Not upheld: misleading promotional offer terms and conditions complaint against American Express Services Europe Limited (AESEL)

Decision detail

Summary

Miss B complained that AESEL provided misleading information about a tier points promotional offer on her British Airways American Express Premium Plus Credit Card. She believed that spending from her membership year prior to enrolling in the promotion (November 2025) should count towards the tier points thresholds, but AESEL advised that only spending after enrolment counted. The ombudsman reviewed the promotional offer wording and terms and conditions and found them to be clear and unambiguous, explicitly stating that tier points would be awarded for spending 'after enrolment'. Since Miss B had not spent £15,000 after enrolling, the ombudsman found AESEL had not made an error and did not uphold the complaint.

The Ombudsman's reasoning

The ombudsman reviewed the promotional offer wording and terms and conditions and found them to be clear and unambiguous. Clause 4 explicitly stated that tier points would be awarded for spending 'after enrolment into the offer', with nothing suggesting prior spending would be counted. The ombudsman was satisfied that AESEL had clearly communicated the requirement to enrol and that spending thresholds applied only to post-enrolment spending. Since Miss B had not spent £15,000 after enrolling when she queried the offer, AESEL correctly advised that no tier points had been earned. The ombudsman also considered the Consumer Duty and found no breach, as the terms contained all information needed for an informed decision.

How this compares

Source

Read the original decision on the Financial Ombudsman Service website