So, AA happened... Amex is terrible...

[JSS3]

Wonder if they would've overlooked your sprees had you been using them?

[kdm31091]

Sorry to hear. Chill on apps, maintain what you have, use it responsibly and don't expect anything overnight.

I'm a broken record but it applies - credit is not a race. To amex, you got too much too soon. It's risk management like takeshi said. Scores are not the whole picture.

Slow down. Take your time. Good luck!

[chalupaman]

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@Anonymous wrote:

Welp, it happened. I experience my first AA today, due to all my excessive apping within the past few months. It's funny, too. I had actually just put myself in the garden, for an indefinite period of time. And, then I get a dreaded email today from AMEX stating that they were lowering my BCE limit. It was at 8,900. They lowered it to 1k... Found that pretty excessive. Fortunately, I didn't use this card too much. But, the fact that they threw this on me was pretty annoying.

Even with my inquiries, I'm still pretty upset that they'd do this to an extremely responsible customer. And, the rep had the audacity to tell me that my FICO score was considered as a part of the decision, as if my FICO score was something to be reprimanded. He told me it was at a 736! To my understanding, that's a pretty good score... And, I have always taken special care of my AMEX accounts; even if they are they only lender that's yet to grow with me. And, instead of growth, I get a limit reduction.

I'm really starting to hate Amex. On top of all this, thier customer service is atrocious; has been as such for a while.

I'm really hoping this will be the only AA I suffer. Just a warning to all the app sprees taking place; be cautious with your sensitive lenders. 

Additional info: My scores are all mid to high 700s. My utilization is like... 4%. Total inqs are somewhere between 7-19, depending on the buraeu. So, really don't get why I got a big fat AA from one of my older creditors.

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Slow down a bit and eventually you might get the card back to the way it was. You can submit documentation if you wanna do it faster or just wait a few months and then ask for a CLI again from them. It hurts, I know but you win some and you lose some and the best thing you can do right now is learn from the mistake and carry on.

[Anonymous]

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@Anonymous wrote:

Sorry to hear about the AA.  I wonder if they are trying to pull back a bit and minimize risk across the board. Amex has been softing me at least once per month lately, which is way more than normal. I was worried about potential AA before I even saw this post, so this makes me a tiny bit more concerned.

Is every account you currently have in your signature? Utilization of 4% on all those accounts is not super high in terms of total debt, but if you have a bunch of other accounts then that 4% could be a significant amount. Are the 7-19 inquiries per bureau all within the past few months?

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I doubt that. They just approved me for a SimplyCash with a starting line of $10K, and my Experian score is only 716 with a big tax lien.

[JSS3]

The OP stated he was going to put himself on a time-out right before this happened. I think he realized he needed to stop.

[Anonymous]

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@Anonymous wrote:

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@Anonymous wrote:

Sorry to hear about the AA.  I wonder if they are trying to pull back a bit and minimize risk across the board. Amex has been softing me at least once per month lately, which is way more than normal. I was worried about potential AA before I even saw this post, so this makes me a tiny bit more concerned.

Is every account you currently have in your signature? Utilization of 4% on all those accounts is not super high in terms of total debt, but if you have a bunch of other accounts then that 4% could be a significant amount. Are the 7-19 inquiries per bureau all within the past few months?

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I doubt that. They just approved me for a SimplyCash with a starting line of $10K, and my Experian score is only 716 with a big tax lien.

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Well, I did say "a bit".   In general though, I agree with you that it's unlikely. That incessant softing had me wondering and this post seemed to validate my fears.

I've been using my SPG and Hilton cards though and I just paid one of the balances in full right before the statement closing date. That has been my pattern for a while so I'm assuming they won't do anything.

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@JSS3 wrote:
Wonder if they would've overlooked your sprees had you been using them?

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I'm wondering this too.

[CarbonCard]

Normal Amex CSR is a hit or miss. It can be worse, but if you called their EO, it's like heaven. Should've tried that calling the EO before closing your card. But yeah, good thing is you're not in the blacklist.

[FinStar]

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@Anonymous wrote:

Elaboration:

I started a 'spree' in March. I applied and got 5 approvals. Then, spread out a few more over these past couple of months; like 3 April and 3 in May. I have about 9, or so, new accounts added to my report. Only 2 have no reported yet. But, no baddies. And, no excessive spending out of nowhere. Just doing what I normally do with my cards.

Do they record AA's on credit reports? I was pretty furious, so I closed the account. I didn't even use the card, anyway. And, thier snobby customer service reps feuled the fire.

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This would be a live and learn outcome OP since it can happen to virtually anyone (given similar or extreme conditions). 

Admittedly, you engaged in a behavior that attracted attention and placed you on their radar.  AMEX's risk algorithms, for obvious reasons, flagged your account.  For some, it's fairly common to "rationalize" things such as your payment history, no excessive spending, no negatives, etc. - just human nature.  To a lender, it's more than that.  At the end of the day, they hold the gold.  This could have been recovered as some had mentioned previously, but alas you closed the account hastily.

[ojefferyo]

Sorry to hear OP, I just added about 8 new accounts in the past couple of days myself and possibly 8-9 new inquires. I'm suprised Barclay didn't say anything since they are pretty sensitive about inquires. My last app spree was a little over 6 months ago though. So far no AA yet.

EDIT: had to go check my Amex account, still intact. 

[Anonymous]

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@JSS3 wrote:
Wonder if they would've overlooked your sprees had you been using them?

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I think you hit the nail on the head here!  Did 10 card app spree in Nov.  Since then got 3 more after the 6 month mark.  But use the cards & PIF except for one & that has a higher UT on it for another reason.  Once I hit my bonuses, I start rotating cards.  Put 2/3k a month on each of 3/4 cards.  PIF.  And go again.  Amounts can go higher on some cards that have higher limits.  They're pushing me right now to spend but waiting for their statement to cut.  Amex is one that I keep in my wallet.  I think they do like to see alot of usage.