@tinuviel wrote:
@cashnocredit wrote:I have my old Amex CC number but they won't backdate it because it's so old (70's) the card no. has been recycled and someone else has it now.
I have a hard time believing that. Amex uses a 15 digit account number. The possible number of permutations of a 15 digit number is calculated as 15 factorial (or !15), which comes out to 1,307,674,368,000 possible card numbers. That's way more possible card numbers than there are people on the planet. Even if you eliminate numbers that they'll never assign (made up of all 0s, all 1s, etc.) and take into account that all Amex numbers have to start with 3, I believe that you'd still have more unique numbers available than would be necessary. So, I find it difficult to believe that they simply recycle old numbers. I could be wrong, of course, but I'd still bet against it.
i have 2 amex cards and they both have the same last 4 digits
@cashnocredit wrote:
@tinuviel wrote:
@cashnocredit wrote:I have my old Amex CC number but they won't backdate it because it's so old (70's) the card no. has been recycled and someone else has it now.
I have a hard time believing that. Amex uses a 15 digit account number. The possible number of permutations of a 15 digit number is calculated as 15 factorial (or !15), which comes out to 1,307,674,368,000 possible card numbers. That's way more possible card numbers than there are people on the planet. Even if you eliminate numbers that they'll never assign (made up of all 0s, all 1s, etc.) and take into account that all Amex numbers have to start with 3, I believe that you'd still have more unique numbers available than would be necessary. So, I find it difficult to believe that they simply recycle old numbers. I could be wrong, of course, but I'd still bet against it.
Well, it happens both with bank checking accounts and credit cards. It's most problematic when they are re-issued too soon after an account is closed. A bank in the UK was using older numbers just a few years after an earlier CC account was closed. The universe of available numbers is limited. The first 6 digits determine the issuer and a check digit is automatically calculated as well.
Banks use additional proprietary redundancy in the account numbers for security purposes as they don't want to fraudsters to be able to easily guess an account number. The expiration date provides additional uniqueness so reused account numbers should always be long after the last expiration date of a closed account. The CSR initially looked up my account name for history and there was none. He then looked up my 3 decade old acct no. and said it was now in use by another. He said he hadn't seen that very often but when it happened is was with very old cards.
However, I has just inquired with the 800 no. CSR, and didn't ask for card replacement services so they may be able to search old archives. I don't actually know the date the first Amex card was opened but think it was around 1974. I had upgraded it to a Gold around 1976 and found the number on a canceled check for the AF. It was $100 which was real money back in that day.
Well, I stand corrected. Thanks, I learned something new. 
Current Scores: EQ 775 (03/04/2014), EX 756 (03/01/2014), TU 760 (03/01/2014)
Ruby Spade Garden Club Member - Last App: 03/04/2013 - No apps until 2014
Cards: Cap1 Venture 6.4k, Cap1 Quicksilver MC 1.75k, BankAmericard 1-2-3 Visa Signature - UCF Alumni Association 5k, Discover 7k, Citi Diamond Preferred MC 10.35k, Wells Fargo Rewards Visa 7k, Chase Freedom 5k, Chase Ink 7.5k, Amex Green NPSL, Dillard's Amex 7.5k, JC Penney 7.5k, Kay Jeweler's 5.1k
Yay, I got my AMEX Green. "Member since '12" ;-) 
I'm now wondering if I activate straightaway or call and try one more time before I eventually activate anyway, or if I wait to try that till Monday. (I really want to activate straight away and go use it, hehe).
It took an archive search but they were able to find my old card from '95.
Hopefully you log in and find a nice surprise!
Starting Score: 675
@Mailak wrote:Yay, I got my AMEX Green. "Member since '12" ;-)
I'm now wondering if I activate straightaway or call and try one more time before I eventually activate anyway, or if I wait to try that till Monday. (I really want to activate straight away and go use it, hehe).
Your BCP will probably arrive no later than Monday. Wait to call to activate until you have it as well. Having the cards in hand and calling to activate gives you a bit more clout with CSR's when calling (they don't want to be the reason you dumped AMEX the day you called to activate). Then would be the time to inquire about your original member since date being applied to your new cards.
@RyVision wrote:
@Mailak wrote:Yay, I got my AMEX Green. "Member since '12" ;-)
I'm now wondering if I activate straightaway or call and try one more time before I eventually activate anyway, or if I wait to try that till Monday. (I really want to activate straight away and go use it, hehe).
Your BCP will probably arrive no later than Monday. Wait to call to activate until you have it as well. Having the cards in hand and calling to activate gives you a bit more clout with CSR's when calling (they don't want to be the reason you dumped AMEX the day you called to activate). Then would be the time to inquire about your original member since date being applied to your new cards.
ok! together then. Thanks, RyVision.
@cashnocredit wrote:
@tinuviel wrote:
@cashnocredit wrote:I have my old Amex CC number but they won't backdate it because it's so old (70's) the card no. has been recycled and someone else has it now.
I have a hard time believing that. Amex uses a 15 digit account number. The possible number of permutations of a 15 digit number is calculated as 15 factorial (or !15), which comes out to 1,307,674,368,000 possible card numbers. That's way more possible card numbers than there are people on the planet. Even if you eliminate numbers that they'll never assign (made up of all 0s, all 1s, etc.) and take into account that all Amex numbers have to start with 3, I believe that you'd still have more unique numbers available than would be necessary. So, I find it difficult to believe that they simply recycle old numbers. I could be wrong, of course, but I'd still bet against it.
Well, it happens both with bank checking accounts and credit cards. It's most problematic when they are re-issued too soon after an account is closed. A bank in the UK was using older numbers just a few years after an earlier CC account was closed. The universe of available numbers is limited. The first 6 digits determine the issuer and a check digit is automatically calculated as well.
Banks use additional proprietary redundancy in the account numbers for security purposes as they don't want to fraudsters to be able to easily guess an account number. The expiration date provides additional uniqueness so reused account numbers should always be long after the last expiration date of a closed account. The CSR initially looked up my account name for history and there was none. He then looked up my 3 decade old acct no. and said it was now in use by another. He said he hadn't seen that very often but when it happened is was with very old cards.
However, I has just inquired with the 800 no. CSR, and didn't ask for card replacement services so they may be able to search old archives. I don't actually know the date the first Amex card was opened but think it was around 1974. I had upgraded it to a Gold around 1976 and found the number on a canceled check for the AF. It was $100 which was real money back in that day.
This makes no sense (on Amex's part). Who cares if they recycled the number. If they have actually verified your old account, why are they balking at backdating you just because that 15 digit number is in use? It's not like they reassign your card number to your original card number in any other backdating context. Or is the issue that they're saying they can't see that you had this number because it belongs to someone else.
@Walt_K wrote:
@cashnocredit wrote:
@tinuviel wrote:
@cashnocredit wrote:I have my old Amex CC number but they won't backdate it because it's so old (70's) the card no. has been recycled and someone else has it now.
I have a hard time believing that. Amex uses a 15 digit account number. The possible number of permutations of a 15 digit number is calculated as 15 factorial (or !15), which comes out to 1,307,674,368,000 possible card numbers. That's way more possible card numbers than there are people on the planet. Even if you eliminate numbers that they'll never assign (made up of all 0s, all 1s, etc.) and take into account that all Amex numbers have to start with 3, I believe that you'd still have more unique numbers available than would be necessary. So, I find it difficult to believe that they simply recycle old numbers. I could be wrong, of course, but I'd still bet against it.
Well, it happens both with bank checking accounts and credit cards. It's most problematic when they are re-issued too soon after an account is closed. A bank in the UK was using older numbers just a few years after an earlier CC account was closed. The universe of available numbers is limited. The first 6 digits determine the issuer and a check digit is automatically calculated as well.
Banks use additional proprietary redundancy in the account numbers for security purposes as they don't want to fraudsters to be able to easily guess an account number. The expiration date provides additional uniqueness so reused account numbers should always be long after the last expiration date of a closed account. The CSR initially looked up my account name for history and there was none. He then looked up my 3 decade old acct no. and said it was now in use by another. He said he hadn't seen that very often but when it happened is was with very old cards.
However, I has just inquired with the 800 no. CSR, and didn't ask for card replacement services so they may be able to search old archives. I don't actually know the date the first Amex card was opened but think it was around 1974. I had upgraded it to a Gold around 1976 and found the number on a canceled check for the AF. It was $100 which was real money back in that day.
This makes no sense (on Amex's part). Who cares if they recycled the number. If they have actually verified your old account, why are they balking at backdating you just because that 15 digit number is in use? It's not like they reassign your card number to your original card number in any other backdating context. Or is the issue that they're saying they can't see that you had this number because it belongs to someone else.
They could find no record of me so I asked the CSR if he could look me up based on my old card #. He indicated that often works so I gave him the number. After a bit he said the number is now in use by another member.
