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American Express F/R

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Cadmius
Member

Re: American Express F/R


@youngandcreditwrthy wrote:
Interesting. Seems like this "too much avail credit" is beginning to become an issue. Discover even recently told me that I would have gotten a higher initial limit than $4k if I would have had smaller lines on other cards.

But back to the post:
You, sir, made the right decision. I recognize that they have the authority to request financial info., but if they can see that you have many other prime accounts handled responsibly...then they do not need those financials. Please let us know if your account remains open, closed, or gets a hard limit.

I just checked now and the "Charging suspended please call us" is gone. A check spending of $5000 was approved. Guess I'll be keeping the card after call. Not really sure what happened maybe they looked into my other major cards?

Message 21 of 28
TheConductor
Established Contributor

Re: American Express F/R

I think it's possible that the $300 of spend is exactly what triggered this.

 

For a hypothetical example, if someone applied to me for credit and reported on the application that they make $120,000 a year and spend $1500 monthly on housing, I'd be kind of suspicious if they only spent $100 a month for the first three months. That's not the typical spending profile of someone who makes $120k...what if they misreported their financials?

 

I can see the argument from your side..."Hey, the card isn't very good for me. I have better rewards cards." But see it from their side...you did apply for the card, which indicates that you wanted the card. It's not unreasonable for them to expect someone who wanted their card to give it some use, and it's rational for them to assume that use would be commensurate with the applicant's reported income.

 

My guess is that the F/R was to verify whether your low spending on the card reflected a lower income than reported, or just a lack of interest in using the card.  When you told them off, that pretty much answered the question for them.  Smiley Happy

 

Enjoy your Green Card!  Now that you get to keep it, consider using it for big purchases now and then. You might get better rewards on other cards, but AmEx has the best purchase protection/return protection/extended warranty. On really major purchases, that matters more to me than whether I'm getting 2% or 3% back instead of the roughly 1% in MR points.

Starting: EQ 622 (myFICO 7/7/12), EX 696 (TU FAKO 8/14/12), TU 621 (CK TransRisk 7/24/12), Total CL $1k on 2 TLs
Current: EQ 709 (CCT 2/4/15), EX 704 (CCT 2/4/15) , TU 702 (CCT 2/4/15), Total CL $110.3k on 14 TLs Goal: 740+ x3
My Wallet: Amex BCP $30k, Chase United Explorer $16k, Amex SPG $13.5k, Barclaycard Ring MC $12.5k, Chase CSP VS $12.2k, Discover it $10.5k, C1 Venture VS $6.5k, Chase Slate $3.5k, Amex Hilton Surpass $2k, Barclaycard Apple V $2k, Chase Freedom V $1100, BoA Cash Rewards V $500, Citi BestBuy $500
My Loans: Prosper $25k/36mo, Prosper $17k/36mo
My Business: Chase Ink VS $5k, Amex BRG NPSL (> 10k),
Message 22 of 28
youngandcreditwrthy
Senior Contributor

Re: American Express F/R

Score!!!!!! Method to deal with FR NOTED!!!!! Hahahha

* tell 'em no and to shove it *
Marriott PR$25k | BCE $24.5K |BankAmericard Visa $25k| BOA Better Bal $17.5k |Wmt Discover $12.5k | BR Visa $17.5k | Amex Delta Gold $10k | Discover IT $10k | Paypal Extras MC $15k | Amazon Store $10k|Smile Gen $7.25k | Dillard's $10k | West Elm $4k| Express $3.05K | Mypoints.com Visa $4.5k | Freedom Visa $1k| Amex Surpass $1k
Message 23 of 28
adavis425
Established Contributor

Re: American Express F/R


@TheConductor wrote:

I think it's possible that the $300 of spend is exactly what triggered this.

 

For a hypothetical example, if someone applied to me for credit and reported on the application that they make $120,000 a year and spend $1500 monthly on housing, I'd be kind of suspicious if they only spent $100 a month for the first three months. That's not the typical spending profile of someone who makes $120k...what if they misreported their financials?

 

I can see the argument from your side..."Hey, the card isn't very good for me. I have better rewards cards." But see it from their side...you did apply for the card, which indicates that you wanted the card. It's not unreasonable for them to expect someone who wanted their card to give it some use, and it's rational for them to assume that use would be commensurate with the applicant's reported income.

 

My guess is that the F/R was to verify whether your low spending on the card reflected a lower income than reported, or just a lack of interest in using the card.  When you told them off, that pretty much answered the question for them.  Smiley Happy

 

Enjoy your Green Card!  Now that you get to keep it, consider using it for big purchases now and then. You might get better rewards on other cards, but AmEx has the best purchase protection/return protection/extended warranty. On really major purchases, that matters more to me than whether I'm getting 2% or 3% back instead of the roughly 1% in MR points.


+1

This was exactly my thought. Folks tend to think that AMEX FRs because of too much spend, but the opposite can also be true. TheConductor makes very good points as to AMEX's p.o.v. They have been at this for a while and know what to look for. They know what the red flags are.

 

AmEx Platinum | AmEx BCP | AmEx Delta Gold | CSP | Chase Freedom | NFCU cashRewards Visa Sig | NFCU Plat MC | WM MC | Discover it | JCP


Message 24 of 28
youngandcreditwrthy
Senior Contributor

Re: American Express F/R

The only way they could ever possibly get me to spend more is with a 3xcli. I will not ever use more than 20% of my avail cred. My limit is just $3500.... Lol so I hope they recognize that fact even with their practices, although I do see the point :-)
Marriott PR$25k | BCE $24.5K |BankAmericard Visa $25k| BOA Better Bal $17.5k |Wmt Discover $12.5k | BR Visa $17.5k | Amex Delta Gold $10k | Discover IT $10k | Paypal Extras MC $15k | Amazon Store $10k|Smile Gen $7.25k | Dillard's $10k | West Elm $4k| Express $3.05K | Mypoints.com Visa $4.5k | Freedom Visa $1k| Amex Surpass $1k
Message 25 of 28
TheConductor
Established Contributor

Re: American Express F/R


@youngandcreditwrthy wrote:
The only way they could ever possibly get me to spend more is with a 3xcli. I will not ever use more than 20% of my avail cred. My limit is just $3500.... Lol so I hope they recognize that fact even with their practices, although I do see the point :-)

While I admire the disciplined approach to credit behind this mindset, it's probably not going to carry you very far with AmEx.

 

AmEx's valuation of customers is more spend-centric than that of many other creditors. They like to see people churning money through the cards. In their particular case, you might want to consider using closer to 80% of your limit, but making sure you never let a balance of more than 20% actually report.

 

Their perspective is a unique one because they are both the card issuer and the network. Plus they come from a long charge-card-only tradition before their venture in revolving credit. Much as the culture in Denmark is in a broad sense Western but in a more specific sense very different from U.S. culture, AmEx just has a different culture. They look at us through a different lens.

Starting: EQ 622 (myFICO 7/7/12), EX 696 (TU FAKO 8/14/12), TU 621 (CK TransRisk 7/24/12), Total CL $1k on 2 TLs
Current: EQ 709 (CCT 2/4/15), EX 704 (CCT 2/4/15) , TU 702 (CCT 2/4/15), Total CL $110.3k on 14 TLs Goal: 740+ x3
My Wallet: Amex BCP $30k, Chase United Explorer $16k, Amex SPG $13.5k, Barclaycard Ring MC $12.5k, Chase CSP VS $12.2k, Discover it $10.5k, C1 Venture VS $6.5k, Chase Slate $3.5k, Amex Hilton Surpass $2k, Barclaycard Apple V $2k, Chase Freedom V $1100, BoA Cash Rewards V $500, Citi BestBuy $500
My Loans: Prosper $25k/36mo, Prosper $17k/36mo
My Business: Chase Ink VS $5k, Amex BRG NPSL (> 10k),
Message 26 of 28
youngandcreditwrthy
Senior Contributor

Re: American Express F/R

While this may be the case, I have several other larger lines $7-10k, which do see substantial use and is reflected as such in my report. Only time will tell if Im able to obtain a 3xcli ( <a month away!) haha
Marriott PR$25k | BCE $24.5K |BankAmericard Visa $25k| BOA Better Bal $17.5k |Wmt Discover $12.5k | BR Visa $17.5k | Amex Delta Gold $10k | Discover IT $10k | Paypal Extras MC $15k | Amazon Store $10k|Smile Gen $7.25k | Dillard's $10k | West Elm $4k| Express $3.05K | Mypoints.com Visa $4.5k | Freedom Visa $1k| Amex Surpass $1k
Message 27 of 28
Cadmius
Member

Re: American Express F/R


@TheConductor wrote:

I think it's possible that the $300 of spend is exactly what triggered this.

 

For a hypothetical example, if someone applied to me for credit and reported on the application that they make $120,000 a year and spend $1500 monthly on housing, I'd be kind of suspicious if they only spent $100 a month for the first three months. That's not the typical spending profile of someone who makes $120k...what if they misreported their financials?

 

I can see the argument from your side..."Hey, the card isn't very good for me. I have better rewards cards." But see it from their side...you did apply for the card, which indicates that you wanted the card. It's not unreasonable for them to expect someone who wanted their card to give it some use, and it's rational for them to assume that use would be commensurate with the applicant's reported income.

 

My guess is that the F/R was to verify whether your low spending on the card reflected a lower income than reported, or just a lack of interest in using the card.  When you told them off, that pretty much answered the question for them.  Smiley Happy

 

Enjoy your Green Card!  Now that you get to keep it, consider using it for big purchases now and then. You might get better rewards on other cards, but AmEx has the best purchase protection/return protection/extended warranty. On really major purchases, that matters more to me than whether I'm getting 2% or 3% back instead of the roughly 1% in MR points.


Well said. Smiley Happy

Message 28 of 28
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