SALLY SORTS IT: Amex won’t let me have late husband’s 1.3m reward points

My husband passed away in 2020. He had an American Express Platinum Card and I have been the additional cardholder on the account since 1998.

We collected 1,282,245 reward points – the majority from purchases I made.

The monthly bill for the card was paid from our joint bank account, which is legally my money, and I am the sole executor of my husband’s estate.

I’ve also always had my own personal American Express account, which I’ve never used.

I want to keep the points, but American Express says they can’t be transferred from my late husband’s account to mine. I’m afraid I’ll lose everything I’ve earned.

If I am equally responsible for the credit card account, then I also own the accrued points equally?

SK, London.

This question raises an interesting problem for those who collect reward points with American Express, which are often used for conversion to Avios for flights.

You explained to me that you only used the card because you wanted to accumulate as many membership rewards as possible.

Once the lockdown was over you had hoped to use the points to book flights and see the world again.

You therefore put all your purchases on the platinum card. In addition, you said that you had a very different experience with American Express when your mother died in the US. You were also an additional cardholder of her account.

The company was nice, you said, expressed sympathy, closed your mom’s account, and transferred her membership rewards to your top-up card without any problems.

But in Britain you claim that you were told there was a different system and the points could not be transferred.

Membership points with American Express can be used for flights and upgrades, and even converted into a supermarket spend. They can be very valuable.

One expert said your points are potentially worth up to £12,800 depending on how they are redeemed.

Your complaint began when American Express customer service contacted you for a routine check to see if you needed to update your personal information.

This is when you told them about your husband’s death.

As usual you were told that the account would be closed – but you say that when you asked to transfer the points the customer service told you that this would not be possible as the points do not belong to you.

You feel that if you get a reward in exchange for every dollar you spend on that card, it qualifies as a transaction. So you believe the points are yours.

In addition to owning an additional card to the account for 24 years, you say that your spouse has previously also signed a document with the company allowing you access and use of the account membership points.

You also told me that you asked twice not to close the account until this was resolved.

However, you say the account was closed – and you didn’t find out about this until the direct debits started bouncing, which you say was hugely inconvenient.

However, when I contacted American Express to request this, I was told that the account had not been closed. It said it didn’t close your husband’s account, but it was blocked when American Express was notified of his death.

American Express says this is standard operating procedure and explains why your direct debits didn’t go through.

I asked the company what it intended to do with all the points you collected, and it agreed to transfer them to your account.

All 1,282,245 reward points have now been credited to your personal account. An American Express spokesman said: “We extend our deepest condolences. The points were transferred after receipt of the necessary documentation.’

It says it has a team of specialists available to support cardholders with their financial situation in the event of a bereavement. Upon death, American Express asks for a completed obituary.

The point balance, or its equivalent in shopping vouchers, can be presented to the next of kin or executor. You look forward to flying again.

Rental car was an accident waiting to happen

In July I rented a Volvo SUV from Enterprise Rent A Car in South Gloucestershire to drive our family to Scotland.

When picking up the vehicle, the tire warning light was on, but we were assured there was no problem. But halfway through our trip, one of the tires went soft, so we took it to a repairman.

The company found a large nail in the problem tire and also said the two front tires were not roadworthy and would not pass the MOT.

Enterprise agreed to pay for the flat tire to be repaired and the front tires replaced.

But we considered the company negligent for endangering the safety of my two children. It agreed to refund 50 percent of our rental fee, but to date we have not received payment.

HG, South Gloucestershire.

Going on such a long trip with two young children can be stressful enough. So I can imagine how concerned you must have been to learn that the vehicle may have been unsafe.

I took your case to the Enterprise, which claims that you first raised your concerns about the tapes two weeks into your trip.

At that time, Enterprise advised you to visit one of its authorized tire repair shops.

Enterprise says its checks are stricter than required by law, which is why it insisted on replacing the two front tires as they had reached their minimum tread depth.

It agreed to refund half of the rent due to the inconvenience of having to bring it for repair.

Yet you still hadn’t received a refund even though you were chased several times.

Enterprise wouldn’t tell me why it was such a bumpy road to get the refund, but it has now processed the payment.

• Write to Sally Hamilton at Sally Sorts It, Money Mail, Northcliffe House, 2 Derry Street, London W8 5TT or email sally@dailymail.co.uk – include telephone number, address and a note addressed to the offending organization giving them permission to talk to Sally Hamilton. Please do not send original documents, we cannot take responsibility for that. The Daily Mail assumes no legal responsibility for answers provided.