@Anonymous wrote:
@Anonymous wrote:
Whoooo! Nice. I like BOA.It's a $0 fee vs $450 because one is actually a travel credit card and the other is not. They are not even close to comparable cards. Still, congrats on the approval. If it fits your needs better, that's all that counts.
Well it makes me nervous to have a card where they would one day say I'm authorized to spend $70k, and about 10 days later say I'm authorized to spend $8800, for travel use. When traveling I don't need that kind of anxiety.
It frankly makes no sense to me. I was never using it for $70k, I was using it for hundreds of dollars here and there. It always seemed bizarre to me that they were approving me for 50k-60k-70k, but there was no harm in it. But now that they've gone arbitrarily in the other direction, that could cause me a real problem. My payments to them have always been super-super-prompt, my scores have just kept climbing since I've had the card, my utilization is next to zero, but because in their subjective opinion I'm not using the card enough for their tastes, they would drop me 87.5%... that's scary.
Since I got the card I haven't been in a position to make much use of its benefits, and now that I'm in a position in the upcoming months to actually use the **bleep** thing seriously... I'm afraid to use it 
So what good is that to me?
@SouthJamaica wrote:
@Anonymous wrote:
@Anonymous wrote:
Whoooo! Nice. I like BOA.It's a $0 fee vs $450 because one is actually a travel credit card and the other is not. They are not even close to comparable cards. Still, congrats on the approval. If it fits your needs better, that's all that counts.
Well it makes me nervous to have a card where they would one day say I'm authorized to spend $70k, and about 10 days later say I'm authorized to spend $8800, for travel use. When traveling I don't need that kind of anxiety.
It frankly makes no sense to me. I was never using it for $70k, I was using it for hundreds of dollars here and there. It always seemed bizarre to me that they were approving me for 50k-60k-70k, but there was no harm in it. But now that they've gone arbitrarily in the other direction, that could cause me a real problem. My payments to them have always been super-super-prompt, my scores have just kept climbing since I've had the card, my utilization is next to zero, but because in their subjective opinion I'm not using the card enough for their tastes, they would drop me 87.5%... that's scary.
Since I got the card I haven't been in a position to make much use of its benefits, and now that I'm in a position in the upcoming months to actually use the **bleep** thing seriously... I'm afraid to use it
So what good is that to me?
I'm not disputing any of that and I understand your frustration. The only 'questionable' aspect of your post is stating that the BoA cad has a $0 Af vs the $450 of the Platinum as if they are comparable cards when they're not. I'm not saying the Platinum is best for you or that you should continue to pay the $450. That would be foolish if you're not taking advantage of the card's benefits. Overall though I wouldn't focus too much on what Amex says they'll approve ahead of time. Regardless of what they say, every charge is subject to review at the time you make it. Yes than can be discerning if it were to be denied so I would always have a backup plan. r
@Anonymous wrote:
@SouthJamaica wrote:
@Anonymous wrote:
@Anonymous wrote:
Whoooo! Nice. I like BOA.It's a $0 fee vs $450 because one is actually a travel credit card and the other is not. They are not even close to comparable cards. Still, congrats on the approval. If it fits your needs better, that's all that counts.
Well it makes me nervous to have a card where they would one day say I'm authorized to spend $70k, and about 10 days later say I'm authorized to spend $8800, for travel use. When traveling I don't need that kind of anxiety.
It frankly makes no sense to me. I was never using it for $70k, I was using it for hundreds of dollars here and there. It always seemed bizarre to me that they were approving me for 50k-60k-70k, but there was no harm in it. But now that they've gone arbitrarily in the other direction, that could cause me a real problem. My payments to them have always been super-super-prompt, my scores have just kept climbing since I've had the card, my utilization is next to zero, but because in their subjective opinion I'm not using the card enough for their tastes, they would drop me 87.5%... that's scary.
Since I got the card I haven't been in a position to make much use of its benefits, and now that I'm in a position in the upcoming months to actually use the **bleep** thing seriously... I'm afraid to use it
So what good is that to me?
I'm not disputing any of that and I understand your frustration. The only 'questionable' aspect of your post is stating that the BoA cad has a $0 Af vs the $450 of the Platinum as if they are comparable cards when they're not. I'm not saying the Platinum is best for you or that you should continue to pay the $450. That would be foolish if you're not taking advantage of the card's benefits. Overall though I wouldn't focus too much on what Amex says they'll approve ahead of time. Regardless of what they say, every charge is subject to review at the time you make it. Yes than can be discerning if it were to be denied so I would always have a backup plan. r
Of course you're right, I know it's not comparable.
@Anonymous wrote:
@SouthJamaica wrote:I've been paying $450 a year in annual fees for my Amex Business Platinum Card. I don't use the perks much but I like(d) having it on hand in case I had business travel coming up. I always pay my bills with them super promptly, mostly before the statement even cuts.
The other day on 'check spending power' I was approved for at least $70,000.
Today I'm approved for only $8,800.
After spending 20 minutes or so on the phone I was advised that the reason I'm only approved for $8,800 is that I haven't been using the card much lately.
This is true, but how can I use a card for business travel where I don't even know how much I can spend on it? I can imagine myself on a business trip, in a restaurant or hotel, and having my card declined. This is absolutely ridiculous.
The first opportunity I get I'm going to dump this card and replace it with a business travel card with an actual credit limit upon which I can rely.
After 3,956 posts you are not new here and certainly not new to the entirety of the credit card game/world. It's not difficult to understand how they calculate your spend versus you income and paying abilites, and certainly if you use them less they will adjust accordingly. Based on your signature here you have mutliple cards for you business so you can always hit the Amex as your primary and should you get denied somewhere you can use a backup.
Yeah and if it were free it would be a no-brainer to keep it around.
But it's $450 per year.
I don't know where you get this "income and paying abilities" thing from. In my case my income and paying ability have just gone up from when I first got the card. They specifically told me that the only reason they lowered the "spending power" was that I haven't been using the card as much recently.
I Totally get it! That is the same reason I dumped my Gold reward and Platinum Cards during the last big recession as they CLD me on both cards despite big spend and a perfect payment history. I may get a revolver from them next year but no more charge cards.
