Phone persecution !!. Review on American Express Credit Card

'Excuse me sir, but are you holding an American Express Corporate Card ?'

Today, I've received my tenthcall from a telemarketing agent that starts exactly this way .. I assume they all read from exactly the same script. Anyway, let me describe my experiences with this card issuer in chronological order.

When their telemarketing person first contacted me, I was interested in the American Express credit card, as it was being offered at no charge for people holding the Corporate Card from the same bank (which I was), and came with a good membership rewards plan. A negative of this card is that it is not affiliated to either Visa or Mastercard, and therefore has a lower acceptance with the merchants. But since I already had a Visa card, I felt this problem would not affect me.

So their DSA came to my office and took my details, at which point of time we ran into a snag - they needed a land line residence number, whereas I only had a mobile, probably just like thousands of young professionals like me who are new to Bangalore. I was then pestered to provide the land-line number of a relative or friend in Bangalore, which I did.

Two weeks later, I received a letter from American Express rejecting my application for a card, for reasons not cited by them. And to add insult to injury, the very next day I received a call from another telemarketer offering me the very same card!

It is just ridiculous that one department is totally unaware of what the other does. Anyway, carefully keeping my temper in check, I politely informed them that I had already been through the application cycle, and was no longer interested, and would they please note this in their database ?

No use. Today is the 10th time they have called me up, and I am now keeping my promise to them that I would post my account on this website. I will also be mailing these details to the concerned manager in American Express, if I can just find his name.

If their efforts are so uncoordinated even before I've taken the card, God only knows what kind of havoc they might wreak if I were to become a cardholder !