After getting back from our trip to Nicaragua on July 4, it was time to look over my credit card accounts to check on things…

While I was happy to see a $75 statement credit on my Starwood Amex Business card before we went away, this time I saw the $65 Annual Membership Fee had posted.

What to do, what to do…

Last year I got a $100 statement credit when I called in about my card’s annual fee.

There was no way that I was closing my account due to a big Amex Offer I had to finish taking advantage of. However, I still figured it was worth calling customer service to ask about waiving the annual fee.

After waiting on hold for around 5 minutes, a friendly rep greeted me and I explained what I was calling for. I mentioned how I saw the annual fee come up on my card and asked if they could help me out with it. I also mentioned how some banks waive the fee or offer some sort of bonus to hold onto the card.

I was immediately told that she would not be able to waive the annual fee but would like to review a couple of things on my account to see if there are any offers.

Sounded good to me…

In less than two minutes the rep was back on the line. I was told that I’ve been with American Express for 12 years (FYI-not with this particular card) and they would like to offer a statement credit for my loyalty of $65. She made it clear that the credit was not for my annual fee…

Call it loyalty, call it an annual fee credit, it makes no difference to me- I’ll take it!

While this year’s offer is not as good as last year’s, I was going to keep my account open to earn the rest of my Amex Offer credits from Staples regardless.

Now my next decision is whether or not it pays to close my Starwood Amex business card at a later date.