topic Re: Amex chopped CL 50% in Credit Cards

Amex chopped CL 50%

Turbobuick — Mon, 18 Mar 2019 19:43:34 GMT

Recent 5 page thread on this subject was locked.

My letter reads... "the spend activity on the account listed above has been significantly lower than your credit limit."

We've had this card a number of years and our income is stable. Most of our CL's are over 20K. Not sure what suddenly spooked Amex. My fico is 850, wife is 838. No balances.

We put thousands on the Blue Cash Everyday card last year, every year, mostly on groceries. If this card didn't suck in every catagory except grocery, we'd use it more. CL went from 24K to 12K and guess what? The 12K is going to be too large too. LOL

Re: Amex chopped CL 50%

rbentley — Mon, 18 Mar 2019 19:44:01 GMT

I reasonably fear this is going to happen to mine also. My present CL is $4000, but my spend on the card probably only supports a $500 CL. I was planing on asking for a CLI in June, when I am next eligible just because I think my cards should be over $10,000. It apears AmEx is reexaming that "need" on my part.

Re: Amex chopped CL 50%

Anonymous — Mon, 18 Mar 2019 19:45:42 GMT

AmEx started me out at $20k on the Magnet card. If they slash my limit I will cancel the card. I don't need any particular bank.

Re: Amex chopped CL 50%

Anonymous — Mon, 18 Mar 2019 20:30:28 GMT

@Anonymous wrote:
AmEx started me out at $20k on the Magnet card. If they slash my limit I will cancel the card. I don't need any particular bank.

And to be fair, that would also be fine by Amex.

Re: Amex chopped CL 50%

Anonymous — Mon, 18 Mar 2019 20:44:04 GMT

@Anonymous wrote:
@Anonymous wrote:
AmEx started me out at $20k on the Magnet card. If they slash my limit I will cancel the card. I don't need any particular bank.
And to be fair, that would also be fine by Amex.

Just don't touch my $250 J. Crew, $250 Wayfair or $250 Vickies. Then I'd be mad. I DESERVED those after cracking the 580 FICO. Business is not personal. Your "relationship" is all your gamble/responsibility.

Re: Amex chopped CL 50%

gdale6 — Mon, 18 Mar 2019 20:49:54 GMT

Creditors have to maintain reserves to give credit, if you are not using the high limits they are going to cut them and move them to someone who will. Its not personal but a sound business decision.

Re: Amex chopped CL 50%

wasCB14 — Mon, 18 Mar 2019 21:00:22 GMT

~$6k grocery spend (if that) over 12 months is ~$500 monthly spend.

~$500 is ~2% utilization out of $24k, or ~4% out of $12k.

OP, is there another Amex card on which you spend a lot?

Re: Amex chopped CL 50%

Turbobuick — Mon, 18 Mar 2019 21:58:21 GMT

@gdale6 wrote:
Creditors have to maintain reserves to give credit, if you are not using the high limits they are going to cut them and move them to someone who will. Its not personal but a sound business decision.
______________________________________________________________________________________________________________
turbobuick wrote:
I couldn't agree more. Amex was once considered prestigious decades ago. Now instead of making better products, they typically raise their annual fees. There are better cards in every catagory for us "average consumers" and most don't carry annual fees.

Yes, I don't need a 24K CL or even 12K from Amex. In fact, just last week, our BofA cards qualified for their preferred rewards program, so we no longer need Amex for the one area they competed, groceries. Amex has always aimed their marketing at wealthier clients. I'm sure they won't miss me. I look forward to their "closed account for lack of use" letter.

So, while I sock drawer their BCE Card, I sincerely wish Amex much success.

Re: Amex chopped CL 50%

Turbobuick — Mon, 18 Mar 2019 21:56:48 GMT

@wasCB14 wrote:
~$6k grocery spend (if that) over 12 months is ~$500 monthly spend.

~$500 is ~2% utilization out of $24k, or ~4% out of $12k.

OP, is there another Amex card on which you spend a lot?

Nope. I don't need 5K if that's your point, but how many of us do? I never asked for 24K originally. Higher limits can lower the debt ratio and can improve one's score. No other purpose for me, I'm always at < 1% utilization. Not a jet setter. My spending history looks about the same for the last 45 years. Perhaps Chase and BofA will follow suit soon. It's all good. I'm older and not needing a loan anytime soon.

Re: Amex chopped CL 50%

JR_TX — Mon, 18 Mar 2019 22:06:26 GMT

Hmm... A few reports now of Amex CLD’ing minimally used cards. I wonder why they haven’t touched DW’s ED with $20K CL which she hasn’t swiped a penny on ever since she opened it 12/2017. She has a Delta Gold though that she puts an average of $5K a month spend. Wonder if that makes Amex happy enough to leave her ED alone.

Re: Amex chopped CL 50%

wasCB14 — Mon, 18 Mar 2019 22:38:06 GMT

@Turbobuick wrote:
@wasCB14 wrote:
~$6k grocery spend (if that) over 12 months is ~$500 monthly spend.

~$500 is ~2% utilization out of $24k, or ~4% out of $12k.

OP, is there another Amex card on which you spend a lot?
Nope. I don't need 5K if that's your point, but how many of us do? I never asked for 24K originally. Higher limits can lower the debt ratio and can improve one's score. No other purpose for me, I'm always at < 1% utilization. Not a jet setter. My spending history looks about the same for the last 45 years. Perhaps Chase and BofA will follow suit soon. It's all good. I'm older and not needing a loan anytime soon.

To a certain extent, Amex treats all of a customer's accounts as one big account.

I have 4 Amex revolvers, but my BBP gets more spend than the other three combined. If you had been spending heavily on a different Amex, I'd have found the implications of your CLD a bit alarming - that Amex would ignore a customer's total spend when considering CLDs and focus solely on an individual account.

I'm reallocating much of my CLs to BBP but should have started the process many months ago.

Re: Amex chopped CL 50%

CreditCuriosity — Mon, 18 Mar 2019 23:06:03 GMT

Interesting indeed another DP this being the 3rd. Mind if I ask if you income supported a higher CL being was your DTI good and say higher 5 figure to 6 figure income? Your guys scores are certainly excellent. I only have one personal amex at 25k rest are business ones so all hidden so can care less at any given point about utilization if they slash those alittle. Be interesting if this is a Cap1 type AA where they pick a few and do it and leave the rest alone or a bigger sweep as isn't as isolated anymore. Thought about calling them and asking for limit to be reinstated like previous thread?

Side note this thread will remain open. Other two started to get off topic more and more hence why they end up locked as long as people stay on topic it will remain open and of course stay FSR.

Re: Amex chopped CL 50%

RickNATL — Mon, 18 Mar 2019 22:56:16 GMT

CLDs and auto CL reallocations....Amex is on the prowl.

Re: Amex chopped CL 50%

Credit-hoarder — Mon, 18 Mar 2019 23:26:07 GMT

It will be interesting to see if they leave the CL on my BCE alone--especially since I've hardly used it over the last year--or my ED or my Simply Cash too for that matter. However I've used my Gold (practically everyday and sometimes more than once per day) and SPG countlessly over the last several mos. so hopefully that will balance the scales a little bit. I would be tempted to take a chunk of the BCE limit and move it over to SPG--but not while it's sporting that 26.74% interest rate!

Re: Amex chopped CL 50%

McNugget — Tue, 19 Mar 2019 00:00:50 GMT

@Turbobuick wrote:
... We put thousands on the Blue Cash Everyday card last year, every year, mostly on groceries...

I wonder if they're targeting customers who are only capitalizing on the high reward limits on a particular card.

Re: Amex chopped CL 50%

red259 — Tue, 19 Mar 2019 00:14:07 GMT

I have an everyday card and have maybe one $12 monthly recurring charge on it. The credit limit has been 8.5k for years and they never touched the limit. I have much larger limits with other amex cards and I am at my overall credit limit with amex when you add up all my credit lines. As a result I will sometimes reduce my credit lines on my own for cards I don't really need and then finally close them shortly before a new app. I would only care strongly about a credit line reduction if they did it to a credit card that I frequently use. I haven't asked for a CLI in years because never had a need for one.

Re: Amex chopped CL 50%

bourgogne — Tue, 19 Mar 2019 00:37:12 GMT

how many ax cards, primary and cos to you have and what is your total exposure to stated income

Re: Amex chopped CL 50%

Revelate — Tue, 19 Mar 2019 07:56:56 GMT

@bourgogne wrote:
how many ax cards, primary and cos to you have and what is your total exposure to stated income

I too would like more data heh.

I have a grand total of $20 / month total between business and personal and the Zync AF just cause they are going to have to rip it out of my cold dead hands before I give it up.

9K personal 12k SP business as far as tradelines go, though I will almost assuredly apply for the Bonvoy before the promo expires, probably SP not sure as it'd be hard for me to make two SUB's in the new EIN within the time period required (CIP is definitely principal acquisition) whereas I have a 5k quarterly tax payment that needs to land on some revolver for a 1.88% fee haha.

Re: Amex chopped CL 50%

redpat — Tue, 19 Mar 2019 08:54:34 GMT

This isn’t a bad AA. If the OP started using the card more and put let’s say 5k a month on it more than likely they could get a CLI very easily.

It’s all about use and the dollar amount of use. This should curtail the 3x for no reason.

Re: Amex chopped CL 50%

Anonymous — Tue, 19 Mar 2019 08:58:53 GMT

They said they were going to be doing this in this Investor’s Day meeting according to @RicHowe -

https://seekingalpha.com/article/4249219-american-express-company-axp-ceo-steve-squeri-hosts-2019-investor-day-transcript

I personally haven’t read because it’s long and boring and for some reason Chrome on iOS won’t let me search it for key terms but apparently they are going to be slashing limits and tightening lending criteria period.