American Express (AMEX) won't! For the last 13 years, Edie and I have used an AMEX Starwood Preferred Guest credit card for the bulk of the credit card purchases we make, having charged a minimum of $25,000 per year over that time, and within the last two years charging in excess of $48,000 per year. (In case you were wondering, we literally charge everything.) When I first signed on for the card in 1995, there were no annual membership fees, but that changed around the 3rd or 4th year, when AMEX started charging an annual fee. I have never been a fan of paying to use a credit card, especially since the credit card company receives a fee (approximately 1% to 2% of the charges) from the merchant every time I use that card, and have always refused to pay any such fees. So every year, when the annual membership fee appeared on my statement, I always called AMEX customer service, and they have always given me a "good will credit" for the fee. That is up until now. This time...
The ramblings of a mantle cell lymphoma and bypass surgery survivor, and then some