This isn't really "crappy" customer-service, just dorky.
A week or so ago, I got a notice in the mail that I'd been pre-approved for an AmEx Rewards Green card, no fee for the first year, blah blah blah. Since there's all sorts of perks and stuff, I go ahead and sign up and get my AmEx Green card. It arrives yesterday.
Today I make a run to the colo, so I "break it in" to get the "first use bonus points" (5,000 extra points or something like that) by getting some gas. Nothing major.
Get home. Get the mail. Find a pre-approved application for the AmEx Rewards Gold version. Now, this is the one with the real perks... Ticketmaster frequently opens up tickets for Gold members a couple days ahead of time, so it can help you get very nice concert tickets, etc.
Why couldn't they send me that last week? Now I've got to go through the hassle of waiting for the Green bill to come in, pay it, tell them to cancel it, etc., etc. Just annoying. Meanwhile, I probably can't transfer those bonus points over to the Gold card. :-P
In hindsight, I know why they probably do it... the average person probably doesn't bother to cancel the green card, and then next year ends up paying the annual fee on both the green and gold cards. Yeah, that's probably what it's all about, come to think of it...
Actually, it used to be you had to keep both cards and pay both annual fees....
Reason #87 why I'll never carry one of their cards in my wallet ever again.
Don't you just love it how you need to belong to a 'special club' (that has annual feels) to get good concert tickets?
Well, this really cool chick I know at Tickets.com refuses to hook me up, so what else ya gonna do besides play crapshoot lottery at 10am on sale-date?