No More American Express Gift Card Inactivity Fees

Here’s some good news if you happen to have American Express gift cards in your purse or wallet.

The credit card issuer said it will no longer charge the monthly service fees associated with the gift cards going forward.

This includes those already purchased, those in stores now, and those headed to market for the upcoming holiday season; unfortunately, it doesn’t look like they’ll be reimbursing those of us that got hit with the fees in the past.

American Express used to deduct $2.00 per month a year after purchase for inactivity and $5.95 to replace a lost or stolen card.

The company says it’s now the only major issuer of universal or “general purpose” gift cards to eliminate all fees after purchase.

American Express gift cards now have no fee for activation, checking a balance, monthly servicing, or for card replacement; and the funds never expire.

However, the company does charge anywhere from $2.95 to $6.95 to purchase a gift card, which is still a bit of a downer.

It seems American Express made the move to connect with the top mall retailer, Simon Property Group, in order to be their primary gift card provider.

American Express gift cards will be available for purchase at 70,000 retailers in the U.S., including supermarkets, shopping malls, drugstores, and also online.

Sales of American Express gift cards have already exceeded $1 billion; imagine what all those inactivity fees amounted to…

Related Topics:

1. Watch Out for Credit Card Inactivity Fees
2. American Express Paying Customers to Close Their Accounts
3. American Express and Discover Receive Top Honors
4. American Express Zync Credit Card
5. What Stores Sell Prepaid Credit Cards?