Easy card replacement

dbaker · 03-14-2003, 05:21 PM

My primary card broke today at lunch. It was about due for replacement -- the numbers were all worn off, the signature was practically illegible with "VOID VOID VOID" all over it, and the whole thing was getting pretty warped from my wallet.

I called the number on the back of the card and explained the situation to the rep. He said that he would be glad to handle it, until I pointed out that I wanted the exact same card number on my replacement. He asked to put me on hold to check on the details to see if he could make an exception to their normal policy since normally the number is unique to each specific card.

When he came back, he had a woman on the line with him that would handle the rest for me. She asked where I was and I explained that I would be at home for a little while before I made a FedEx & Jamba Juice run, that I would probably be okay with getting the card tomorrow but that I am entertaining company tonight and don't want to leave home without it. She laughed and said she understood. I said that I'd prefer to just pick it up in the area that I'd be anyway (a couple miles south of my house).

She asked when I would like it. I said 4pm, which was in less than 30 minutes. She gave me the address and offered directions, but I declined and said I knew the street.

At 3:55pm, I pulled up the American Express office, walked in, and slid my passport in the little slot beneath the glass separating the office from the currency exchange/card office. The woman opened it, looked at me, slid it back, then pulled a generic looking card out of a folder. She said she would activate it for me. While she did that, she had me sign for delivery of the card. She then slid the card over to me and wished me a nice weekend.

I wished her the same and walked out. Total time spent on the entire process was less than 5 minutes, not counting the beautiful 10 minute round-trip top down drive to AmEx and back.

03-14-2003, 05:21 PM	#1
dbaker Senior Member ITYT Captain Join Date: Sep 2001 Location: IAH/HOU Posts: 2,354	Easy card replacement My primary card broke today at lunch. It was about due for replacement -- the numbers were all worn off, the signature was practically illegible with "VOID VOID VOID" all over it, and the whole thing was getting pretty warped from my wallet. I called the number on the back of the card and explained the situation to the rep. He said that he would be glad to handle it, until I pointed out that I wanted the exact same card number on my replacement. He asked to put me on hold to check on the details to see if he could make an exception to their normal policy since normally the number is unique to each specific card. When he came back, he had a woman on the line with him that would handle the rest for me. She asked where I was and I explained that I would be at home for a little while before I made a FedEx & Jamba Juice run, that I would probably be okay with getting the card tomorrow but that I am entertaining company tonight and don't want to leave home without it. She laughed and said she understood. I said that I'd prefer to just pick it up in the area that I'd be anyway (a couple miles south of my house). She asked when I would like it. I said 4pm, which was in less than 30 minutes. She gave me the address and offered directions, but I declined and said I knew the street. At 3:55pm, I pulled up the American Express office, walked in, and slid my passport in the little slot beneath the glass separating the office from the currency exchange/card office. The woman opened it, looked at me, slid it back, then pulled a generic looking card out of a folder. She said she would activate it for me. While she did that, she had me sign for delivery of the card. She then slid the card over to me and wished me a nice weekend. I wished her the same and walked out. Total time spent on the entire process was less than 5 minutes, not counting the beautiful 10 minute round-trip top down drive to AmEx and back.