topic Re: Wonderful email from Amex. in Credit Cards

Wonderful email from Amex.

Red1Blue — Mon, 13 Apr 2009 04:27:15 GMT

Important Account Status

Notice of Credit Limit Reduction

Your Account ending in

Log in to Manage Your Account Online

Dear xxxxxx

We are contacting you to be sure you do not have any surprises when you use your card. In this difficult economic environment, we all need to make choices about how we spend and save. For us, that means carefully reviewing the spending and debt profiles of our Cardmembers - and making some difficult decisions. Unfortunately, we have had to make the decision to lower the credit limit on your account listed above.

Your revised credit limit for purchases is now $1,000.00. The new cash advance limit is $0.00. Please ensure that any additional Cardmembers on the account are also aware of this change so they do not have any negative experiences when they use the Card.

You will also receive this information by letter, but we wanted to be sure you were aware of this change as soon as possible. We strive to be a responsible lender during both prosperous times and more challenging ones, and we do remain committed to our relationship with you.

Sincerely,

American Express Account Services

Privacy Statement Contact Customer Service Add Us to Your Address Book

This Customer Service e-mail was sent to you by American Express. You may receive customer service e-mails even if you have requested not to receive marketing e-mails from American Express.

Copyright 2009 American Express Company. All rights reserved.

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Message Edited by concorduser on 04-12-2009 09:27 PM

Re: Wonderful email from Amex.

Anonymous — Mon, 13 Apr 2009 05:14:13 GMT

Ouch, sorry to hear. What was your original CL?

Re: Wonderful email from Amex.

Anonymous — Mon, 13 Apr 2009 05:36:10 GMT

I got the same e-mail from them today. My credit limit was reduced from $3000 to $2600. "Coincidentally" I made a $500 payment 2 weeks ago. They actually reduced my limit last weekend. Now I'm maxed out... I'm only going to make minimum payments from now on and pay off the rest of my cards first.

Re: Wonderful email from Amex.

Lyythine — Mon, 13 Apr 2009 07:24:47 GMT

I think they are doing it to almost anyone who carries a balance. I have both a Green and a Blue cash card from Amex. I PIF both before the statement cuts and I have received nothing but increases in the past year or so... But my sister told me to today at easter dinner that they cut her line in half (but she also carries balances). They did increase my APR, which i found a bit funny since I have never carried a balance and dont intend to... You think they would notice these things... Anyway, thank god that I have other cards besides amex, they are just barely staying afloat (at least in my opinion). Dont feel too bad though, it seems they are doing it to everyone that carries a balance, and some to those who dont.

P.S. I knocked on wood the entire time i wrote this post. If i get a CLD in the next couple of weeks, im gonna laugh my arse off, then cry in the corner for posting this...

Re: Wonderful email from Amex.

Red1Blue — Mon, 13 Apr 2009 12:02:49 GMT

I never carried balance on my account. Always PIF and most of the time, I have been paying 2-3 payments a week or as soon as I see a charge posted to my account. Amex is a brain dead company.

Re: Wonderful email from Amex.

Anonymous — Mon, 13 Apr 2009 12:59:45 GMT

Maybe they have just now decided that you have too much credit? You did have quite the apping spree last year.

ETA: what do they say when you call them?

Message Edited by dizzier on 04-13-2009 08:59 AM

Re: Wonderful email from Amex.

Anonymous — Mon, 13 Apr 2009 13:07:56 GMT

I wonder if it is possible that AMEX, as a system, does not consider the "portfolio" of AMEX credit when approving new credit, but each account individually, and that new AMEX accounts may trigger the same actions against existing accounts as that of a third-party account....ie: new account/CL triggers existing account actions???

I know that certain "products" have different criteria for approval, different threshholds and terms, etc. When my wife originally applied for the Green card, she was denied. She apped for the Gold card the following weed (on advice from a colleage) and was approved???? Was a head scratcher....didnt' have another AMEX account....couldn't get Green, but Gold said yes.

Message Edited by txjohn on 04-13-2009 06:07 AM

Re: Wonderful email from Amex.

Watchmann — Mon, 13 Apr 2009 14:45:05 GMT

@Red1Blue wrote:
I never carried balance on my account. Always PIF and most of the time, I have been paying 2-3 payments a week or as soon as I see a charge posted to my account. Amex is a brain dead company.

Just a thought, but is there a chance that AMEX could look negatively on an account which is constantly being PIF during the month? Perhaps their data shows accounts with this type of activity are more prone to fraud or failure? I never could see much point in paying multiple times during the month, so maybe it is considered a negative by the AMEX Mothership. Paying a charge off each time one pops onto your account doesn't seem to make much sense, and maybe AMEX feels the same way.

Re: Wonderful email from Amex.

Anonymous — Mon, 13 Apr 2009 14:53:56 GMT

that sux!! i will not own an Amex card!!

Re: Wonderful email from Amex.

score_building — Mon, 13 Apr 2009 16:53:26 GMT

@Watchmann wrote:
@Red1Blue wrote:
I never carried balance on my account. Always PIF and most of the time, I have been paying 2-3 payments a week or as soon as I see a charge posted to my account. Amex is a brain dead company.
Just a thought, but is there a chance that AMEX could look negatively on an account which is constantly being PIF during the month? Perhaps their data shows accounts with this type of activity are more prone to fraud or failure? I never could see much point in paying multiple times during the month, so maybe it is considered a negative by the AMEX Mothership. Paying a charge off each time one pops onto your account doesn't seem to make much sense, and maybe AMEX feels the same way.

concord - it seems likely that your CLI request submitted shortly after you received the Clear card may have placed your brand new acct under renewed scrutiny and this may be one reason that led to the CLD.

although it would not be the least bit surprising if this is in fact yet another action that amex objects to unilaterally (in other words, w/o telling the customer of said objection) the idea that paying back a cc loan sooner rather than later is viewed as a negative by a ccc doesn't make much sense imo. if that was the case presumably they would impose prepayment penalties as a disincentive.

paying a charge off immediately is 10xs preferable to being late. so if that is what it takes, nothing could make more sense to me.

Message Edited by score_building on 04-13-2009 09:53 AM

Re: Wonderful email from Amex.

CHARGE_IT — Mon, 13 Apr 2009 15:06:22 GMT

Watchmann is correct; in fact there have been posts on this in the past.

Paying multiples, especially within a week looks a little desperate. It is as if one is working in a job supported mainly by tips, (nothing wrong with that, hard work) and every time you save some tips you make a payment. Most companies red flag obsessive payments. It just looks like poor money management.

Concord; it would be more fair on threads like this if you point out this came on the heals of apping and a request for CLI. You are allowing newer posters to deduct this just came out of the blue.

@Red1Blue wrote:
I never carried balance on my account. Always PIF and most of the time, I have been paying 2-3 payments a week or as soon as I see a charge posted to my account. Amex is a brain dead company.

Re: Wonderful email from Amex.

score_building — Mon, 13 Apr 2009 15:29:45 GMT

i'm not clear where the distinction between 'obsessively' and 'routinely' is placed by amex or other lenders and at what point it becomes an issue. would be curious to know the source of the posts that you mention confirm the theory that lenders do not like payments at posting.

Message Edited by score_building on 04-13-2009 08:29 AM

Re: Wonderful email from Amex.

Red1Blue — Mon, 13 Apr 2009 16:16:50 GMT

Just clarify, my paying off the account 2-3 times a week. I have Amex Credit Secure and I check my report every day. When I login to account to check the report, if I see any balance on my accounts, I prese the pay bill button and pay it off. If I did not have the Credit Secure, I probalby would not login to account every day. I dont think it is a crime to pay off if there is any outstanding balance on account.

Re: Wonderful email from Amex.

creditreformer — Mon, 13 Apr 2009 16:42:54 GMT

I think it is kind of silly for cc cos to penalize people who make multiple (whether obsessive or routine) payments each mo. I am still rebuilding + so have fairly small cls. I also travel a lot + need to put hotel rooms, car rentals, flights, etc. on my ccs. b/c of the small cls, I need to make multiple payments each mo. so I can free up the available credit. Also, I get paid weekly + since I have multiple ccs/bills, I would rather pay some towards them each week rather than get hit paying a huge lump sum each month. Also, having stumbled w/ccs in the past, I will NEVER ever be late (or overlimit) again + so sometimes pay just to make sure the payment clears in time. Btw, I think it sucks amex cld an oasis cc- they keep sending me the offer + lately, it has been tempting to pay it off (even though it is WAY out of sol for lawsuit purposes + OFF my reports), but if they are cldng those ccs, I don’t see the incentive to pay it off.

Re: Wonderful email from Amex.

Anonymous — Mon, 13 Apr 2009 16:49:59 GMT

@Red1Blue wrote:
    Important Account Status

   Notice of Credit Limit Reduction

Your Account ending in

Log in to Manage Your Account Online

Dear xxxxxx

We are contacting you to be sure you do not have any surprises when you use your card. In this difficult economic environment, we all need to make choices about how we spend and save. For us, that means carefully reviewing the spending and debt profiles of our Cardmembers - and making some difficult decisions. Unfortunately, we have had to make the decision to lower the credit limit on your account listed above.

Your revised credit limit for purchases is now $1,000.00. The new cash advance limit is $0.00. Please ensure that any additional Cardmembers on the account are also aware of this change so they do not have any negative experiences when they use the Card.

You will also receive this information by letter, but we wanted to be sure you were aware of this change as soon as possible. We strive to be a responsible lender during both prosperous times and more challenging ones, and we do remain committed to our relationship with you.

Sincerely,

American Express Account Services

Privacy Statement                   Contact Customer Service                    Add Us to Your Address Book

This Customer Service e-mail was sent to you by American Express. You may receive customer service e-mails even if you have requested not to receive marketing e-mails from American Express.

Copyright 2009 American Express Company. All rights reserved.

FLGEUFLG0212001
Message Edited by concorduser on 04-12-2009 09:27 PM

WOW this is terrible I have never carried any balances on Amex for more than one month. Usually I transfered to BOA becuase they always had a 0.00 deal. Maybe that is what has protected my huge credit lines with Amex. I never really used the blue just had it for emergecies. I always used the Plat and of course paid at the end of the month. Maybe thats why they havent touched my credit amounts.

Re: Wonderful email from Amex.

Red1Blue — Mon, 13 Apr 2009 16:53:20 GMT

@Anonymous wrote:
WOW this is terrible I have never carried any balances on Amex for more than one month. Usually I transfered to BOA becuase they always had a 0.00 deal. Maybe that is what has protected my huge credit lines with Amex. I never really used the blue just had it for emergecies. I always used the Plat and of course paid at the end of the month. Maybe thats why they havent touched my credit amounts.

They are doing this pretty much for every one now a days. They just gave me Plum card 2 weeks ago and they did a CLD on my Clear. I am sure they will get the head examined and give my CL back soon. I am not going to loose my sleep over this.

Re: Wonderful email from Amex.

PayingTheBills — Mon, 13 Apr 2009 17:15:09 GMT

Amex is certainly being inconsistent. (duh)

My girlfriend's first CC was an AMEX Blue Cash that she got 3 months ago. The only other thing on her CC is an auto loan that has 2.5 years left on a 5 year loan, that has never been late. Her EQ FICO was 690 before any CC's reported.

She got a $4,000 limit with a very small income (grad student). At my urging, she only uses the cards to make sensible online purchases and to eat out (since there have been reports that AMEX is weird about shopping at certain stores). She pays the card every week or so if there is a balance to be paid.

She also got a $2,500 USAA MC that she uses for gas/groceries/stores-that-AMEX-looks-down-its-nose-at.

Granted, she has a flawless credit history, but she is a very limited credit history, and a reported income of less that $30k.

Perhaps AMEX gives that much weight to not having a single baddie on your reports, moreso than having a flawless payment history on their card. Sort of like how BoA will not give me a CLI because of other issues on my CR, even though I have never missed a payment in 5 years on my BoA CC.

Message Edited by PayingTheBills on 04-13-2009 01:15 PM

Re: Wonderful email from Amex.

Anonymous — Mon, 13 Apr 2009 17:17:24 GMT

Didnt you watch "Maxed Out" this is their prime customer. The young and the restless most likely to default so they can charge FEE's.

Shes is actually perfect young enough to get careless and educated enough to make cash to pay for fee's.

Re: Wonderful email from Amex.

PayingTheBills — Mon, 13 Apr 2009 17:22:05 GMT

well, they should screen more carefully then, because with me whispering in her ear, she will NEVER pay a finance charge, NEVER let more than 9% report on more than one of her cards, and will ALWAYS pay her other cards in full while rotating which one reports a modest balance.

She also has two middle-class parents with scores in the 800's who set fantastic examples.

What Iwouldn't give to be able to go back in time and start fresh, knowing what I know now.

Re: Wonderful email from Amex.

Red1Blue — Mon, 13 Apr 2009 17:23:04 GMT

@Anonymous wrote:
Didnt you watch "Maxed Out" this is their prime customer. The young and the restless most likely to default so they can charge FEE's.

Shes is actually perfect young enough to get careless and educated enough to make cash to pay for fee's.

No. She is one of the best you can find out there. Very responsible and highly respected. She met with and interviewed 11 presidential candidates and introduced then senator Obama before thousands of audience when he was campaining in NH during the presidential elections. I am so proud of her and her accomplishments at the age of 16. She will never fall for these predataroy bank practises. I am so proud of her.