topic Re: Amex Gold - Sudden imposed limit (After verifying it would be ok to charge my cars deposit) in Credit Cards

Amex Gold - Sudden imposed limit (EDIT 10/21: Limits removed!!)

AlanGJP — Thu, 21 Oct 2021 19:13:21 GMT

So a couple weeks ago I bought a car. I called Amex to confirm I'd be ok putting the deposit on my Gold card. They said I'm good up to $10k - I wasn't sure what the deposit was at the time, so I confirmed $10k - just in case. Anyway, on that Friday I put $3k on the card as a deposit for the car. Later that day I received an email saying I needed to pay down the amount I'd charged or risk limits being placed on the card. I didn't consider this a big deal since I'd called and gotten the OK. Also, I couldn't pay it down since it was the only outstanding charge (My balance was $0 before the deposit) and it didn't clear until Monday. Monday morning comes, I pay it off completely.

Anyway, today (a couple weeks later) I get an email -- they limited my card to $4800. I ALWAYS pay my balance in full and usually every few days to so I don't have a large balance to pay at the end of the month. I used the card for the points, I would NOT have if I'd known this could happen.

Even though I never go more than say $5k on my Gold at any one time, and ALWAYS pay in full in 3 days to a week - MAX. I'm really upset they'd pull this when I specifically called to OK it beforehand. Again, I wouldn't have used the card had I known this could happen.

Posting this as a warning for anyone that does the same as me.

EDIT: It wasn't the car. It was my latest app spree that spooked them. (Received an email over night confirming) I can live with it being my fault and I don't blame them. a 30+% bump in credit with many cards and a loan, that would scare me if I was a lender. I intended to garden for 5/24 after the spree, we'll see how things settle down over the next several months...

EDIT2 10/21/21: ALL LIMITS REMOVED. Both my gold cards have been updated and they are now NPSL cards again. I wasn't too stressed about it since I didn't go on a spending spree. Most likely AMEX was worried my 5 new cards and LOTS of apps meant I was going to go into debt. After 2 months seeing that didn't happen, they removed the limits! (I do push 5 digits through my gold cards a month. All PIF within a day to a few days.)

Re: Amex Gold - Sudden imposed limit (After verifying it would be ok to charge my cars deposit)

RSX — Mon, 30 Aug 2021 20:03:09 GMT

that sucks

what did they say when you called them to explain the issue?

Re: Amex Gold - Sudden imposed limit (After verifying it would be ok to charge my cars deposit)

AlanGJP — Mon, 30 Aug 2021 20:50:26 GMT

I haven't called yet, can't call until later today. Has anyone had any luck reversing these? Seems awefully strange when I called before hand, explained I was putting a deposit on the car and got the ok. Then they limit my spending? :/

Re: Amex Gold - Sudden imposed limit (After verifying it would be ok to charge my cars deposit)

RSX — Mon, 30 Aug 2021 21:24:16 GMT

i am sure that when you explain the situation they will resolve it - that is why i asked if you had called yet

Re: Amex Gold - Sudden imposed limit (After verifying it would be ok to charge my cars deposit)

FinStar — Mon, 30 Aug 2021 21:29:12 GMT

Unfortunately, whenever an imposed hard limit (or restricted pre-set limit) is placed on the account, it is system-driven. Agents, supervisors, etc., do not have the ability to override it. You can reach out to them if you wish just to see what options are on the table. The good news, though, the restriction can lift itself over time, but there is not exact timeframe on when that may occur for your particular situation since any DPs can vary from individual to individual. This could take 6 months, 9 months or over a year or so. Definitely keep this thread updated so that others can be aware of the outcome.

The take away, even as disappointing or unpleasant the situation, when notifications are provided for immediate payment, they should not be ignored. Most folks would say "well, they told me it was ok to charge up to X" or "why should I have to pre-pay if that's why charge cards are intended for", etc. Bottom line, they can take payments over the phone even if the transaction hasn't posted. Unfortunately, we're not privy to your financial situation, credit report data, income, or history with AmEx in order to make an informed assessment as to why an imposed hard limit was placed. Typically, similar situations can occur whenever a POT feature is removed from a charge card. It basically means AmEx is limiting its overall exposure (personal and business) in the interim until they feel comfortable.

Re: Amex Gold - Sudden imposed limit (After verifying it would be ok to charge my cars deposit)

Loquat — Mon, 30 Aug 2021 21:34:53 GMT

It sucks OP, won't make light of that. But you mentioned that you don't ever go over the limit anyway so I wouldn't sweat it too much. Yep, I know it does seem like it was triggered by your larger purchase but what's done is done.

Ask them if they'll lift it...worse they can say is no. Even if they don't and the card still provides solid value...I'd say put the issue in your review mirror and carry on.

Life is too short to spend it trying to figure out what causes such things.

Re: Amex Gold - Sudden imposed limit (After verifying it would be ok to charge my cars deposit)

Remedios — Mon, 30 Aug 2021 21:47:23 GMT

Full disclaimer, I dislike everything about Amex when it comes to charge cards, but I don't have any, so not my hill to die on.

With that said, your answer is here

You just opened businesses gold, you are pushing significant amounts through it, and now your spending on personal card increases right as you are putting large spend on business also.

Sure, you are paying, but your spending power on charge cards isn't static.

While Amex loves spending (which lender doesn't), they don't like losing money and with such significant increase in spending, they cannot tell where your "I'm overextended" line is without either voluntary IV or passage of time, which in your case did not happen.

So, if you are issuing a warning, it should come with "Take it slow at first"

Good luck and I hope it changes for you soon.

Re: Amex Gold - Sudden imposed limit (After verifying it would be ok to charge my cars deposit)

tparks5961 — Mon, 30 Aug 2021 22:27:42 GMT

Oh gosh American Express.

I was recently in Amex prison, and now Im out and on probation.

I had a hard limit of $4,000.00 imposed on my card because of my inability to pay during the whole covid shut downs. After a financial review and lots of spend, I've since had that limit raised to $29,300.00. The limit is still not high enough as I spend between 80k-100k per month on it.

Aftrer 2 months of being on AMEX probation (Hard limit of 29,300), I submitted another request to raise the limit. They asked for 3 months of bank statements, and denied my request for another increase. (My deposits for 3 months added up to almost 400k.)

During the whole covid shutdown, my Blue plus card had a limit imposed on it of $700.00.. My request to raise that limit has been denied two times.

My credit scores are 760 , 754, 754. If i were under 5/24, I would have left for chase already and each time im forced to call Amex so they can verify one of my payments, I make them aware of my desire to switch companies if I could.

I'm in the process of Purchasing CD's with AMEX that will act as collateral so that I can raise my limit to roughly 80k... Which makes me even more upset, because It's essentially a glorified secured credit card at this point... I've been going through this for roughly 7 months now.

The reason for this post is to just let you know that unfortunatley, once you're on their radars.. You should prepare yourself.

The process to re - establsih your limits may be extremely frustrating.

Re: Amex Gold - Sudden imposed limit (After verifying it would be ok to charge my cars deposit)

Creditaddict — Tue, 31 Aug 2021 00:04:19 GMT

it sucks but if you never go over that amount anyway it won't matter... it will be reviewed at 12 months by the system to raise or remove.

and even though it's a limit, you likely can go over it... for some reason I received a set limit on my platinum business after just like 45 days but I can almost charge double what the limit they set and I receive a text or email usually after a charge that the next one will be declined unless im already way over and try to put something large on, then it might decline but with amex instant payments it's all fine...

Note, I do not have hard limits on my gold for business or my personal platinum which were both opened AFTER this business platinum and the hard limit set... it's odd but oh well.

Re: Amex Gold - Sudden imposed limit (After verifying it would be ok to charge my cars deposit)

AlanGJP — Tue, 31 Aug 2021 04:40:31 GMT

@FinStar wrote:
Bottom line, they can take payments over the phone even if the transaction hasn't posted. Unfortunately, we're not privy to your financial situation, credit report data, income, or history with AmEx in order to make an informed assessment as to why an imposed hard limit was placed. Typically, similar situations can occur whenever a POT feature is removed from a charge card. It basically means AmEx is limiting its overall exposure (personal and business) in the interim until they feel comfortable.

I did not know that, and I had cleared it with them prior. I push $10k+/mo through my Amex cards and given it's less than 1/3rd my normal monthly spend - of which I NEVER carry a balance and usually PIF the next morning/when it clears I did not expect this would be an issue. Especially when I'd called and talked to a rep and he specifically told me - $10k would not be a problem. Yes, I took note of the email and FWIW, I would have paid it immediately had I known I could pre-pay (I didn't even know that was a thing). And yes, I realize my lack of knowedge doesn't make a mistake ok. HOWEVER, me calling and telling the rep what I was doing SHOULD have resulted in him warning me, or letting me know 'x' might happen, etc. He did anything but. He was friendly, said it wouldn't be a problem and asked if I needed anything else. Why would I suspect I should pre-pay to avoid the resulting limits? I'm sorry, but I don't think what happened is justified. I went above and beyond specifically to avoid anything like this.

As for data points. I push $10-15k+ through Amex/mo all cards combined. I have nothing bad on my credit, nothing. As for income, six figures+ I'm not going to elaborate beyond that.

As an aside; My business gold has a $10k POT. I didn't want the car on that card since it isn't a business expense.

Re: Amex Gold - Sudden imposed limit (After verifying it would be ok to charge my cars deposit)

AlanGJP — Tue, 31 Aug 2021 04:52:16 GMT

@Loquat wrote:
It sucks OP, won't make light of that. But you mentioned that you don't ever go over the limit anyway so I wouldn't sweat it too much. Yep, I know it does seem like it was triggered by your larger purchase but what's done is done.

Ask them if they'll lift it...worse they can say is no. Even if they don't and the card still provides solid value...I'd say put the issue in your review mirror and carry on.

Life is too short to spend it trying to figure out what causes such things.

At the end of the day, I will rebuild my relationship with Amex. To be perfectly honest, I had an affection for Amex and... well... I feel like I've been slapped in the face. Unjustly.

I think my point is being ignored here somewhat. The main takeaway wasn't me, but what happened and if you're reading this wondering if you should do similar...

IF you intend to spend more than you normally do on your gold card, do NOT just call them and assume what you're told is true. If you have an alternative payment method, do that. Or what happened to me might happen to you too.

Or, apparently you can pre-pay. Again, had I known - I would have done that. Or you know, the rep could have told me that too.

Re: Amex Gold - Sudden imposed limit (After verifying it would be ok to charge my cars deposit)

Creditaddict — Tue, 31 Aug 2021 04:57:57 GMT

@AlanGJP wrote:
@Loquat wrote:
It sucks OP, won't make light of that. But you mentioned that you don't ever go over the limit anyway so I wouldn't sweat it too much. Yep, I know it does seem like it was triggered by your larger purchase but what's done is done.

Ask them if they'll lift it...worse they can say is no. Even if they don't and the card still provides solid value...I'd say put the issue in your review mirror and carry on.

Life is too short to spend it trying to figure out what causes such things.
At the end of the day, I will rebuild my relationship with Amex. To be perfectly honest, I had an affection for Amex and... well... I feel like I've been slapped in the face. Unjustly.

I think my point is being ignored here somewhat. The main takeaway wasn't me, but what happened and if you're reading this wondering if you should do similar...

IF you intend to spend more than you normally do on your gold card, do NOT just call them and assume what you're told is true. If you have an alternative payment method, do that. Or what happened to me might happen to you too.

Or, apparently you can pre-pay. Again, had I known - I would have done that. Or you know, the rep could have told me that too.

I think the take away is I would not change how I want to use a card or use a different card out of fear of a limit being put on or closed... that's just silly to me... I'll use something different if I get closed.

akex always has option to pay as soon as charge hits card... even still pending you can pay online most if not all.

your computer hard limit won't be the next for making a $3k purchase so it's all just a market of a possible.

Re: Amex Gold - Sudden imposed limit (After verifying it would be ok to charge my cars deposit)

AlanGJP — Tue, 31 Aug 2021 05:03:11 GMT

@Remedios wrote:
Full disclaimer, I dislike everything about Amex when it comes to charge cards, but I don't have any, so not my hill to die on.

With that said, your answer is here
You just opened businesses gold, you are pushing significant amounts through it, and now your spending on personal card increases right as you are putting large spend on business also.
Sure, you are paying, but your spending power on charge cards isn't static.
While Amex loves spending (which lender doesn't), they don't like losing money and with such significant increase in spending, they cannot tell where your "I'm overextended" line is without either voluntary IV or passage of time, which in your case did not happen.
So, if you are issuing a warning, it should come with "Take it slow at first"

Good luck and I hope it changes for you soon.

Sigh... your assessment is just incorrect. Up until I received my business gold my personal was seeing that same amount. My business has a $10k POT, had I put this charge on it -- it would NOT have been limited.

Month over month, all Amex cards combined, my overall spending hasn't changed in an amount that should raise flags. (I'm always within 20-30% of the previous month - more or less) The spending on my personal gold moved to my business - ok, that isn't shocking or unexpected. And an additional $3k charge with confirmation of it coming and being given the ok? Shouldn't be shocking or cause any limits being imposed -- IMO (I'm not Amex, so I can't speak for them, but if I was outside looking in - and pre-imformed it was coming and ok'ed it? I wouldn't be surprised)

As for me covering payments, ALWAYS - usually daily or as soon as charges clear. SAME with this $3k charge, it was PIF the morning it cleared. I'm sorry, but I disagree with your assessment.

That said...

This charge was more than two weeks ago. It was paid the morning it cleared. And weeks later the limit was imposed - AFTER my bill cut for the month and my points where credited. And FWIW - I did NOT carry a balance on ANY of my cards. None. And for the record, beyond our car, I have zero debt, no negative marks on my credit, and my income is well into six figures.

Again, I'm annoyed. I felt my relationship with Amex was growing and again, this feels like a slap in the face.

I'm venting, I suppose. In the end, this isn't a huge deal really.

Re: Amex Gold - Sudden imposed limit (After verifying it would be ok to charge my cars deposit)

AlanGJP — Tue, 31 Aug 2021 05:13:18 GMT

@Creditaddict wrote:
it sucks but if you never go over that amount anyway it won't matter... it will be reviewed at 12 months by the system to raise or remove.
and even though it's a limit, you likely can go over it... for some reason I received a set limit on my platinum business after just like 45 days but I can almost charge double what the limit they set and I receive a text or email usually after a charge that the next one will be declined unless im already way over and try to put something large on, then it might decline but with amex instant payments it's all fine...
Note, I do not have hard limits on my gold for business or my personal platinum which were both opened AFTER this business platinum and the hard limit set... it's odd but oh well.

Right, it really doesn't matter in the end. As mentioned above, I valued my relationship with Amex and I pushed the majority of my spend through them for a couple reasons. Mainly their MR system met my spend to reward the best. I have yet to use a single MR point as I'm saving them for future trips once COVID is over.

Just feels like a slap in the face. MAINLY because I'd verified it was ok before pulling the trigger and putting the deposit on that specific card. Had I known, I absolutely would have put it on another card.

From my POV, it has to be the age of my account and the amount of spend I'm putting through. It puts me in a high risk bracket (likely) based purely on the amount and age of my accounts.

Thanks for the support, the slap may sting, but it will pass in time.

Re: Amex Gold - Sudden imposed limit (After verifying it would be ok to charge my cars deposit)

AlanGJP — Tue, 31 Aug 2021 05:34:50 GMT

@Creditaddict wrote:
I think the take away is I would not change how I want to use a card or use a different card out of fear of a limit being put on or closed... that's just silly to me... I'll use something different if I get closed.
akex always has option to pay as soon as charge hits card... even still pending you can pay online most if not all.
your computer hard limit won't be the next for making a $3k purchase so it's all just a market of a possible.

Look, I didn't know I could pre-pay. I did NOT know that was a thing. I get it, it seems painfully obvious to a few of you here - and it's noted now and I'll keep that in mind.

As soon as I received the email prompting me to pay - I tried, it wouldn't let me pay anything. I had a zero balance on all my cards, as I pretty much always do.

So I thought "Alright, well I can't pay until it clears so I'll pay as soon as it does. I already called and they said I was good. I must have triggered an automated message." $3k is NOT a large sum for me. I put it on the card for the points, plain and simple, that was the ONLY reason. So from my point of view, I'd ok'ed it, I had the funds, it wasn't a problem. I wasn't thinking "oh, maybe they'll think I don't have it and lock my account". My thinking was "This is an automated message, I've already called and confirmed it's ok, I'll pay as soon as it clears on Monday."

At this point I should have brought a check and just skipped the Amex points. I'm not interested in jumping through hoops over this. I did it for the points. It was meant to be a quick 3k points, paid immediately - nothing more, nothing less.

EDIT: I want to expand on something here. You said "even still pending you can pay online most if not all." -- I think this is just patently untrue. I pay my balances in full every morning. And usually daily in the $200-400 range with usually 20-60 charges/day. I don't think I've ever once been able to pay what was pending. Unless I'm doing something wrong, the app says there is zero due and won't let me pay anything until it clears.

Re: Amex Gold - Sudden imposed limit (After verifying it would be ok to charge my cars deposit)

AlanGJP — Tue, 31 Aug 2021 05:43:54 GMT

As a point of contention...

Does anyone think my recent app spree (4 new cards plus maybe 7-10 HPs) combined with HPs from my car purchase could be the reason for this and I'm making a connection between what happened weeks ago and the sudden imposed limit, rather than Amex simply doing a SP and being worried?

Or is my first assumption more likely? I'm just having a hard time with this given my history with Amex.

Oh, I also had my DW remove me as an AU on her gold this last month. (I had that card for well over a year) I never use it and with the number of cards I have now, I figured it was time.

Maybe impossible to know with so many variables. Just frustrating to take a step back when I've been taking so many steps forward. Anyway, heading to bed...

Re: Amex Gold - Sudden imposed limit (After verifying it would be ok to charge my cars deposit)

NRB525 — Tue, 31 Aug 2021 06:56:43 GMT

Sorry to hear the hard limit was imposed. Not how we want to see our NPSL world.

Your comments about recent apps, changes in AU, yeah I would think that has something to do with it. It may also be that a $10,000 charge approval is like a gimme... and only after the algorithm starts seeing charges come in does it start to check closer on the SP data. I have no direct knowledge whether this is the case, but it seems plausible.

Another question, are there any negatives longer back in your credit file?

I recently did two Check Spending Power, one for $10k on my Gold card, then a few weeks later another for $3k on my Platinum. Both were for auto repairs. The Gold charge of $9k I routed immediately to a no-fee Plan It. My situation is a bit different thn yours because I never fast-pay my charge card charges, and have a few of my other revolvers such as PenFed, Discover and others with significant balances on low APR plans. Regular spend on all cards reports on the statement. Vacations with $3k charges at Hyatt report on that card. I never run AZEO. The theory with reporting balances naturally is that it gets the algorithms used to seeing balances, and the algorithm doesn't have a freak out when a $3k charge shows up. Building up several thousand on a single charge card statement also forces the algorithm to accept that as a typical pattern, and from what we hear, typical balance patterns are clutch for NPSL. Paying daily keeps that highest known balance very small. I don't think the algorithm is smart enough to add multdays and understand the intent of the cardholder over time, even if you see the total of charges on your statement.

Let us know how this develops over time. As noted, none of us likes to hear a hard limit was set.

Re: Amex Gold - Sudden imposed limit (After verifying it would be ok to charge my cars deposit)

jcooks — Tue, 31 Aug 2021 11:45:21 GMT

IMO, I think it's because of all the new apps. Looking back at your posts, you got approved for the personal Gold in April, then BBP in July, then in August you got the Business Gold along with 4 other new accounts from other banks. Amex probably got these red flags and imposed the hard limit because of these. If the personal Gold was your very first Amex, then that's still a relatively short time established relationship with them.

Re: Amex Gold - Sudden imposed limit (After verifying it would be ok to charge my cars deposit)

Slowlyrebuilding — Tue, 31 Aug 2021 12:32:32 GMT

As others have mentioned, call them or email them. I had my limit cut on my gold card. I sent an email complaining, stating my perfect history with Amex, etc. They never responded to the email but restored my limit the day after I sent it.

Re: Amex Gold - Sudden imposed limit (After verifying it would be ok to charge my cars deposit)

AlanGJP — Tue, 31 Aug 2021 17:11:35 GMT

So I woke up to an email from Amex explaining why... It was the new apps and cards that triggered the limit on my personal gold.

Every card I app'ed for and was approved for already show on my report. I added about 30% to my overall limits. So yeah... I can see how that would be taken as excessive lol

Last night I figured that made the most sense since I'd OK'ed the deposit. It's just the timing lined up in a way that made it difficult to ascertain exactly what was the straw that broke the camel's back.

This doesn't bother me as much, this was my fault and I knew I was taking a chance pushing that hard. The new apps, along with a new car loan, all at the same time... My spending/income supports it - easily, but I can absolutely see how that could raise flags. I'll let things age from here and hopefully things settle back down.

Take away here is, don't push too hard. I intended to wait out 5/24 after this so I app'ed hard to satiate myself until then. I spooked them, lesson learned.