topic Re: AmEx "Future transactions may be declined" in Credit Cards

AmEx "Future transactions may be declined"

TRC_WA — Tue, 24 Jan 2023 19:47:17 GMT

Hi everyone... I have a question about an email I received recently.

My $10k Delta Gold was opened in May 2022... 5+ years after filing BK 13 that didn't include AmEx. I've ran EVERYTHING through that card for $2-3k per month... and PIF each month.

I went on vacation in early December... ran up about $5k in charges over 2 weeks. I then put another $800 on it by the end of the month... my statement cut with a $5800 balance out of a $10k limit.

A couple days later a $100 charge triggered a "we recently approved a transaction but based on your recent spending you may reach your credit limit soon."

Odd... because I still had 40% of my CL left. I'm just wondering what this means? Are they nervous because I doubled/tripled my previous high spend?

I did pay the bill in full a couple days after I got the email which was my plan all along. This month I'm back to my normal $2k-$3k in spending.

Should I be worried at all? They still won't give me a CLI due to the 6 year old BK 13 on my reports... but I have been a solid usage/PIF customer since receiving the card.

Re: AmEx "Future transactions may be declined"

OmarGB9 — Tue, 24 Jan 2023 20:42:57 GMT

@TRC_WA wrote:
Hi everyone... I have a question about an email I received recently.

My $10k Delta Gold was opened in May 2022... 5+ years after filing BK 13 that didn't include AmEx. I've ran EVERYTHING through that card for $2-3k per month... and PIF each month.

I went on vacation in early December... ran up about $5k in charges over 2 weeks. I then put another $800 on it by the end of the month... my statement cut with a $5800 balance out of a $10k limit.

A couple days later a $100 charge triggered a "we recently approved a transaction but based on your recent spending you may reach your credit limit soon."

Odd... because I still had 40% of my CL left. I'm just wondering what this means? Are they nervous because I doubled/tripled my previous high spend?

I did pay the bill in full a couple days after I got the email which was my plan all along. This month I'm back to my normal $2k-$3k in spending.

Should I be worried at all? They still won't give me a CLI due to the 6 year old BK 13 on my reports... but I have been a solid usage/PIF customer since receiving the card.

They probably are nervous, yes. It's likely exacerbated by the BK still showing, even if they themselves weren't burned in it.

Re: AmEx "Future transactions may be declined"

FireMedic1 — Tue, 24 Jan 2023 20:46:28 GMT

Ive got the same thing on my BCP. Appears when I use it alot and it passes $600 out of $1000. I get the same warning. I make a $100 payment and keep going. Had to get the sub one way or another with $1000 CL. Seems to have faded since opening.

Re: AmEx "Future transactions may be declined"

7774x — Tue, 24 Jan 2023 20:52:13 GMT

@TRC_WA wrote:
Hi everyone... I have a question about an email I received recently.

My $10k Delta Gold was opened in May 2022... 5+ years after filing BK 13 that didn't include AmEx. I've ran EVERYTHING through that card for $2-3k per month... and PIF each month.

I went on vacation in early December... ran up about $5k in charges over 2 weeks. I then put another $800 on it by the end of the month... my statement cut with a $5800 balance out of a $10k limit.

A couple days later a $100 charge triggered a "we recently approved a transaction but based on your recent spending you may reach your credit limit soon."

Odd... because I still had 40% of my CL left. I'm just wondering what this means? Are they nervous because I doubled/tripled my previous high spend?

I did pay the bill in full a couple days after I got the email which was my plan all along. This month I'm back to my normal $2k-$3k in spending.

Should I be worried at all? They still won't give me a CLI due to the 6 year old BK 13 on my reports... but I have been a solid usage/PIF customer since receiving the card.

Amex must have flagged your account for some reason..I'll give my experience from some years ago maybe different in some ways now..I reguarly spent 10,000+ a month on the plat card ....then got the same message as you did from amex.. called customer service said not worry, account is current,,then went to buy a pricey Tv ...had to talk to customer service before Amex would approve charge .Wouldn't you know it 10 days later get message from Amex to send a copy tax return, or card will be suspended..Good Luck

Re: AmEx "Future transactions may be declined"

TRC_WA — Tue, 24 Jan 2023 20:54:06 GMT

@OmarGB9 wrote:
They probably are nervous, yes. It's likely exacerbated by the BK still showing, even if they themselves weren't burned in it.

Yeah that's what I'm thinking. I applied for a CLI in August and again today and was denied both times with a "Bankruptcy on your credit report" as the only reason.

It is what it is. My reports will be flawless with no baddies in a year so I'm just waiting it out. I'm sure I'll get some AmEx love down the road.

@FireMedic1 wrote:
Ive got the same thing on my BCP. Appears when I use it alot and it passes $600 out of $1000. I get the same warning. I make a $100 payment and keep going. Had to get the sub one way or another with $1000 CL. Seems to have faded since opening.

Thanks for the info. Good to know that there's a 60% barrier that triggered it for us both. I'll keep that in mind. I realistically don't expect to hit that number unless I'm spending too much money on vacation... and my next big one isn't until October.

Re: AmEx "Future transactions may be declined"

TRC_WA — Tue, 24 Jan 2023 20:56:40 GMT

@7774x wrote:
Amex must have flagged your account for some reason..I'll give my experience from some years ago maybe different in some ways now..I reguarly spent 10,000+ a month on the plat card ....then got the same message as you did from amex.. called customer service said not worry, account is current,,then went to buy a pricey Tv ...had to talk to customer service before Amex would approve charge .Wouldn't you know it 10 days later get message from Amex to send a copy tax return, or card will be suspended..Good Luck

Thanks for the reply.

I haven't gotten anything else from them about it and as said my spending is back to my normal $2-$3k per month range. Will post back if something changes... I think they are just jittery because I still have a 6 year old BK 13 showing.

Re: AmEx "Future transactions may be declined"

SeaProbe — Tue, 24 Jan 2023 23:17:15 GMT

@TRC_WA wrote:

I went on vacation in early December... ran up about $5k in charges over 2 weeks. I then put another $800 on it by the end of the month... my statement cut with a $5800 balance out of a $10k limit.

A couple days later a $100 charge triggered a "we recently approved a transaction but based on your recent spending you may reach your credit limit soon."

Odd... because I still had 40% of my CL left. I'm just wondering what this means? Are they nervous because I doubled/tripled my previous high spend?

One other possibility… AmEx has a setting to send alerts upon large transactions, card not presnt, and within $X of one's credit limit among others. Perhaps that email was generated simply as a result of your alert threshhold settings?

Re: AmEx "Future transactions may be declined"

StephenH — Tue, 24 Jan 2023 23:41:26 GMT

In my opinion, nothing to worry about. I used to get this on my BCP. My profile was clean at the time and always PIF w/ 10-15k charged to the card month-over-month.

Re: AmEx "Future transactions may be declined"

sophiebelle — Wed, 25 Jan 2023 02:10:37 GMT

I had this happen once before with my Platinum card. I immediately made a payment but was kind of baffled by it. Then about 2-3 weeks later, I get a letter from AMEX telling me that they sent that email in error.

Re: AmEx "Future transactions may be declined"

Chazzay12 — Wed, 25 Jan 2023 13:05:28 GMT

Similar to what @FireMedic1 said, I have a 1k limit and get that email every time my balance is up to roughly 50-60%. I've had my card since September 2022.

I think from what I've read over time they stop sending those once they know you're spending. My guess is you've never hit that Utl threshold due to having a good limit, therefore haven't seen the message.

I will say I've always been able to continue to use it all the way up to limit, never payed too much mind to that message since I'm paying on time and in full. I just prefer to just make one to two payments in full per month on cards around pay day & statement closing.

Re: AmEx "Future transactions may be declined"

TRC_WA — Wed, 25 Jan 2023 19:04:20 GMT

@Chazzay12 wrote:

I think from what I've read over time they stop sending those once they know you're spending. My guess is you've never hit that Utl threshold due to having a good limit, therefore haven't seen the message.

Yes that's what it looks like to me. I'm still somewhat shocked they gave me the limit that they did. I had the exact same card from 2015-2017 with a $1k limit... and paid it off and closed it prior to filing BK 13 because I didn't want to burn the AmEx bridge.

5+ years after filing they approved me for the same card with 10x the limit.

No idea why but I'm doing everything to stay in their good graces.

Thanks for chiming in everyone.

Re: AmEx "Future transactions may be declined"

MT64 — Thu, 26 Jan 2023 15:57:13 GMT

Maybe it's just their algorithim reflecting on the recent increase in spending (trending) and nothing more?

I would believe that over some scare tactic or other negative business motive, otherwise what is the point of offering x amount of credit as a business to begin with? They are in it for the money. The more you spend, the more they make, regardless.

I love this forum for the endless amount of priceless info but can't help but always see two sides to an extreme: it's either you have a million dollars in credit that you never touch or what little you do use is is bad so always PIF before it hits statemet or you almost max your cards out because you have things you actually need to buy/get and then that's also bad. I would gather they'd likely decrease you for lack of use, not too much.

As long as you're paying and possibly even a little more than the minimum each month, I can't see concern. Ultimately, I do think this is just a computer thing on their end and just a cautionary warning based on the amount spent vs. available, nothing more.

Re: AmEx "Future transactions may be declined"

Brian_Earl_Spilner — Thu, 26 Jan 2023 16:10:43 GMT

They're simply sending a reminder that you've used a significant amount of your limit. The message you need to watch out for is future transactions may be declined. If by your limit, pretty self-explanatory. If your still a bit off then you've popped up on their radar.

Re: AmEx "Future transactions may be declined"

TheRedHat — Thu, 26 Jan 2023 16:38:26 GMT

Got the same message for my Platinum. I think my internal limit is around $6,000. I am around $5,000 on it right now. Not making any more charges until I pay it off.

Re: AmEx "Future transactions may be declined"

TRC_WA — Thu, 26 Jan 2023 17:38:15 GMT

@MT64 wrote:

As long as you're paying and possibly even a little more than the minimum each month, I can't see concern. Ultimately, I do think this is just a computer thing on their end and just a cautionary warning based on the amount spent vs. available, nothing more.

Yeah that's why it was odd because I've had the card for 7 months and I've PIF every month.

@Brian_Earl_Spilner wrote:
They're simply sending a reminder that you've used a significant amount of your limit. The message you need to watch out for is future transactions may be declined. If by your limit, pretty self-explanatory. If your still a bit off then you've popped up on their radar.

That's the message I got... Future transactions may be declined. I got it after a $100 transaction that put me at 60% of my limit. I PIF a few days later. I dunno... previous high balance was 34% of my limit so I guess they got spooked.

@TheRedHat wrote:
Got the same message for my Platinum. I think my internal limit is around $6,000. I am around $5,000 on it right now. Not making any more charges until I pay it off.

Yeah... I PIF a few days later like I have every month and haven't heard anything else. The new statement just cut at the normal 20% of my limit.

Re: AmEx "Future transactions may be declined"

Remedios — Thu, 26 Jan 2023 18:38:11 GMT

@MT64 wrote:
Maybe it's just their algorithim reflecting on the recent increase in spending (trending) and nothing more?

I would believe that over some scare tactic or other negative business motive, otherwise what is the point of offering x amount of credit as a business to begin with? They are in it for the money. The more you spend, the more they make, regardless.

I love this forum for the endless amount of priceless info but can't help but always see two sides to an extreme: it's either you have a million dollars in credit that you never touch or what little you do use is is bad so always PIF before it hits statemet or you almost max your cards out because you have things you actually need to buy/get and then that's also bad. I would gather they'd likely decrease you for lack of use, not too much.

As long as you're paying and possibly even a little more than the minimum each month, I can't see concern. Ultimately, I do think this is just a computer thing on their end and just a cautionary warning based on the amount spent vs. available, nothing more.

Well, paying "a little over minimum" on Amex card is one way to make sure they decline 0.01 charge. It's not a computer thing, it's Amex's way to ensure they get paid, especially when profile isn't *clean* and/or new customer.

Amex is very much data driven, so when one pays "a little over minimum", the only conclusion they will draw is that one can only afford to pay a little bit, therefore not allowing any additional charges is not going to happen.

If a card is in 0% promo, Amex doesn't eat babies if they don't get payment in full, but payments should be reasonable.

Anyway, OP isn't carrying a balance, so that's not even the issue.

Re: AmEx "Future transactions may be declined"

TRC_WA — Thu, 26 Jan 2023 18:55:38 GMT

@Remedios wrote:

Anyway, OP isn't carrying a balance, so that's not even the issue.

Yep... as said they probably got spooked because I went way over my previous high spend for the previous 6 months (but still only 60% of my limit) but I had an excuse... I was on vacation and surely they were happy with the PIF.

Another thing is it's probably because I still have the 2017 BK 13 showing. As much as I hear about AmEx being generous with their CLIs I haven't gotten one in 3 tries... with the "bankruptcy on credit report" as the only reason for denial.

Not a huge deal because I have a nice limit but it's obvious that I'm stuck waiting for any potential CLIs until my baddies fall off in a year.

Re: AmEx "Future transactions may be declined"

MT64 — Thu, 26 Jan 2023 19:13:21 GMT

If true, that would just be absurd on AMEX part and since that's not even the issue as you said the OP is carrying a 0 balance. If they're as data driven as you say they are then I would bet that's all it is, part of their algorithim and nothing to actually be alarmed about. Honestly, it's not war against the consumer and credit doesn't just disappear because you reach a mere half of available credit to you unless there's something else driving it in a negative factor else where but spending or utilizing it sn't it.

However, if that was indeed the case (I do not believe it to be), I sure wouldn't be keeping AMEX or any card that treats you that way.

Re: AmEx "Future transactions may be declined"

OmarGB9 — Thu, 26 Jan 2023 20:59:42 GMT

@TRC_WA wrote:
@Remedios wrote:

Anyway, OP isn't carrying a balance, so that's not even the issue.

Yep... as said they probably got spooked because I went way over my previous high spend for the previous 6 months (but still only 60% of my limit) but I had an excuse... I was on vacation and surely they were happy with the PIF.

Another thing is it's probably because I still have the 2017 BK 13 showing. As much as I hear about AmEx being generous with their CLIs I haven't gotten one in 3 tries... with the "bankruptcy on credit report" as the only reason for denial.

Not a huge deal because I have a nice limit but it's obvious that I'm stuck waiting for any potential CLIs until my baddies fall off in a year.

One thing I actually just remembered and nobody else has brought up: Amex will sometimes approve you with baddies showing, but CLIs will be a no-go until said baddies fall off.

Re: AmEx "Future transactions may be declined"

TRC_WA — Thu, 26 Jan 2023 21:01:45 GMT

@OmarGB9 wrote:
One thing I actually just remembered and nobody else has brought up: Amex will sometimes approve you with baddies showing, but CLIs will be a no-go until said baddies fall off.

Speaking from experience this is 100% true.