update about the news I received earlier. Today I called Customer Service again about a minor issue and took the chance to ask again about the SimplyCash reward program and also the conversion process.
The good news is that the 12 months promotion for 5% cashback is still ongoing for recent cardholders (I believe June 2 and on was the date they gave).
However, the bad news is that American Express does NOT allow customers to convert from business cards to consumer cards and vice versa. I apologize for the false information but I was only relaying what I heard the first time I asked the question. This time, the lady in customer service assured me that American Express business cards and consumer cards were completely separate and that I would have to go through a new application if I wanted a consumer card later on.
Again, I am only relaying what I got from customer service but I believe that the lady knew what she was talking about. Obviously I’m disappointed to hear that the process is not as easy as I was told the first time and I hope others benefit from this information.
Comment by EN — Jul 7th 2008 @ 8:09 pmAnd nickel, I’m sincerely sorry about giving you that wrong information. I hope I didn’t mislead any of your other readers!
Comment by EN — Jul 7th 2008 @ 8:12 pm