I bought the watch in July 2011. The manufacturer has a 1-year warranty. I paid with my Starwood American Express card, which gives extended warranty for another year. I’m lucky it’s still within the 2-year mark.
American Express has a great online claims center for filing an extended warranty claim. The problem is I already closed the Starwood card because I was accumulating more Starwood points than I could use. I closed it before another annual fee would hit. After I closed the card, I removed the card from my online profile. I shredded the physical card. Now I don’t even have the full card number.
Are you able to file a claim for extended warranty after the card is already closed? How do I get the card number if I don’t have it any more?
I called American Express customer service. The friendly rep said yes I could still file a claim even though the card is already closed, but no he couldn’t give me the card number any more because the number is no longer valid. He called the claims department and gave the [closed] card number to the rep there. The claims rep took over and entered the claim for me over the phone.
Normally they would issue a credit back to the card. In my case because the card is already closed, they will send me a check.
Problem solved. I received great service from American Express. This level of service drives customer loyalty.
By the way, the Starwood American Express card is great if you like Starwood hotels (Sheraton, Westin, etc.). The points I redeemed were worth 3.5-4% of the amount I charged on the card, much higher than cash rewards from other cards. My problem is the small towns I travel to often don’t have a Starwood hotel. Otherwise I would keep using the Starwood card.
[Photo credit: Flickr user eirikso]
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Money Beagle says
That is great information to know. I have a feeling that while many cards offer warranty coverage, probably 1% of qualified refunds actually get filed. I’m probably guilty of having missed a few opportunities along the way, and I’m sure the cards count on it. Still, great that they did this for you without any hassle whatsoever.
Ace says
What was the process for proving your claim? I have always assumed you would have to save your purchase receipt and have the original warranty card for the item to prove you purchased it with the card and prove the length of the manufacturer warranty. Is that so?
Harry says
Ace – I should just say American Express was very fair in handling the claim. If you have a legitimate claim you don’t have to worry about not being able to prove it.
Rafael says
I had an Amex card branded for Fidelity clients. Earlier in the year, Fidelity changed to Visa. Now that I need to use the extended warranty for a Tv, Visa and Amex are sending me to each other saying the other is responsible for the extended warranty. I had to call 6 different numbers and they still point me to the other side. Any suggestions?
Harry Sit says
The Amex card you had wasn’t issued by American Express. If you haven’t done so already, contact the previous issuer FIA Card Services / Bank of America.
Manny says
Rafael – Did you have any luck with this? I am in the same exact situation with the Fidelity issued cards.
Z says
TWG Innovative Solutions. Claims Administration. PO Box 87719. Chicago, IL 60680-0919. 1-866-918-4464 . They process warranty claims for multiple AMEX co-branded cards like Wells Fargo PropelWorld, FNBO TravElite, and also Fidelity FIA AMEX. Their Yelp reviews mention FIA AMEX, but also indicate difficulty in getting claims approved. https://www.yelp.com/biz/twg-innovative-solutions-chicago