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The AMEX Financial Review Thread

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oneloveforall_2000
Frequent Contributor

Re: The AMEX Financial Review Thread

I just got approved with them not to long ago for 5500k should i cancel?
Message 11 of 71
Anonymous
Not applicable

Re: The AMEX Financial Review Thread


@Anonymous wrote:
What kind of effect on your FICO and overall credit if you:
1. Cancel active card upon FR fairy comes knocking on yor door.
2. Cancel before you activated to just not bother with AMEX all together.
3. Let them cancel it if you don't comply with FR demand.




1. In my estimation this is the best option if you decide to ditch the cards. Then your accounts will basically just show as closed, paid, assuming you pay off balances or at least continue to pay on time.

2. Sure, you can do that. But the folks weighing in on this subject with stories of FR already have Amex cards. Amex seems to leave some people alone completely, so I wouldn't make a blanket statement that everyone should ditch Amex. The have some strange, arbitrary process for messing with people. I think they have a gigantic dart board with account numbers.

3. Bad option. Your file will show "Account closed by credit grantor." Looks bad on your file since the reason is not given. Better off with option 1.

Message Edited by devhip on 08-30-2007 11:30 AM
Message 12 of 71
fused
Moderator Emeritus

Re: The AMEX Financial Review Thread



@Anonymous wrote:

@Anonymous wrote:
What kind of effect on your FICO and overall credit if you:
1. Cancel active card upon FR fairy comes knocking on yor door.
2. Cancel before you activated to just not bother with AMEX all together.
3. Let them cancel it if you don't comply with FR demand.




1. In my estimation this is the best option if you decide to ditch the cards. Then your accounts will basically just show as closed, paid, assuming you pay off balances or at least continue to pay on time.

2. Sure, you can do that. But the folks weighing in on this subject with stories of FR already have Amex cards. Amex seems to leave some people alone completely, so I wouldn't make a blanket statement that everyone should ditch Amex. The have some strange, arbitrary process for messing with people. I think they have a gigantic dart board with account numbers.

3. Bad option. Your file will show "Account closed by credit grantor." Looks bad on your file since the reason is not given. Better off with option 1.

Message Edited by devhip on 08-30-2007 11:30 AM

3.) According to FICO scoring, it doesn't matter who closed the account or how it's notated. It's not going to prevent someone from getting approved for credit cards as long as the closed account has no baddies and a $0 balance. The only negative I see might be on a manual review and a lender having questions.
Message 13 of 71
SpecFile
Valued Contributor

Re: The AMEX Financial Review Thread

Thanks for explaining that fused.  I was wondering about that myself.
Message 14 of 71
Anonymous
Not applicable

Re: The AMEX Financial Review Thread

Hello!
 
I've opened three new Amex cards since June, and at the beginning of this month (August), Amex thought it would be a nice idea to conduct a F/R of my accounts.   I found this out as I had gone online to check my balance and stuff like I usually do, and saw red flags everywhere.  Like a good girl, I called them and tried to remain as calm as I could, despite the fact that my heart was hammering like crazy.  They had not contacted me by phone or mail as they said, but that didn't matter to me.  I couldn't believe I got subjected to a F/R.  I read about the dreaded Amex F/R so many times, and thought to myself, " They couldn't possibly do that to me!"  But they did.  And I'm almost positive the reason I got the F/R is because I had requested a CLI on my Starwoods card the day before (I had gotten a CLI on another card the previous week). 
 
The lady I spoke to on the phone was very friendly and helpful.  She told me that there was no specific trigger I pulled that resulted in the F/R, and told me exactly what I had to do.   I didn't get the "light" version of the review, either (meaning, they didn't want just pay stubs...they wanted to pull my tax records from last year.  I told her that my HHI might be different than that of my application because of a pay raise I received earlier this year, and she told me to write that on my fax cover, along with any other considerations.  She told me exactly where to print out the form, which sections of the form to fill out & how to fill it out, where to fax it in and everything.  She told me that it would take them 24-48 hours to receive and process the fax.   So I faxed it in, along with my cover sheet, the very same afternoon.  I called exactly 36 hours later and asked them if they had received my fax, and they said they did, but that it was unclear, and asked that I refax it.  So I did five minutes later.  I called again in 36 hours, and they received my fax, and told me that it would take between 3-7 days to process.  The other lady I spoke to was very friendly also. 
 
Exactly 5 days later, they called me at work, thanked my for my cooperation and lifted the freeze on my accounts.  I passed!
 
The rest is history.
Message 15 of 71
SpecFile
Valued Contributor

Re: The AMEX Financial Review Thread

The online application asks for HHI so I included my DW in the equation.  Now if they try to verify my HHI then they will see what I contribute to the HHI not what my DW does.
 
Legally, can they ask for my DW's financials since she is not associated with the card?
 
How can they really verify without having the entire HH send in their returns?
Message 16 of 71
Anonymous
Not applicable

Re: The AMEX Financial Review Thread

I would be asking AMEX how they planned to compensate me for my time. After all, most CCCs and banks would charge a research fee (often as high as $50 an hour!) to go prospecting into my account history and dig up a lot of information and fax copies and whatnot. Why is the time of a paying customer any less valuable?
Message 17 of 71
Anonymous
Not applicable

Re: The AMEX Financial Review Thread

I just read on another board that Lexus asked a credit card applicant for a copy of the deed to their home. And you all thought AMEX was bad!!! Smiley Surprised
Message 18 of 71
Anonymous
Not applicable

Re: The AMEX Financial Review Thread



@oneloveforall_2000 wrote:
I just got approved with them not to long ago for 5500k should i cancel?




What you'll need to do is keep your balance low enough that you can PIF anytime. Then, if they hit you with an FR, call in and tell them that for that reason you wish to PIF and close your account on the spot.

Kind of defeats the purpose of having a high CL....except for FICO scoring, of course.
Message 19 of 71
Anonymous
Not applicable

Re: The AMEX Financial Review Thread

I read other posts that they don't allow you to cancel if hit by FR. Either comply or be cancelled by AMEX with all the " cancelled by creditor " on your credit report.
Message 20 of 71
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