topic Re: Amex shutting down accts en mass... in Credit Cards

Amex shutting down accts en mass...

RickNATL — Sun, 17 Nov 2019 09:54:13 GMT

In the past week, reports have surfaced that American Express has been shutting down accounts en masse. There have been reports of shutdowns through the years from AmEx, so this isn’t the first round of shutdowns. Though we’re not exactly sure of the reason, based on this Reddit thread, practices that AmEx may consider abusive were at least partially responsible.

Why were some accounts shut down?
Based on self-reports from the forums we scanned, reasons for shutdowns included:

Self-referrals for credit cards.

Purchasing gift cards to meet minimum spend for credit card welcome bonuses.

Purchasing gift cards to maximize AmEx offers.

Overusing AmEx’s pay-over-time feature.

Prior financial review.

More here: https://www.nerdwallet.com/article/travel/amex-cardholders-report-account-shutdowns

Re: Amex shutting down accts en mass...

Anonymous — Sun, 17 Nov 2019 11:08:19 GMT

This shouldn't really come as a surprise to anyone. AMEX has been far more tolerant of shenanigans than most other lenders but that was only going to last for so long. I don't feel sorry for these people one bit. Everyone doing the things they were doing to game the system knew that they did so at their own risk.

Re: Amex shutting down accts en mass...

CreditInspired — Sun, 17 Nov 2019 11:28:37 GMT

@RickNATL wrote:
In the past week, reports have surfaced that American Express has been shutting down accounts en masse. There have been reports of shutdowns through the years from AmEx, so this isn’t the first round of shutdowns. Though we’re not exactly sure of the reason, based on this Reddit thread, practices that AmEx may consider abusive were at least partially responsible.

Why were some accounts shut down?
Based on self-reports from the forums we scanned, reasons for shutdowns included:

Self-referrals for credit cards.

Purchasing gift cards to meet minimum spend for credit card welcome bonuses.

Purchasing gift cards to maximize AmEx offers.

Overusing AmEx’s pay-over-time feature.

Prior financial review.

More here: https://www.nerdwallet.com/article/travel/amex-cardholders-report-account-shutdowns

Thanks for sharing OP.

I'm surprised at the bolded item. It's disappointing. If AmX is offering POT, why put limits on its use. I guess it goes to show that AmX will always prefer the customers who are transactors. I'm certainly glad I never took advantage of the POT.

Re: Amex shutting down accts en mass...

Anonymous — Sun, 17 Nov 2019 13:58:33 GMT

@CreditInspired wrote:
@RickNATL wrote:
In the past week, reports have surfaced that American Express has been shutting down accounts en masse. There have been reports of shutdowns through the years from AmEx, so this isn’t the first round of shutdowns. Though we’re not exactly sure of the reason, based on this Reddit thread, practices that AmEx may consider abusive were at least partially responsible.

Why were some accounts shut down?
Based on self-reports from the forums we scanned, reasons for shutdowns included:

Self-referrals for credit cards.

Purchasing gift cards to meet minimum spend for credit card welcome bonuses.

Purchasing gift cards to maximize AmEx offers.

Overusing AmEx’s pay-over-time feature.

Prior financial review.

More here: https://www.nerdwallet.com/article/travel/amex-cardholders-report-account-shutdowns
Thanks for sharing OP.

I'm surprised at the bolded item. It's disappointing. If AmX is offering POT, why put limits on its use. I guess it goes to show that AmX will always prefer the customers who are transactors. I'm certainly glad I never took advantage of the POT.

Maybe they figure that POT comes with such a high APR that only people in financial distress would think to use it. I certainly wouldn't want to be giving charge cards to people who are struggling to pay their bills.

See simplynoir's comment below mine.

Re: Amex shutting down accts en mass...

simplynoir — Sun, 17 Nov 2019 11:59:57 GMT

The reason the POT feature is being mentioned as a possible reason for the shutdowns isn't because of its intended use (carrying a balance) but because some people were using the feature on multiple cards to get the bonus for signing up for POT, calling/chatting with AMEX to "disable" it and getting the bonus again when the next round of POT signup offers came out

Basically, churning the bonus

Re: Amex shutting down accts en mass...

redpat — Sun, 17 Nov 2019 12:26:30 GMT

And a big thank you goes out to Amex to get rid of the rif raf /Ham and Eggers.

I’d rather have improved cards and MR structure and get rid of abuse than nerf things.

Re: Amex shutting down accts en mass...

Mv350 — Sun, 17 Nov 2019 12:40:44 GMT

I'm just so grateful to get let into the Amex family. I'd be pretty bummed to get the ax.

But I also wouldn't be playing games with them either.

Re: Amex shutting down accts en mass...

Anonymous — Sun, 17 Nov 2019 12:41:02 GMT

@simplynoir wrote:
The reason the POT feature is being mentioned as a possible reason for the shutdowns isn't because of its intended use (carrying a balance) but because some people were using the feature on multiple cards to get the bonus for signing up for POT, calling/chatting with AMEX to "disable" it and getting the bonus again when the next round of POT signup offers came out

Basically, churning the bonus

That makes more sense.

Re: Amex shutting down accts en mass...

simplynoir — Sun, 17 Nov 2019 12:44:02 GMT

@Anonymous wrote:
@simplynoir wrote:
The reason the POT feature is being mentioned as a possible reason for the shutdowns isn't because of its intended use (carrying a balance) but because some people were using the feature on multiple cards to get the bonus for signing up for POT, calling/chatting with AMEX to "disable" it and getting the bonus again when the next round of POT signup offers came out

Basically, churning the bonus
That makes more sense.

I just didn't want people who actually use the feature as intended aren't discouraged if they read the thread to not use it anymore. It's something that's both beneficial to the customer and AMEX

Re: Amex shutting down accts en mass...

Anonymous — Sun, 17 Nov 2019 13:57:28 GMT

@simplynoir wrote:
@Anonymous wrote:
@simplynoir wrote:
The reason the POT feature is being mentioned as a possible reason for the shutdowns isn't because of its intended use (carrying a balance) but because some people were using the feature on multiple cards to get the bonus for signing up for POT, calling/chatting with AMEX to "disable" it and getting the bonus again when the next round of POT signup offers came out

Basically, churning the bonus
That makes more sense.
I just didn't want people who actually use the feature as intended aren't discouraged if they read the thread to not use it anymore. It's something that's both beneficial to the customer and AMEX

Yeah totally understood. I am on my laptop now so I'll strike my comment lol.

Re: Amex shutting down accts en mass...

AverageJoesCredit — Sun, 17 Nov 2019 14:00:14 GMT

Im sorry guys. It all my fault. I hardly use my Amex cards and i feel my failure has turned their attention from me to others .

Re: Amex shutting down accts en mass...

coldfusion — Sun, 17 Nov 2019 14:02:26 GMT

@Mv350 wrote:
I'm just so grateful to get let into the Amex family. I'd be pretty bummed to get the ax.

But I also wouldn't be playing games with them either.

The people that do this (or ride the grAAvy train, or buy $50,000 worth of money orders at a time at WM, etc. etc.) accept that eventually getting the spigot shut off is part of the game. Grab and dash, then move on to discover the next loophole to exploit.

Their only real regret is in losing the revenue stream, and they couldn't care less what anyone else thinks.

Re: Amex shutting down accts en mass...

Anonymous — Sun, 17 Nov 2019 14:07:06 GMT

@coldfusion wrote:
@Mv350 wrote:
I'm just so grateful to get let into the Amex family. I'd be pretty bummed to get the ax.

But I also wouldn't be playing games with them either.
The people that do this (or ride the grAAvy train, or buy $50,000 worth of money orders at a time at WM, etc. etc.) accept that eventually getting the spigot shut off is part of the game. Grab and dash, then move on to discover the next loophole to exploit.

Their only real regret is in losing the revenue stream, and they couldn't care less what anyone else thinks.

Seems to me that sooner or later that bunch is gonna run through the roster of banks that have bonuses lucrative enough to churn, and may find themselves tossed out on their collective butts in the cold with just subpar cards and no-bonus offerings. Blacklists don't only exist for people who burned banks in BK. Wonder if they've considered that.

Re: Amex shutting down accts en mass...

Anonymous — Sun, 17 Nov 2019 14:08:30 GMT

@redpat wrote:
And a big thank you goes out to Amex to get rid of the rif raf /Ham and Eggers.

I’d rather have improved cards and MR structure and get rid of abuse than nerf things.

Well, I'm sure that every cent saved will be ploughed back into increased rewards! Or maybe not,

Re: Amex shutting down accts en mass...

coldfusion — Sun, 17 Nov 2019 14:10:53 GMT

@Anonymous wrote:
@coldfusion wrote:
@Mv350 wrote:
I'm just so grateful to get let into the Amex family. I'd be pretty bummed to get the ax.

But I also wouldn't be playing games with them either.
The people that do this (or ride the grAAvy train, or buy $50,000 worth of money orders at a time at WM, etc. etc.) accept that eventually getting the spigot shut off is part of the game. Grab and dash, then move on to discover the next loophole to exploit.

Their only real regret is in losing the revenue stream, and they couldn't care less what anyone else thinks.
Seems to me that sooner or later that bunch is gonna run through the roster of banks that have bonuses lucrative enough to churn, and may find themselves tossed out on their collective butts in the cold with just subpar cards and no-bonus offerings. Blacklists don't only exist for people who burned banks in BK. Wonder if they've considered that.

The pros and serious hobbiests are about 10 steps ahead of you.

Re: Amex shutting down accts en mass...

Anonymous — Sun, 17 Nov 2019 14:14:51 GMT

@Anonymous wrote:
Seems to me that sooner or later that bunch is gonna run through the roster of banks that have bonuses lucrative enough to churn, and may find themselves tossed out on their collective butts in the cold with just subpar cards and no-bonus offerings. Blacklists don't only exist for people who burned banks in BK. Wonder if they've considered that.

Generally MS has little to do with SUBs, and more to do with features of the rewards systems. And while it is surprising, issuers seem to regularly introduce cards with exploitable features, perhaps marketing comes up with a great idea that isn't thought through.

And, if at the end of the day people do get fully shut down everywhere, it can still be a net win if the profit has been large enough, as rewards on "real" spending is so small that losing it may not matter.

Re: Amex shutting down accts en mass...

Anonymous — Sun, 17 Nov 2019 14:17:46 GMT

True enough @Anonymous and @coldfusion - I don't doubt it on the pros.

Re: Amex shutting down accts en mass...

AverageJoesCredit — Sun, 17 Nov 2019 14:17:47 GMT

So true @coldfusion

Does this really bother them in the end, especially if they already cashed in or out however it may be. One xhurn and burn today, somewhere there will be another for tomorrow. Like anything in this world, the bad guys will always try and find the easy route. For every Superman there will be a Lex Luthor!

*at least Amex is trying to stop it which is better than doing nothing.

Re: Amex shutting down accts en mass...

simplynoir — Sun, 17 Nov 2019 14:18:13 GMT

Don't think that this will stop people either there are more loopholes to take advantage of but for obvious reasons people won't disclose them because then it'll be on every blog/website to get closed shortly after

It happened with Sallie Mae, OBC, Redbird, Serve and the list goes on and on...

Re: Amex shutting down accts en mass...

CreditCuriosity — Sun, 17 Nov 2019 14:33:57 GMT

@simplynoir wrote:
Don't think that this will stop people either there are more loopholes to take advantage of but for obvious reasons people won't disclose them because then it'll be on every blog/website to get closed shortly after

It happened with Sallie Mae, OBC, Redbird, Serve and the list goes on and on...

Agreed the best MS'er are the ones that don't share their secrets and keep their mouths shut so they don't get shut down. I am certain there are MS'ers out there that pull in alot of cash being basically a full-time job by their methods and they will last for quite some time as long as not shared on their methods.