American Express Chargeback Time LimitGuidelines & Timetables for Merchants & Cardholders

What Are the American Express Chargeback Time Limits for Merchants & Cardmembers?

Are you a cardholder dealing with a case of criminal fraud on your American Express card? Or, maybe you’re a merchant fighting an unfair Amex dispute claim? In either case, Amex chargebacks come with built-in time limits you need to know about.

For a long time, American Express placed no time restraints on cardmember’s ability to dispute a transaction. In recent years, however, the company has imposed a limit for filing chargebacks in their merchant dispute reference guide. Merchants who want to submit responses to Amex claims have strict time limits as well.

With all this in mind, let’s take a closer look at Amex chargeback rules and American Express chargeback time limits for merchants and cardholders.

Learn more about chargeback time limits

Why are American Express Chargebacks Different?

American Express is currently the fourth-largest general-purpose card network in the world based on both purchase volume and number of cards in circulation. Unlike Visa or Mastercard, however, Amex has never been dependent on mainstream banking.

While Amex was one of the first companies to issue payment cards, many aspects of the brand differ from other credit card networks. For instance, while Visa and Mastercard are both card networks that work with member banks, Amex is an issuing bank with its own proprietary card network.

In other words, most cardmembers filing an American Express chargeback will also be customers of American Express in its capacity as a bank.

This, in turn, influences the American Express chargeback time limits set by the company. Namely, while it can make the overall process less complicated and more efficient, it can also constrict a merchant's ability to contest invalid chargebacks.

Learn more about Amex chargeback rules

American Express Chargeback Time Limits for Cardholders

Exceptions to the 120-day time limit are made in the case of three specific reason codes outlined below:

• C04: Goods/Services Returned or Refused
• C05: Goods/Services Canceled
• CO8: Goods/Services Not Received or Only Partially Received

The time frame can be extended in these cases, as we will outline in more detail below. You should also note that the original 120-day time limit does not apply to redisputes, meaning a second dispute filed in response to a chargeback reversal.

This 120-day restriction has only been in place for the last few years. Before that, cardholders could initiate a chargeback regardless of the transaction date; the cutoff was entirely at Amex’s discretion.

Still, this gives consumers a considerable window for instigating a dispute. To offset this, cardholders are restricted to just two disputes per transaction in most cases. That means merchants will not have to repeatedly reply to the same dispute.

What Cardholders Need to Do Before the American Express Chargeback Time Limit Expires

Before making the call, there are a few steps you should take before picking up the phone to initiate a dispute. Here’s a brief overview of the process:

Lastly, customers should be aware that the chargeback may not always work out in their favor. If the merchant is able to provide more compelling evidence of the legitimacy of the transaction in question, the card network may side with the merchant. Be sure to review your card's terms and conditions for details if you’re unsure whether you have a valid reason for a dispute.

Amex Chargeback Time Limits for Merchants

If a merchant believes that a customer’s dispute is invalid or was issued incorrectly, they are allowed to contest it. The process, however, comes with strict deadlines:

• After an inquiry (request of information) is issued, you have 20 days from the inquiry date to respond.
• If the inquiry response results in a chargeback issuance, you have 20 days from the chargeback date to contest the chargeback.
• After a chargeback is issued directly from the customer dispute, you have 20 days from the chargeback date to contest the chargeback.

In the case of an inquiry, Amex is simply asking the merchant to explain the customer’s complaint from their perspective. Sellers must provide the details Amex needs to confirm or deny the cardholder’s story. If they receive an actual chargeback, though, it’s their responsibility to mount a defense. The merchant has to provide evidence to demonstrate the transaction was valid and that the chargeback was inappropriate.

What Merchants Need to Do Before the Chargeback Response Time Limit Expires

When a cardholder disputes a charge, American Express reviews the claim and makes an initial decision. If there is sufficient evidence to support the claim, the chargeback is filed, and the transaction amount is immediately removed from the merchant’s account.

Things work differently if the company is unsure about the claim. They may send an inquiry—also called a request for information—looking for additional details. The merchant has 20 days to respond to the inquiry, either accepting the dispute or offering evidence that the claim is invalid. If they neglect to answer within the time frame or if American Express views their evidence as insufficient, the dispute becomes a chargeback.

This is less common, of course. Remember: Amex serves as both an issuer and a card network in the same transaction. Thus, there are very few situations where they won’t have enough documentation to make a call.

To illustrate how this works, here’s an overview of the Amex chargeback process from the merchant’s side of things:

Remember that chargeback rules and procedures can change, so it's extremely important to consult Amex's most recent guidelines and documentation for the most up-to-date information. Additionally, it's important to proactively address issues that lead to chargebacks and implement best practices to prevent future disputes.

Phases of the Amex Chargeback Process

The American Express chargeback process typically consists of three main phases:

Remember also that the point that qualifies as "Day One" will reset at each stage of the chargeback process. So, while the time limit on chargebacks is predetermined, it will still move around as one progresses to a different stage of the dispute, as illustrated below:

Exceptions & Special Circumstances

As we mentioned, Amex dispute time limits for merchants are straightforward. They must respond within 20 days. Like we mentioned at the top of the article, though, there are some exceptions on the cardholder’s side. Three reason codes have modified time frames:

For chargebacks filed using American Express reason code C04, the cardholder refused delivery of goods or services. However, the merchant failed to process a credit for the cardholder. Amex has not specified a deadline for the filing of chargebacks using this reason code, because the timeline may be impacted by shipping times for refused goods, merchant response times, and other factors.

Here, the cardholder claims that the order for goods or services was canceled, but the merchant failed to process the cancellation. These disputes can be impacted by factors like a merchant’s billing process, automatic renewal terms, subscription practices, etc. Because a dispute ay arise months — or even years — after an initial charge, the 120-day time limit does not apply.

The cardholder claims to have not received (or only partially received) the goods or services ordered. This may be impacted by the specifics of the items in question; they may have been shipped in multiple shipments due to the nature of the items ordered. Because this reason code is affected by the merchant’s shipping practices and timeframes, Amex allows more than 120 days in which to file a dispute.

Working With American Express Dispute Deadlines

American Express chargeback time limits are confusing… much like many other parts of the Amex dispute process.

Without knowing how different factors affect the timeframe, however, merchants are much more likely to miss a deadline and automatically lose a case. If you're a merchant, outsourcing chargeback management to the right professionals can free up time and ensure a much higher win rate.

Chargebacks911® offers a guaranteed ROI for all chargeback disputes we compile on your behalf. Contact us today to learn more about recovering revenue amid restrictive Amex chargeback time limits.