Really AMEX? Really?

Last night, I came home from to a letter from American Express. At first, I though it was something they were selling me.

They weren't sell me anything. The letter was one of the most awkward I have ever received from a credit card company:

 Dear JD Teitelman

      We're writing to let you know that we mistakenly issued additional reward points to your 
       account in September 2013. Although these points are in your rewards account and 
       available for you use, they are twice the amount you should have received for your 
       August billing period.

       In order for us to offset the extra points you received, we will not issue additional points 
       to your account until you have earned more points than you received in error. This means 
       that your points balance on your American Express statement may be zero or negative 
       until your balance shows the correct number of points. We apologize for any 
       inconvenience this may cause.

       You can always check your earned rewards and review your account activity online at
       americanexpress.com/managemyaccount.

       Thank you for your Card Membership.

       Sincerely,

       American Express Customer Care


Some of you may have received a similar letter in the past. American Express made a mistake and I am being punished? However, what really steams me isn't that they sent the letter. Rather, how many points they are trying to recover. My September AMEX deposit into my Delta account (the AMEX in question is my Delta AMEX Gold) was 13 miles:

AMEX is trying to recover 6.5 miles. Trying to recover 6.5 miles makes AMEX look cheap and makes me feel less like a member, but a more like a customer. AMEX should have had a cut-off level of points that they weren't going to recover. I understand trying to recoup 500, 1000, or 5000 miles give erroneously, but 6.5, 20 or 100, that just is greedy. Yes, I understand that they were trying to be fair by taking points back from everyone. Even worse, I went back to my August credit card statement and I spent exactly $13.30 and earn 13 Skymiles. I wasn't given any extra points.

I can forgive you AMEX, because mistakes happen. However, don't punish me because one of your employees screwed up. Sometimes you let mistake pass . . . 

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