How to Request a Credit Balance Refund from American Express

I recently closed my Hilton Honors Ascend credit card from American Express. I had opened it in May 2017 when it was still called Hilton Surpass. The sign-up offer included a free weekend night certificate on your first cardmember anniversary after paying the annual fee a second time. The free weekend night certificate posted about 13 months later, but strangely enough, I was never charged a second annual fee. I redeemed my free night certificate and decided to close my card, and for some reason, I received a credit on my account for $50.25. Since this card was closed, I couldn’t just spend more money on it to take advantage of the credit. Instead, I requested a credit balance transfer and sent the funds to a different Amex card. Here’s how to request a credit balance refund or transfer from American Express.

Step 1: Go to Account Services

Once you’re in the account services tab, click “Open a Payment Dispute” to continue.

Step 2: Select “I have a credit balance on my account”

The sidebar of this page notes that you can use a credit balance to offset future purchases on your account. However, if your account is closed, you will need to request a credit balance refund or transfer.

Step 3: Enter the amount of the credit balance

If the account is closed, make sure to request the full amount of the credit balance.

Step 4: Request a transfer or a refund

If you have another Amex card, you can transfer the credit balance to that account. Otherwise, Amex will send you a check.

Step 5: Sit and wait

It takes two to three days for the request to be processed. It took a total of four days for the credit balance transfer to appear in my other Amex account.

Final Thoughts

If you receive a credit balance on a recently closed Amex card as a result of an annual fee refund, you can use the above steps to request a refund in the form of a check or a transfer to another Amex account. You might not expect to find this under “Open a Payment Dispute” but once you know where to look, the process is quite simple!