@Anonymous wrote:I suppose I should have included in my orginial post that I don't need anyone's sass regarding this matter. I'm not entirely sure why I'm getting a bunch of butthurt posters on this thread. My irritation is completely warranted. An AA was arbitrary based on my HIGH spend with AMEX, my meticulously grooming the accounts, my having rapport with the lender, and having credit scores in the mid to high 700s at age 22! I assumed I could hop on these forums for a little support and vent without getting a backlash of snark.
Also, it's not as if I've been the only one to suffer an AA from American Express, specifically. It seems it's becoming a trend for AMEX to do so. And, you know what. It seems to be directly correlated to USAGE. They didn't lower my ED a smidge. But, they did lower my BCE. And, that's the card I hardly used. So...
Regarding the account closure, I didn't "fly off the handle". I was already thinking about closing this account, anyway. It was only a matter of time. This was just feul for that fire. And, I'm not "talking bad" about a lender, based solely on my poor wittle limt being lowered on a card I didn't use. I've had, literally, the worst customer service experiences with them in the past 4, or so, months. They have convoluted terms regarding PC, limit reallocation, etc... And, now this. Amex is falling short. Not entirely sure how I'm "hurting myself" by closing a 1k account that 1) Didn't use and 2) Didn't particulary care for; especially, with all the other prime cards I've gotten that I actually WANTED and currently USE and are at a limit I'm more than happy with and 3) Didn't want to expend the extra energy to work the account up, again. Seems arbitrary. It's the principle of this whole thing, solely.
Additionally, they DID want me to keep the account. And, they were extremely concerned that I decided to drop a product with them. I was on the phone with 4 different reps and 2 different departments for about an hour and a half, having to listen to their attempts to maintain the business with them. Then I got numerous phone calls today. I was even offered by a senior underwriter to have my limit raised back up to 6k, temporarily, until he could look into it further!! I spoke with a manager after my initial conversation with the other gentleman who had told me the reasons, and he said verbatim "This seems very odd. You've been an excellent customer, and I see no reason for this at this point in time. Your scores are good. Your account activity is in shape. We don't typically encourage multiple inquiries in a sixth month period. But, we don't necessarily proceed with this kind of action unless something has seriously gone wrong with your report..." etc... And, nothing has gone seriously wrong with my report. I just have a bunch of nice, shiny new cards.
And, let's be the devil's advocate for just a second... This is my first app spree EVER. I decided to prolong it, apply for what I WANTED, and get the accounts I WANTED. And, at some point, this kind of a fluffy portfolio will do me some good. How many app sprees are really necessary? And, how many of them are that strategic or modest? Come on. Give me a break. I really don't need all the lectures regarding achieving the new accounts or the inquiries and so fourth. Clearly, I'm doing something right, or I wouldn't have succeeded in getting them in the first place. And, I've fully acknowledged that it's time to call it quits, and just hangout for a while. Not sure why I'm getting the broken record. Man... I feel like I'm on trial. Yes, I do in fact feel GREAT about opening up 9** new accounts in 3 months. Who wouldn't? Got excellent limits. Got in with some prime lenders. Gonna get all sortsa great singup bonuses. Feels good, pa. And, now I sit on my portfolio, and ride easy for a while. SImple. It's to my discretion how I build my credit. I've chosen to do it aggressively, as have a lot of my fellow FICO forum goers. And, I'm not sitting around and judging anybody. In fact, I really enjoy getting on here and reading about people's successes; big and small. And, I enjoy being supportive and encouraging, when things get rough or fail.
"Deal with the consequences like a grown up"... I mean, really? Lol. If you feel so passionately for over-apping or opening new accounts or people complaining about getting their limits reduced, maybe these forums aren't the place for you??
My replies aren't meant to lecture, but to provide a perspective. You are just starting out your file. Adding 9 accounts in 90 days is not advisable for any file. Closing an account just because of a CLD is not advisable. If you had other reasons, fine, close it, as I noted, I have closed cards not long after opening them myself, including a $17k US Bank card that I figured out wasn't going to work for me last year. I've closed cards to freeze terms. I closed my oldest card when Chase wouldn't revise the APR.
Regarding the AMEX that you expected, much of your frustration regarding PC and CL movement is probably just not understanding how AMEX works. You can't PC to every possible card, at any bank. AMEX requires a CL to be aged 13 statements before it can be moved. Not all CCC are the same, each has their own features. As you learn more about them, you will begin to understand and (hopefully) just accept the differences. There's a reason the major corporations and frequent travellers the world over rely on AMEX, it's a good CCC.
And regarding that FICO score increase, it is entirely possible that the SP that AMEX was using to review your file and hit you with the CLD was from February, or not fully updated, in mid-600's. There are indications from situations like new card apps where AMEX does not rapidly update your file with a new SP. Cardmembers who saw a rapid jump in their score due to a major baddie falling off, then apped for AMEX got a starter line from the HP, then asked for an immediate CLI and were told the SP (because it was earlier) wasn't allowing the CLI. The HP was not referenced for the CLI request. If your scores have increased by 90 points rapidly, they may not have the latest info in this AA. Thus, keeping the card open and waiting for the file to catch up, for time to pass, to renegotiate, would be a possible path.
In any event, you've still got a lot of good cards, so onward and forward!
@MissMc89 wrote:*slow claps* I don't get why some people have to be jerks especially after several other people have said the same thing. And reminding posters that CCC's don't care about closing the account to make you look stupid is really irritating. And clearly backfired in this case if they were all on you to reconsider.
Well, there's caring and caring. It's EXTREMELY unlikely that the institution really cares as (based on CL) the OP wasn't generated meaningful amounts of business. Individual reps care because they get incentives to retain customers, so they will work hard to do so, even if the impact of the loss is more or less invisible.
In my job, I work with people who pay $12M a month, and those who pay $500 a month. Generally the second set feel more entitled, and while "We value each customer" the effort put on retaining the latter is going to be much less, just enough for them to feel wanted. Any complaints, even trivial ones, from the first set get CEO attention
