l9ikjam wrote:
I finally got a letter in the mail from AMEX giving me the reason I was declined for an CLI. The reason they had was they didn't like the place(s) I was using my card to make purchases. Now the only place that I could think of is I purchased 2 42 inch hd tv's from the home shopping network but everytime I get up to a $800 balance I PIF. Has anyone else gotten this same reason
There was a thread on another board that was about "first purchase" models, with lots of information on where to use your card for its first purchase in order to establish yourself in the CCC's eyes as the type of customer they want (because some CCCs do use this information to determine how they will treat you in the future).
Someone on that thread reported they had received a CLD, and the letter they got stated something to the same effect as the letter you received - something like "the types of establishments where you have recently used your card indicate higher-risk behavior."
Home shopping and infomercials, according to the info I've seen, are to be avoided for your first purchase, as are liquor stores, cash advances, and online "adult entertainment", shall we say.
Perhaps Amex is applying the same logic to any purchase, not just the first purchase. I was a little sceptical of this practice when I first heard of it, but now your experience seems to have confirmed it.
