topic Re: huh?!? Plat balance chasing?? in Credit Cards

huh?!? Plat balance chasing??

elixerin — Sun, 02 Feb 2020 03:45:53 GMT

okay so i just had some unfortunate? and randomly embarrassing and shabby news from AMEX regarding my charge card i just obtained Jan 8... in the first week or so i ran 35k got the message of payment and sent 32k right away, i spent 8k since getting me to about 11-12k total balance before getting the message again.. paid 10k and now with $1847 balance im getting charges declined so i called furiously and was informed that my “limit” is $3900???

is this regular behavior for amex charge cards?? thats hella annoying.. i have a cc with them thats 3x+ the charge card “limit”

getting balance chased with AMEX Plat is honestly disappointing.. contemplating a full payment and close out. At least with the CC i know what charges i can and can’t be declined on.. when i have to pay, etc.

please charge card holders share thoughts.. i dont mind paying 3900 so often but cant afford charges over that amount being declined, EXTREME inconvenience that i wasn’t experiencing first few weeks... what’s actually happening?

Re: huh?!? Plat balance chasing??

Anonymous — Sun, 02 Feb 2020 03:55:56 GMT

No preset spending limit, typically offered with charge cards, is not the green light for endless charging, regardless of how many times you may PIF during the billing cycle. This is more true upon initial card opening.

AMEX will still benchmark your spending against your reported income. If your reported income doesn’t necessarily support the spend, they will get spooked.

Furthermore, don’t mistake that the Platinum card carries any additional charging privileges than the Green has, for example.

Re: huh?!? Plat balance chasing??

kerplunk — Sun, 02 Feb 2020 03:56:17 GMT

Have you thought about the reasons American Express is treating you like this? What might stand out to them? Income, credit score, history with them, etc.

Re: huh?!? Plat balance chasing??

FinStar — Sun, 02 Feb 2020 04:01:02 GMT

I'd love to know what's tripping AmEx's algorithms, since for obvious reasons, you're on the radar as they're definitely not comfortable with the risk. Especially when this card hadn't been open for too long by AmEx standards.

While it can be annoying, they're mitigating risk, bottom line. None of us áre privvy to how you manage your finances or how your accounts are handled and what types of transaction activity is on your card, but AmEx does.

It's definitely not regular AmEx behavior since you'd see a plethora of threads here in the forums scorning such a pattern.

You sure you want to go for Schwab?

Re: huh?!? Plat balance chasing??

wasCB14 — Sun, 02 Feb 2020 03:58:49 GMT

It's "regular behavior" for Amex when they have increasing concern about a customer's ability to pay. It's not something they do to the customers they want to keep.

Don't be shocked if they later reduce the limit on, or close, your ~$12k CL card.

It's hard to say why this is happening without a complete picture of your finances.

Re: huh?!? Plat balance chasing??

wasCB14 — Sun, 02 Feb 2020 04:03:47 GMT

@FinStar wrote:
You sure you want to go for Schwab?

Did I miss something? How does Schwab enter into this?

Re: huh?!? Plat balance chasing??

elixerin — Sun, 02 Feb 2020 04:13:46 GMT

308k income on app.. i was thinking about schwab and major future point boosts and redemption outlets but this experience just put a huge hinder on all of that... whats the play here?? i can’t possibly see in any world how sending 40k+ before first statement even cuts is “highly risky”, kind of a joke..

apologize for the venting but this experience severely caught me off guard..

Re: huh?!? Plat balance chasing??

FinStar — Sun, 02 Feb 2020 04:14:07 GMT

@wasCB14 wrote:
@FinStar wrote:
You sure you want to go for Schwab?
Did I miss something? How does Schwab enter into this?

@elixerin wrote:
i have a vanilla plat now, i was trying to justify a downgrade to the cheapest AF card while retaining tradeline so that i can pick up the schwab and not have two Plat cards

i will be looking for those 5-10 CPP values for sure, its really for business/first class fliers and im someone who doesn’t mind economy/“premium” economy as they put it this is more so if after the research i put in to that route of redemption doesn’t pan out, i have a fall back 1.25 CPP cash deposit

Thread here from 1/26 > https://ficoforums.myfico.com/t5/Credit-Cards/AMEX-Green-code-uber-eats-as-3x/m-p/5893761

Re: huh?!? Plat balance chasing??

Anonymous — Sun, 02 Feb 2020 04:13:54 GMT

@elixerin wrote:
308k income on app.. i was thinking about schwab and major future point boosts and redemption outlets but this experience just put a huge hinder on all of that... whats the play here?? i can’t possibly see in any world sending 40k+ before first statement even cuts is “highly risky”, kind of a joke..

apologize for the venting but this experience severely caught me off guard..

You spent $43k in the first 3 weeks. You were on pace to spend $745k in one year. More than twice your reported income could be a red flag.

Re: huh?!? Plat balance chasing??

Anonymous — Sun, 02 Feb 2020 04:16:13 GMT

What types of transactions were these? Anything that might spark the interest of AMEX?

Re: huh?!? Plat balance chasing??

elixerin — Sun, 02 Feb 2020 04:21:39 GMT

if they waited at least a statement or two, that average would go way down and i don’t spend that much every month... am i missing something or is there just no trust for me cause im “new”?

spend was first class tickets at 5x points, and inventory and bills for business and rest way smaller miscellaneous purchases, i average usually around 15k month spend but the beginning of the year Jan is usually the most expensive month for me even without the surprise ticket for my dad.

Re: huh?!? Plat balance chasing??

Anonymous — Sun, 02 Feb 2020 04:25:22 GMT

@elixerin wrote:
if they waited at least a statement or two, that average would go way down and i don’t spend that much every month... am i missing something or is there just no trust for me cause im “new”?

It usually takes 6 months for Amex to establish internal limit on your charge card.

There might be other things on your report that might triggered the algorithm. What are the ultilization and limits of your other cards? They SP your report 1 to 2 times a month.

Re: huh?!? Plat balance chasing??

FinStar — Sun, 02 Feb 2020 04:23:21 GMT

@Anonymous wrote:
@elixerin wrote:
if they waited at least a statement or two, that average would go way down and i don’t spend that much every month... am i missing something or is there just no trust for me cause im “new”?
It usually takes 6 months for Amex to establish internal limit on your charge card.

There might be other things on your report that might triggered the algorithm. What are the ultilization and limits of your other cards?

In addition to the above, once AmEx has performed an adverse action or restricted the internal limit, there's no set timeframe on when it'll be restored. Potentially 6 months or even longer OP.

Re: huh?!? Plat balance chasing??

elixerin — Sun, 02 Feb 2020 04:25:36 GMT

aggregate CC on report right now is 1% $50/$11000

nothing changed since i got the card except my Cash Magnet went from 4k-12k so in a week or so report is gonna be something like $4000/$19000 balance report on CC’s

Re: huh?!? Plat balance chasing??

Anonymous — Sun, 02 Feb 2020 04:27:19 GMT

It’s most likely simply the fact that you spent $35,000 on the card almost immediately. Regardless of your history with them, and even with a $15k monthly spend, that’s over twice the norm and they got gun shy.

Water under the bridge though - a reduction in spending and building back up over time will unlock the vault in the future. The nature of the charge card allowing very high spend and being used for it right out of the gate with no warning is most likely the cause of their reaction. In the future, a call to the Plat number to let them know of higher-than-normal spend would likely mitigate or eliminate the clamp-down on your spending power, especially in light of your income and revolver history with them. They could pull your spend/payment history, see what you have done with them, and realize you’re not spending beyond your ability to repay.

Re: huh?!? Plat balance chasing??

kerplunk — Sun, 02 Feb 2020 04:28:38 GMT

What is your credit score, out of curiosity?

Re: huh?!? Plat balance chasing??

elixerin — Sun, 02 Feb 2020 04:30:06 GMT

702 EXP

thanks for the replies everyone, kinda sad that they got gun shy of me and my ability to be a great customer and show it :/

Re: huh?!? Plat balance chasing??

kerplunk — Sun, 02 Feb 2020 04:32:27 GMT

@elixerin wrote:
702 EXP

thanks for the replies everyone, kinda sad that they got gun shy of me and my ability to be a great customer and show it :/

As others have indicated, time will heal everything.

In the meantime, you should work on improving your credit scores as well. Everything helps.

Re: huh?!? Plat balance chasing??

Anonymous — Sun, 02 Feb 2020 04:35:17 GMT

@elixerin wrote:
702 EXP

thanks for the replies everyone, kinda sad that they got gun shy of me and my ability to be a great customer and show it :/

It's nothing personal. Your spending and credit file just got flagged by their algorithm.

How long is your credit history? How long have your been an Amex member?

Re: huh?!? Plat balance chasing??

Anonymous — Sun, 02 Feb 2020 04:35:29 GMT

Seems like a case of “too much too fast”. Looks like you may have a young, thin file (??). You went from $11,000 in aggregate limits to charging $40k+ in three weeks. You are new to AMEX by their standards.

With the income you report and the spend you put through, AMEX will eventually cozy up to you!