topic Re: Amex Recon Advice 7 years post bk in Credit Cards

Amex Recon Advice 7 years post bk

sal2009 — Sun, 23 Sep 2012 14:18:26 GMT

So I have been slowly but steadily increasing my credit.

I am 7 years and 2 days post bankruptcy ch7. Nothing bad on credit report except for bk reporting.

So yesterday, I decided to do another round of credit card applications. I apped for:

Citi Visa Signature AAdvantage APPROVED FOR $20,000

Citi American Express AAdvantage APPROVED FOR $20,000 (did 2 browser trick)

Chase Ink Bold: Pending...going to have to Recon on Monday when they open

I requested a CLI from Chase on my Sapphire Preferred on the same day HOPING that it will show up as 1 inquiry and was approved from base of $5000 to $15000

American Express Premier Rewards Gold...Flat out declined

I applied for the Amex because i had read on here that some had gotten cards 7 years post bk. Of note, I did include Amex in the bk for approx $3900. What's interesting is that when I app'd last year and got declined, the rejection letter gave the bankruptcy as the reason...this time the only reason in the letter was "American Express previously cancelled your account." So it seems to me that you might get approved after 7 yrs if you didn't include them in the bk and if you did, then you are on their blacklist.

Now...I'm looking for advice on how to get off it. I've read on here that some people have had success with executive office vs new accounts. Can you guys give me the phone numbers that you used? perhaps more importantly, if you would PLEASE give me the names of the person that helped you...feel free to private message me if that make you more comfortable. I would greatly appreciate it.

Other cards i have:

BMW Credit Card: $10000

Capital one:$2500

Chase Freedom: $1250

Chase Slate$500

Various store cards: Bloomingdales, Sonystyle, Sleepys, Carecredit

Experian FICO: 737

Transunion: 710

Equifax: 714

Thanks everyone...glad to finally be getting some prime cards again. Couldn't have done it without this site!

Re: Amex Recon Advice 7 years post bk

LS2982 — Sun, 23 Sep 2012 14:24:58 GMT

sal2009 wrote:
So I have been slowly but steadily increasing my credit.

I am 7 years and 2 days post bankruptcy ch7. Nothing bad on credit report except for bk reporting.

So yesterday, I decided to do another round of credit card applications. I apped for:

Citi Visa Signature AAdvantage APPROVED FOR $20,000
Citi American Express AAdvantage APPROVED FOR $20,000 (did 2 browser trick)
Chase Ink Bold: Pending...going to have to Recon on Monday when they open
I requested a CLI from Chase on my Sapphire Preferred on the same day HOPING that it will show up as 1 inquiry and was approved from base of $5000 to $15000

American Express Premier Rewards Gold...Flat out declined

I applied for the Amex because i had read on here that some had gotten cards 7 years post bk. Of note, I did include Amex in the bk for approx $3900. What's interesting is that when I app'd last year and got declined, the rejection letter gave the bankruptcy as the reason...this time the only reason in the letter was "American Express previously cancelled your account." So it seems to me that you might get approved after 7 yrs if you didn't include them in the bk and if you did, then you are on their blacklist.

Now...I'm looking for advice on how to get off it. I've read on here that some people have had success with executive office vs new accounts. Can you guys give me the phone numbers that you used? perhaps more importantly, if you would PLEASE give me the names of the person that helped you...feel free to private message me if that make you more comfortable. I would greatly appreciate it.

Other cards i have:
BMW Credit Card: $10000
Capital one:$2500
Chase Freedom: $1250
Chase Slate$500
Various store cards: Bloomingdales, Sonystyle, Sleepys, Carecredit

Experian FICO: 737
Transunion: 710
Equifax: 714

Thanks everyone...glad to finally be getting some prime cards again. Couldn't have done it without this site!

CONGRATS on your app spree approvals!!!

Re: Amex Recon Advice 7 years post bk

amercnchopz34 — Sun, 23 Sep 2012 15:07:20 GMT

sal2009 wrote:
So I have been slowly but steadily increasing my credit.

I am 7 years and 2 days post bankruptcy ch7. Nothing bad on credit report except for bk reporting.

So yesterday, I decided to do another round of credit card applications. I apped for:

Citi Visa Signature AAdvantage APPROVED FOR $20,000
Citi American Express AAdvantage APPROVED FOR $20,000 (did 2 browser trick)
Chase Ink Bold: Pending...going to have to Recon on Monday when they open
I requested a CLI from Chase on my Sapphire Preferred on the same day HOPING that it will show up as 1 inquiry and was approved from base of $5000 to $15000

American Express Premier Rewards Gold...Flat out declined

I applied for the Amex because i had read on here that some had gotten cards 7 years post bk. Of note, I did include Amex in the bk for approx $3900. What's interesting is that when I app'd last year and got declined, the rejection letter gave the bankruptcy as the reason...this time the only reason in the letter was "American Express previously cancelled your account." So it seems to me that you might get approved after 7 yrs if you didn't include them in the bk and if you did, then you are on their blacklist.

Now...I'm looking for advice on how to get off it. I've read on here that some people have had success with executive office vs new accounts. Can you guys give me the phone numbers that you used? perhaps more importantly, if you would PLEASE give me the names of the person that helped you...feel free to private message me if that make you more comfortable. I would greatly appreciate it.

Other cards i have:
BMW Credit Card: $10000
Capital one:$2500
Chase Freedom: $1250
Chase Slate$500
Various store cards: Bloomingdales, Sonystyle, Sleepys, Carecredit

Experian FICO: 737
Transunion: 710
Equifax: 714

Thanks everyone...glad to finally be getting some prime cards again. Couldn't have done it without this site!

I am waiting till my bk 7 is 8 yrs old in june.....nothing bad execpt bk reporting....lmk what happens....very intersting......

Re: Amex Recon Advice 7 years post bk

Revelate — Sun, 23 Sep 2012 15:33:40 GMT

Have to take the comments here with some skepticism. For every approval at the 7 year mark, there's probably 10 denials even on this forum.

More recently there have been some who were approved after 8 years but not all of then either. May have something to do whether an Amex account was listed in the BK or not.

Unfortunately there's not a lot you can do with Amex regarding recons; unlike other lenders there's no room to maneuver unless your credit report is inaccurate which doesn't apply to the BK in this case presumably.

Personally if I had never had an Amex previously I'd wait the year and try again. Rockin approvals otherwise, congrats!

Re: Amex Recon Advice 7 years post bk

sal2009 — Sun, 23 Sep 2012 16:22:51 GMT

Two more things I forgot to mention...

I've been an "additional cardholder/authorized user" on my father's amex delta card for the past 7 years....

Also, i tried the whole pre-paid amex thinking that might help as well....

apparently these things don't.

Re: Amex Recon Advice 7 years post bk

trumpet-205 — Sun, 23 Sep 2012 16:36:42 GMT

If you did include AMEX in your BK you are pretty much out of luck. You can improve your chance by paying off that CO, but it is still a no guarantee. AMEX only does recon when something on your CR is not accurate.

Re: Amex Recon Advice 7 years post bk

Weights — Sun, 23 Sep 2012 18:48:35 GMT

Congratuations on your approvals, and best of luck on your reconsiderations!!

Far as Amex, the woman who I worked with last year from their executive offices in seeking a reconsideration for my app to the Blue Cash card was so rude that it completely turned me off to them. She acted like I was crazy for even thinking there was a chance, despite the fact that everyone else I applied to (Chase, Barclays, Discover) not only approved me, but also gave me increases when I asked. I had about a 740 Fico at that time as well with no baddies reporting, yet they still wouldn't approve me. Their main reason for turning me down was that my student loan balances were too high from where they first were, despite the fact that I just finished a year ago, no other debt, have a good job with good income now, and have made all my payments on time since I've been out (never mind I didn't have a single baddy reporting and had an AAoA ~3 years). Not only that, a lot of retailers I've come across don't seem to take them. However, if you still want to try, which I can't blame you for since now the inquiry is showing, call their executive offices b/t M-F 8am-6pm EST and just wait for someone to answer. Explain to them that you were declined and that you would like a manual review of your application for possible reconsideration. The last gentleman I spoke to in their executive offices offered to do this for me as well to if I want to reapply at some point (still upset about the experience with the other one though, so we'll see). I'll PM you the individuals names that I'd recommend speaking to. Again, good luck to you. Hopefully, you'll have a more pleasant experience with them than I myself did.

Re: Amex Recon Advice 7 years post bk

kimmiller112 — Sun, 23 Sep 2012 22:09:23 GMT

My bankruptcy was discharged 7 years ago. have no lates and I pay in full every month. I make over $70,000 a year and they will not touch me, even on recons. I've even tried for Zync, even though I want the BCE or BCP. I am just going to have to wait until it is at least 8 years old. But I will probably end up waiting until after I buy a house, which is targeted for spring/summer of 2014. After the mortgage starts reporting, the bankruptcy will be very close to falling off.

Just as a side note, not once did anyone in the executive offices of Amex even want to talk to me. A few very rudely asked me how I even got the phone number and a few said that I have reached the wrong department/or just couldn't help me. All gave me the phone number for new accounts. Every time I called, I asked if I could explain the details of my bankruptcy and all said no. The bankruptcy is the only reason I get when my app is declined. I think that with more and more people who join these forums and the more people who call the executive offices for recons, the more unlikely they are to help.

Re: Amex Recon Advice 7 years post bk

Weights — Sun, 23 Sep 2012 22:47:58 GMT

I hear you. Every other creditor I've spoken to has always been professional and courteous with me; like you, that's not what I experienced at Amex. In fact, I was so turned off by the lady's decorum towards me that I wrote a personal, certified w/return receipt letter to the CEO at his personal residence (using real estate public records) about the experience. I was polite, but firm about my less than pleasing experience with his company and with the executive rep with whom I interacted. That's when I got a call back from a different rep at their executive office who was friendlier, but still didn't really help me. His only solution was for me to reapply again in the future and he may see about further assisting me in getting an approval. I still haven't decided yet whether or not I'll try later. If this is their attitutde towards merchants when attempting to negotiate terms of their account with them, it's no wonder why so many retailers don't accept them

Re: Amex Recon Advice 7 years post bk

trumpet-205 — Sun, 23 Sep 2012 22:52:22 GMT

AMEX has a strict policy with their applicants, which is why AMEX has the lowest default rate during recession.

As for store not accepting AMEX, that is because AMEX on average charges 1% higher swipe fee than Visa/MC/Discover.

Re: Amex Recon Advice 7 years post bk

Weights — Sun, 23 Sep 2012 23:34:23 GMT

I know their higher interchange fees is the big reason why some merchants don't take them, but I 've heard from some business owners who used to take them, and received the same kind of treatment that I and some others here have received from them when trying to negotiate a better rate. Hence, they dumped them; not many of their customers paid with Amex anyways.

To be clear as far as my experience with them, I would've been fine so long as I had received professional conduct from their end. It wasn't that they ultimately declined me which made me upset. It was the fact that they treated me like trash, despite that I was extremely polite and not in the least nasty throughout my entire dealing with them. I tell others of this so that they can decide for themselves whether they feel this is still a company that they wish to form a relationship with or not.

Re: Amex Recon Advice 7 years post bk

Revelate — Mon, 24 Sep 2012 00:29:07 GMT

It's so rare that I have to talk to my lenders I don't really give it a second thought. I also used to work in the customer service arms of some large companies and I know it's an utterly thankless job, and I line up all my ducks before calling as I try to take up as little of their time as possible. Even my little Orchard card, I knew I was likely to only get a $100 CLI, so when the CSR came back with that I simply thanked them profusely. I'll take what I can get, and I keep my expectations reasonable.

I don't know the specifics of your call Weights as I didn't hear it; however, Amex's policy with regards to recons is so well known on this forum I wouldn't even waste my time on it... unless there really was something inaccurate on my credit reports; however, I know that all my credit sins are mine and I'm not going to go begging any credit card issuer, especially Amex, for absolution.

I'm not certain what the business case is anyway with recons, unless it's to entice a customer with "see, we did you a favor with this approval!" I know FICO doesn't tell the whole story, but observing the anecdotal reports of Chase's current recon policy leaves me just baffled... why bother to deny all these folks in the first place if you're just going to approve them after a series of phone calls? It doesn't even appear to be consistent by CSR. Wierd stuff in my book.

In any event, I think with Amex you know far more about where you stand than with any other lender at least from the descriptions and stories I've read on these forums. You either clear the underwriting hurdle or you don't, and that's the end of the conversation. Personally that's something I can respect in this day and age, but I'm admittedly old school on some things, and this doesn't jive with our current society.

Re: Amex Recon Advice 7 years post bk

CreditScholar — Mon, 24 Sep 2012 02:21:51 GMT

Revelate wrote:
It's so rare that I have to talk to my lenders I don't really give it a second thought. I also used to work in the customer service arms of some large companies and I know it's an utterly thankless job, and I line up all my ducks before calling as I try to take up as little of their time as possible. Even my little Orchard card, I knew I was likely to only get a $100 CLI, so when the CSR came back with that I simply thanked them profusely. I'll take what I can get, and I keep my expectations reasonable.

I don't know the specifics of your call Weights as I didn't hear it; however, Amex's policy with regards to recons is so well known on this forum I wouldn't even waste my time on it... unless there really was something inaccurate on my credit reports; however, I know that all my credit sins are mine and I'm not going to go begging any credit card issuer, especially Amex, for absolution.

I'm not certain what the business case is anyway with recons, unless it's to entice a customer with "see, we did you a favor with this approval!" I know FICO doesn't tell the whole story, but observing the anecdotal reports of Chase's current recon policy leaves me just baffled... why bother to deny all these folks in the first place if you're just going to approve them after a series of phone calls? It doesn't even appear to be consistent by CSR. Wierd stuff in my book.

In any event, I think with Amex you know far more about where you stand than with any other lender at least from the descriptions and stories I've read on these forums. You either clear the underwriting hurdle or you don't, and that's the end of the conversation. Personally that's something I can respect in this day and age, but I'm admittedly old school on some things, and this doesn't jive with our current society.

+1. I'm also not a fan of recons, and think that there should be firmer underwriting requirements.

Regarding your BK, if you burned Amex previously your chances of getting back in with them is close to nil. They (along with a few other select lenders) have extremely long memories, and as such it won't matter if the BK falls off your credit reports. Amex has their own internal databases which will keep you blacklisted, even if your credit report appears clean.

Re: Amex Recon Advice 7 years post bk

kimmiller112 — Mon, 24 Sep 2012 02:28:27 GMT

Weights wrote:
I know their higher interchange fees is the big reason why some merchants don't take them, but I 've heard from some business owners who used to take them, and received the same kind of treatment that I and some others here have received from them when trying to negotiate a better rate. Hence, they dumped them; not many of their customers paid with Amex anyways.

To be clear as far as my experience with them, I would've been fine so long as I had received professional conduct from their end. It wasn't that they ultimately declined me which made me upset. It was the fact that they treated me like trash, despite that I was extremely polite and not in the least nasty throughout my entire dealing with them. I tell others of this so that they can decide for themselves whether they feel this is still a company that they wish to form a relationship with or not.

Just to respond to the first part, I own a business and accept Amex, but I am temped to stop, not because of the fees, but because of the number of people who threaten to dispute a charge. I own a short term vacation rental company and had to refund 50% of the rate a guest paid because she said if I didn't she would dispute the charge because it rained most of her stay. She said she didn't care what she had to say to do it but she was going to dispute the charge unless I gave her a partial refund. Another guest wanted a $200 refund because the baby of another guest (who was not staying through my company) pooped in the property's pool and the pool had to close for 24 hours. Both problems were beyond my control but yet I felt that I had to issue the refunds because it is impossible for a consumer to win a dispute.

Re: Amex Recon Advice 7 years post bk

adavis425 — Mon, 24 Sep 2012 02:56:03 GMT

kimmiller112 wrote:
Weights wrote:
I know their higher interchange fees is the big reason why some merchants don't take them, but I 've heard from some business owners who used to take them, and received the same kind of treatment that I and some others here have received from them when trying to negotiate a better rate. Hence, they dumped them; not many of their customers paid with Amex anyways.

To be clear as far as my experience with them, I would've been fine so long as I had received professional conduct from their end. It wasn't that they ultimately declined me which made me upset. It was the fact that they treated me like trash, despite that I was extremely polite and not in the least nasty throughout my entire dealing with them. I tell others of this so that they can decide for themselves whether they feel this is still a company that they wish to form a relationship with or not.

Just to respond to the first part, I own a business and accept Amex, but I am temped to stop, not because of the fees, but because of the number of people who threaten to dispute a charge. I own a short term vacation rental company and had to refund 50% of the rate a guest paid because she said if I didn't she would dispute the charge because it rained most of her stay. She said she didn't care what she had to say to do it but she was going to dispute the charge unless I gave her a partial refund. Another guest wanted a $200 refund because the baby of another guest (who was not staying through my company) pooped in the property's pool and the pool had to close for 24 hours. Both problems were beyond my control but yet I felt that I had to issue the refunds because it is impossible for a consumer to win a dispute.

My mechanic stopped taking AMEX for this very reason. He performed work for a customer who turned out to be unemployed. The customer disputed the charge simply because he couldn't pay. Of course, AMEX is always behind the cardmember and reversed the charge. As soon as they did that, the mechanic dropped AMEX.

Re: Amex Recon Advice 7 years post bk

sal2009 — Mon, 24 Sep 2012 18:31:51 GMT

So I called the executive offices and the woman who works there told me it is their policy to not issue a card to an individual whom they cancelled an account with and that there are no exceptions.....I was able to obtain the account number and cash amount i owe.

I asked if there was someone else or a supervisor that I could talk to and she said no.

I explained that I had very good credit now and would likely be a very profitable customer for them....she then gave an excuse about new regulations being why they couldn't offer me a card......bs...it sounded like she didn't understand it that well.

She hinted that I might be able to obtain a card if i paid that amount off even tho i listed in my bankruptcy. She was friendly but cold and said no one would be able to change that policy.

I then added that I was an AU on another account and she said it didn't matter.

So basically, it was like pay it off and get a card or don't and don't get a card....frankly, i don't see why i would pay it off since i suffered for 7 yrs in bankruptcy. especially since their rewards product is not as good as chases.....their one good product is spg tho but i'm not going to pay off something i put in bankruptcy.

if anyone knows anyone I can email or speak to help, pm me...thanks.

Re: Amex Recon Advice 7 years post bk

trumpet-205 — Mon, 24 Sep 2012 18:38:54 GMT

sal2009 wrote:
So I called the executive offices and the woman who works there told me it is their policy to not issue a card to an individual whom they cancelled an account with and that there are no exceptions.....I was able to obtain the account number and cash amount i owe.

I asked if there was someone else or a supervisor that I could talk to and she said no.

I explained that I had very good credit now and would likely be a very profitable customer for them....she then gave an excuse about new regulations being why they couldn't offer me a card......bs...it sounded like she didn't understand it that well.

She hinted that I might be able to obtain a card if i paid that amount off even tho i listed in my bankruptcy. She was friendly but cold and said no one would be able to change that policy.

I then added that I was an AU on another account and she said it didn't matter.

So basically, it was like pay it off and get a card or don't and don't get a card....frankly, i don't see why i would pay it off since i suffered for 7 yrs in bankruptcy. especially since their rewards product is not as good as chases.....their one good product is spg tho but i'm not going to pay off something i put in bankruptcy.

if anyone knows anyone I can email or speak to help, pm me...thanks.

If you want the card, you pay it off to improve your chance of getting the card. Regardless, I am a firm believer that if you owe something, you ought to pay it back. Fact is you owe AMEX money, even when BK discharged your obligation.

Re: Amex Recon Advice 7 years post bk

Revelate — Mon, 24 Sep 2012 18:54:29 GMT

trumpet-205 wrote:
If you want the card, you pay it off to improve your chance of getting the card. Regardless, I am a firm believer that if you owe something, you ought to pay it back. Fact is you owe AMEX money, even when BK discharged your obligation.

Pretty much this. Amex has the Oasis program to help former folks who "burned" them come back from out in the cold; however, I don't know if that's invitation only or if you pay the BK / CO amount, you're automatically enrolled.

I do know it's a valid Amex tradeline, and I do know people have gone from that back into regular Amex cards, so it's worthwhile doing some research on this forum (and possibly others) and seeing if it can be obtained. Generally speaking though, you pay your debt and get a tradeline at half that amount.

Re: Amex Recon Advice 7 years post bk

Weights — Mon, 24 Sep 2012 19:22:37 GMT

Sally, just pm you some additional info which might help.

Re: Amex Recon Advice 7 years post bk

sjt — Tue, 25 Sep 2012 18:46:03 GMT

One thing about Amex is the they are straight forward with their blacklist policy. You pay them off you are off the blacklist. Some may fall through the cracks but that is very rare.