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While I was doing some research on my account pages for the post about how to check your Amex Everyday Preferred bonus limits, I was on my Membership Rewards account summary page, and I noticed the following information about forfeited points.

american-express-forfeited-points-summary

Wait, what?  Forfeited points?

Why American Express gives you forfeited points

Selecting the help text, you get the following message from American Express about forfeited points

If the amount due on any linked account is not paid in full within one month of the closing date of your Charge Card billing statement, points accrued in the program for that linked account for that month may be forfeited.

fds

The detail on my 11,436 forfeited points

So I checked on the details of my forfeited points

american-express-membership-rewards-forfeited-points-details

That’s from way back when my account was opened.  One of the very first things that I generally do whenever I do a credit card churn or otherwise open up a new credit card is put the card on autopay, but if I’m dusting off my memory banks from a year and a half ago, I believe there was some sort of problem with the autopay – either it didn’t get set up right, or in some other way the payment didn’t get paid on time and apparently American Express forfeited those points (and I didn’t notice until now!).  And of course since the card was new, I was putting a lot of spending on the card to meet the minimum spending requirements!

forfeited-points

It’s actually a good thing that I noticed now, because forfeited points can only be reinstated if you do so within 24 months from when they were forfeited, and we’re coming up on that deadline!

To reinstate forfeited American Express Membership Rewards, you have to pay a $35 fee per month per card that has forfeited points.  Looking at the balances, it probably does make sense to pay the $35 fee for the 11,346 points from July 2014, but probably not for the 90 forfeited American Express points

What do you think?  Is it worth the $35 fee to reinstate the points? Have you ever had to deal with forfeited points?

FOLLOWUP: Getting (most of) my 11,436 forfeited Membership Rewards back!


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