AMEX 3X Credit Limit Increase Question

Anonymous · ‎03-09-2017

If am well past the 61 days and I qualify to ask for the 3X; what is the total amount dollar wise I can do so with any chance of getting the dreaded account review. My current Credit limit is 13,000. I know I can not do the 3X as it will go over $20,000. So when I ask on the website for an increase I should NOT go past $20,000 RIGHT? Thanks in advance.

JustBPatient · ‎03-09-2017

Some say >25k, while others have mentioned beyond 35k. I would say you could comfortably ask for 25k without issue. You also have the option of asking for 39k and backing out if they ask for PO and you are not comfortable with that. You can continue to do this until its approved. Good luck!

Amex Gold =Amex ED 20k = Amex BCP 14k = Amex SPG Lux 2k = Arrival 2k = Ring 14k = BOA 321 30k = BOA BBR 10k = CSR 25k = Freedom 10k = Citi Simplicity 9k = Citi DC 5k = Citi DP 3k = DCVR IT 16k = DCVR IT(2) 10k = CAP1 QS 15k = NFCU CR24k/AE25k/CLOC 15k = BBVA 14k = Wells Plat. 5k = (2) US Bank Cash+ 13k, 18k = PenFed 17k

FICO scores TU 764 EX 739 EQ 745

Anonymous · ‎03-09-2017

@Anonymous wrote:
If am well past the 61 days and I qualify to ask for the 3X; what is the total amount dollar wise I can do so with any chance of getting the dreaded account review. My current Credit limit is 13,000. I know I can not do the 3X as it will go over $20,000. So when I ask on the website for an increase I should NOT go past $20,000 RIGHT? Thanks in advance.

Incorrect on the $20k.

Many (myself being one of them) went from $10k to $30k without any financial review prompting. I then went from $30k to $35k without FR, although it did prompt me for it for all values from $35.5k-$50k (as I tried all of them in between).

I say go for $39k and if you get prompted for IV, X-out of it and go back in and try again for $38k and continue to repeat the process until you get an instant approval. Be sure to report back your results here. Without knowing anything about your profile, just based on your SL and assuming you profile has stayed the same or strengthened over the past 2 months I would guess you'll get instantly approved for something in the $30k-$35k range.

Anonymous · ‎03-09-2017

Just so everyone is clear about this issue. When you apply for a credit line increase and Amex asks for a 4506-T for income verification, this is not an Account Review. It is solely income verification and it's optional. If you don't want to submit the 4506-T to get the CLI, you can either just not proceed any further or lower the amount you are requesting until they no longer ask for the documentation. An Account Review is something completely different and while they may ask for a 4056-T as well, it is not optional and Amex will suspend your account until you provide any info they request and they complete the review. If you fail to provide the information they are asking for, all your Amex accounts will be closed or if the documentation does not match what you have stated before, then they may lower your available credit limit, put a hard limit in any charge cards you have or terminate your accounts.

In short, huge difference between the two yet people use the two interchangeably.

K-in-Boston · ‎03-09-2017

While an actual FR (where your charging ability is completely shut off until you can prove that your finances are in order) from Amex is indeed dreaded, I really don't understand the issue with providing income verification (which is NOT a FR), unless a lot of people here are greatly overstating their income. You're asking AmEx to extend you a very large line of unsecured credit; it's only fair that they reserve the right to verify your income. Even many secured loans for less than some of the CLIs I've seen requested (I'm thinking auto loans) will ask for recent paystubs, for instance.

Based on my 15 year history with AmEx, I don't think they would ask me for IV unless I got WAY up there on a revolver but even then it's not really a problem for me. I have had a good relationship with AmEx over the years and would have no issues trusting them with more of my confidential information (which I do understand as a valid concern for some with the blue envelopes that are done by LN). What am I missing?

Edit: Thanks Irish for explaining the difference while I was typing much better than I did!

Anonymous · ‎03-09-2017

@Anonymous wrote:
Just so everyone is clear about this issue. When you apply for a credit line increase and Amex asks for a 4506-T for income verification, this is not an Account Review. It is solely income verification and it's optional. If you don't want to submit the 4506-T to get the CLI, you can either just not proceed any further or lower the amount you are requesting until they no longer ask for the documentation. An Account Review is something completely different and while they may ask for a 4596-T as well, it is not optional and Amex will suspend your account until you provide any info they request and they complete the review. If you fail to provide the information they are asking for, all your Amex accounts will be closed or if the documentation does not match what you have stated before, then they may lower your available credit limit, put a hard limit in any charge cards you have or terminate your accounts.

In short, huge difference between the two yet people use the two interchangeably.

Is there anything specifically that triggers an account review, or is it completely random selection of cardholders?

Anonymous · ‎03-09-2017

@Anonymous wrote:
@Anonymous wrote:
Just so everyone is clear about this issue. When you apply for a credit line increase and Amex asks for a 4506-T for income verification, this is not an Account Review. It is solely income verification and it's optional. If you don't want to submit the 4506-T to get the CLI, you can either just not proceed any further or lower the amount you are requesting until they no longer ask for the documentation. An Account Review is something completely different and while they may ask for a 4596-T as well, it is not optional and Amex will suspend your account until you provide any info they request and they complete the review. If you fail to provide the information they are asking for, all your Amex accounts will be closed or if the documentation does not match what you have stated before, then they may lower your available credit limit, put a hard limit in any charge cards you have or terminate your accounts.

In short, huge difference between the two yet people use the two interchangeably.
Is there anything specifically that triggers an account review, or is it completely random selection of cardholders?

Can only go by anecdotal evidence but one thing that people have reported is authorized users charging a lot more on the card than the actual card holder. Another one that I have read about is making charges and payments that exceed reported income. This has occurred mostly on charge cards from what I have read. It always is hard to determine exact triggers because Amex like other creditors use computer algorithms to trigger account reviews. Nonetheless if you use the card normally then there typically isn't anything to worry about. Concerns about ARs can be overstated on this and other forums because a lot of posters are outside the normal populace in credit usage such as number of cards and inquiries.

UncleB · ‎03-09-2017

@K-in-Boston wrote:
While an actual FR (where your charging ability is completely shut off until you can prove that your finances are in order) from Amex is indeed dreaded, I really don't understand the issue with providing income verification (which is NOT a FR), unless a lot of people here are greatly overstating their income. You're asking AmEx to extend you a very large line of unsecured credit; it's only fair that they reserve the right to verify your income. Even many secured loans for less than some of the CLIs I've seen requested (I'm thinking auto loans) will ask for recent paystubs, for instance.

Based on my 15 year history with AmEx, I don't think they would ask me for IV unless I got WAY up there on a revolver but even then it's not really a problem for me. I have had a good relationship with AmEx over the years and would have no issues trusting them with more of my confidential information (which I do understand as a valid concern for some with the blue envelopes that are done by LN). What am I missing?

Edit: Thanks Irish for explaining the difference while I was typing much better than I did!

The reasoning can vary from person to person; many people share your feelings and would have no problems at all.

One thing I've seen repeatedly (that would bother me as well) is that with a tax transcript you're not just giving them your income; you're giving them an insight into your medical expenses (assuming you itemize) as well as the social security numbers of your dependents (spouse and/or children). It's questionable how much responsibility Amex would have to make your dependents 'whole' in the event of a data breach, since they aren't American Express customers.

I don't think it's unfair for American Express to request (or in the case of an FR, to require) the tax transcript (4506-T) but I also don't think it's unreasonable for someone to not feel it's worth giving up that level of information for a credit card. People just have to determine for themselves if it's worth it, and if not they can move on to another lender.

Anonymous · ‎03-09-2017

@JustBPatient wrote:
Some say >25k, while others have mentioned beyond 35k. I would say you could comfortably ask for 25k without issue. You also have the option of asking for 39k and backing out if they ask for PO and you are not comfortable with that. You can continue to do this until its approved. Good luck!

My CL is $17,100 ($0 balance) and last CLI was last July. I just tried for $25K and got the 7 day review.

Anonymous · ‎03-21-2017

To Dreadfully_Darken: What did you decide to do? What was the outcome? What were your stats going into it?