topic Re: AMEX Decreased my Limit From 14K to 1800. I'm Devastated. in Credit Cards

AMEX CLD From 14K to $1800. I'm Devastated.

Luxeedee — Sat, 01 Apr 2023 22:05:23 GMT

I don't know what I did wrong. I was careful to spend and not carry a balance more than 2-3 months. For two years I used it and paid it off, never going beyond a few months and never paying late. I got a lot of sweet offers and fell in love with another card or two.AMEX raised my APR quietly while increasing my limit. So instead of using them and their 24% card, I switched my heavy usage to a 9% card. Who wouldn't.

Today I took my 14K Amex and decided to charge $1300. In minutes I got an email saying My credit limit had been decreased to $1800!!! There's no way in hell I would have used the card if I knew it would instantly make me look like I'd nearly maxed it out! I look really sloppy right now because of them. I'm planning on paying it at the end of the week and the sock drawering that nuclear bomb.

Why would they do this? I have a perfect payment streak, and a 696 credit score. I was careful to use but did not abuse their card. I have two other large cards with 50% usage that are paid promptly. I have smaller cards that are niche cards paid off every month, like a medical card, and an Apple card I used for my school computer.

Re: AMEX Decreased my Limit From 14K to 1800. I'm Devastated.

sznthescore — Tue, 28 Mar 2023 23:35:56 GMT

Sorry to hear that this has happened to you. Could have been other accounts with other creditors. Have those balances reported to credit bureaus. It has to be something Amex saw that spooked them.

Re: AMEX Decreased my Limit From 14K to 1800. I'm Devastated.

fury1995 — Tue, 28 Mar 2023 23:58:35 GMT

@Luxeedee wrote:
I don't know what I did wrong. I was careful to spend and not carry a balance more than 2-3 months. For two years I used it and paid it off, never going beyond a few months and never paying late. I got a lot of sweet offers and fell in love with another card or two.AMEX raised my APR quietly while increasing my limit. So instead of using them and their 24% card, I switched my heavy usage to a 9% card. Who wouldn't.

Today I took my 14K Amex and decided to charge $1300. In minutes I got an email saying My credit limit had been decreased to $1800!!! There's no way in hell I would have used the card if I knew it would instantly make me look like I'd nearly maxed it out! I look really sloppy right now because of them. I'm planning on paying it at the end of the week and the sock drawering that nuclear bomb.

Why would they do this? I have a perfect payment streak, and a 696 credit score. I was careful to use but did not abuse their card. I have two other large cards with 50% usage that are paid promptly. I have smaller cards that are niche cards paid off every month, like a medical card, and an Apple card I used for my school computer.

I suspect it was these two account reporting and Amex likely did an A/R and saw the UTI make a dramtic change. ~~Timing is EVERYTHING when you put heavy spend on cards that you PIF.~~

Edited to add: I see that you have been increasing those balances and increasing the UTI on 3 of your cards for school since last year. The combined limit increase request with Amex and increasing balances with Navy, Apple and PSECU is what is spooking Amex. You increased your NFCU then pushed the UTI to 50% reecntly and they likely think you will push your balance to 50% with them as well and are taking action before that can happen. They're balance chasing your card.

Re: AMEX Decreased my Limit From 14K to 1800. I'm Devastated.

Gunnerboy — Tue, 28 Mar 2023 23:43:12 GMT

@Luxeedee Was this an out-of-the-norm transaction? Have you ever spent close to that amount in a single transaction on this card?

Re: AMEX Decreased my Limit From 14K to 1800. I'm Devastated.

Priory_Man — Wed, 29 Mar 2023 00:17:31 GMT

If that is a charge that is out of the norm for that card or with AMEX in general they will sometimes drop your limit until they can verify it was you that made the transaction. I would call them if this happened me.

Re: AMEX Decreased my Limit From 14K to 1800. I'm Devastated.

K-in-Boston — Wed, 29 Mar 2023 00:33:27 GMT

@Luxeedee wrote:
I don't know what I did wrong. I was careful to spend and not carry a balance more than 2-3 months. For two years I used it and paid it off, never going beyond a few months and never paying late. I got a lot of sweet offers and fell in love with another card or two.AMEX raised my APR quietly while increasing my limit. So instead of using them and their 24% card, I switched my heavy usage to a 9% card. Who wouldn't.

Today I took my 14K Amex and decided to charge $1300. In minutes I got an email saying My credit limit had been decreased to $1800!!! There's no way in hell I would have used the card if I knew it would instantly make me look like I'd nearly maxed it out! I look really sloppy right now because of them. I'm planning on paying it at the end of the week and the sock drawering that nuclear bomb.

Why would they do this? I have a perfect payment streak, and a 696 credit score. I was careful to use but did not abuse their card. I have two other large cards with 50% usage that are paid promptly. I have smaller cards that are niche cards paid off every month, like a medical card, and an Apple card I used for my school computer.

@fury1995 covered this already, but it's definitely going to be risk mitigation and balance chasing. Regardless of what you are paying other lenders, all Amex can see is your credit reports when they do their regular account reviews. If you have multiple cards with very high utilization, they are going to assume that you are carrying these balances, even if you are using a substantial portion of your credit line and paying in full each month.

You mentioned a perfect payment "streak" - does that mean you have previous negative history on your reports but have been paying on-time for a while, or that you have always paid every account on time? There's a big difference there; 696 without other blemishes seems a bit on the low end for FICO 8 and is definitely a bit under where Amex would typically be comfortable with larger credit lines. Once your balances are paid down, it should be quite easy to restore your credit line.

As for "So instead of using them and their 24% card, I switched my heavy usage to a 9% card. Who wouldn't." Those who want rewards from credit cards would be the answer there. With grace periods, whether the APR is 0% or 30% doesn't matter when the statement bal;ance is paid. Amex cards are generally not good for carrying balances outside of promotional offers. As with most rewards cards, carrying a balance offsets the rewards earned and depending on the card and APR you end up paying more in interest than what the rewards are valued at. A majority of consumers carry balances, but rewards cards are not the best way to do so financially.

Re: AMEX Decreased my Limit From 14K to 1800. I'm Devastated.

RSX — Wed, 29 Mar 2023 01:38:19 GMT

Adding one more thing as the rest has already been covered

amex wasn't quietly raising your APR. every Lender has been doing this. There have been 7 or 9 benchmark rate increases over the last 15 months

i think you should check your Apple APR, as mine has raised by close to 5% since 2021

also check your other cards. Most of mine have gone up. Only 1 or 2 haven't.

Re: AMEX Decreased my Limit From 14K to 1800. I'm Devastated.

SouthJamaica — Wed, 29 Mar 2023 02:09:35 GMT

@Luxeedee wrote:
I don't know what I did wrong. I was careful to spend and not carry a balance more than 2-3 months. For two years I used it and paid it off, never going beyond a few months and never paying late. I got a lot of sweet offers and fell in love with another card or two.AMEX raised my APR quietly while increasing my limit. So instead of using them and their 24% card, I switched my heavy usage to a 9% card. Who wouldn't.

Today I took my 14K Amex and decided to charge $1300. In minutes I got an email saying My credit limit had been decreased to $1800!!! There's no way in hell I would have used the card if I knew it would instantly make me look like I'd nearly maxed it out! I look really sloppy right now because of them. I'm planning on paying it at the end of the week and the sock drawering that nuclear bomb.

Why would they do this? I have a perfect payment streak, and a 696 credit score. I was careful to use but did not abuse their card. I have two other large cards with 50% usage that are paid promptly. I have smaller cards that are niche cards paid off every month, like a medical card, and an Apple card I used for my school computer.

I would call and ask them to reinstate your credit limit.

Re: AMEX Decreased my Limit From 14K to 1800. I'm Devastated.

Luxeedee — Wed, 29 Mar 2023 02:58:31 GMT

@Gunnerboy wrote:
@Luxeedee Was this an out-of-the-norm transaction? Have you ever spent close to that amount in a single transaction on this card?

No, it was not out of the norm. I had a 0% offer for 18 months and charged everything I could to goose my starting limit up from $2K. I charged then paid for nearly 2 years.

Re: AMEX Decreased my Limit From 14K to 1800. I'm Devastated.

Luxeedee — Wed, 29 Mar 2023 03:00:35 GMT

@Priory_Man wrote:
If that is a charge that is out of the norm for that card or with AMEX in general they will sometimes drop your limit until they can verify it was you that made the transaction. I would call them if this happened me.

I thought about calling them, then I remembered you guys could give better context. I need an idea of whether I can correct the problem in case it isn't a security overreaction.

Re: AMEX Decreased my Limit From 14K to 1800. I'm Devastated.

Luxeedee — Wed, 29 Mar 2023 03:19:34 GMT

@K-in-Boston wrote:
@Luxeedee wrote:
I don't know what I did wrong. I was careful to spend and not carry a balance more than 2-3 months. For two years I used it and paid it off, never going beyond a few months and never paying late. I got a lot of sweet offers and fell in love with another card or two.AMEX raised my APR quietly while increasing my limit. So instead of using them and their 24% card, I switched my heavy usage to a 9% card. Who wouldn't.

Today I took my 14K Amex and decided to charge $1300. In minutes I got an email saying My credit limit had been decreased to $1800!!! There's no way in hell I would have used the card if I knew it would instantly make me look like I'd nearly maxed it out! I look really sloppy right now because of them. I'm planning on paying it at the end of the week and the sock drawering that nuclear bomb.

Why would they do this? I have a perfect payment streak, and a 696 credit score. I was careful to use but did not abuse their card. I have two other large cards with 50% usage that are paid promptly. I have smaller cards that are niche cards paid off every month, like a medical card, and an Apple card I used for my school computer.
@fury1995 covered this already, but it's definitely going to be risk mitigation and balance chasing. Regardless of what you are paying other lenders, all Amex can see is your credit reports when they do their regular account reviews. If you have multiple cards with very high utilization, they are going to assume that you are carrying these balances, even if you are using a substantial portion of your credit line and paying in full each month.

You mentioned a perfect payment "streak" - does that mean you have previous negative history on your reports but have been paying on-time for a while, or that you have always paid every account on time? There's a big difference there; 696 without other blemishes seems a bit on the low end for FICO 8 and is definitely a bit under where Amex would typically be comfortable with larger credit lines. Once your balances are paid down, it should be quite easy to restore your credit line.

As for "So instead of using them and their 24% card, I switched my heavy usage to a 9% card. Who wouldn't." Those who want rewards from credit cards would be the answer there. With grace periods, whether the APR is 0% or 30% doesn't matter when the statement bal;ance is paid. Amex cards are generally not good for carrying balances outside of promotional offers. As with most rewards cards, carrying a balance offsets the rewards earned and depending on the card and APR you end up paying more in interest than what the rewards are valued at. A majority of consumers carry balances, but rewards cards are not the best way to do so financially.

I had a 3-year streak of perfect payments on my cards. A fluke happened, and I was charged for a medical procedure, but the charge was not billed. So I paid what I was billed, then received a letter for a past-due bill. I thought it was Aa scam because I kept going to the doctor's website and seeing no charge. I called to dispute it and eventually found out I was billed on different months for the same visit. I had the charge taken off my credit report, but it still screwed up my nice streak.

When I got the Amex I had a 750 credit score. It's down 50 points over a year-long period of creeping balances. I did indeed use my Amex for their 0% offer, and the month they raised the APR I paid the card off. I can't pay the cards down until June because I'm knee-deep in classes. I'm gobsmacked that I don't have the extra two months to adjust my credit profile in time for my card anniversary. I planned for it to be below 30% usage by then. Now I just want to pif and sock drawer it. I'm so mad. Maybe once I cool off I'll call them in the morning and see if they will reinstate any of my old credit limit. I live in Hurricane Alley and like to keep a bit more credit than I need because you truly never know what the elements will do.

Re: AMEX Decreased my Limit From 14K to 1800. I'm Devastated.

UncleB — Wed, 29 Mar 2023 05:20:57 GMT

@Luxeedee wrote:
When I got the Amex I had a 750 credit score. It's down 50 points over a year-long period of creeping balances. I did indeed use my Amex for their 0% offer, and the month they raised the APR I paid the card off. I can't pay the cards down until June because I'm knee-deep in classes.

At the risk of seeming like I'm piling-on, in addition to what has already been mentioned these ^^^ were likely significant factors for your AA (adverse action), or at least was what got Amex's attention (proverbial 'straw', so to speak).

A few years back I went on an ill-advised app-spree, and my credit sccores also took a dive... in my case, I ended up going from 780s-790s to the 750s - a similar drop to what you experienced. I didn't think that was anything to be concerned about and none of my other lenders flinched, but Amex noticed.

My APR was previously close to the lowest rate for the product (EveryDay card) and per the letter they sent the reason for the AA was "Your APRs...are lower than average APRs on similar cards currently offered by American Express for consumers with similar FICO scores." (see below) This same letter also provided the Experian score that caused all the drama, and it was 758 (see below). That is still the only AA I've had in the last ~10 years from any lender.

I still have the card, and it's doing fine. I've not asked for the APR to be lowered since I won't ever carry a balance on this card.

TL;DR: Amex can be twitchy when FICO scores take a significant dip. If it were me I wouldn't do anything drastic even if it might feel good in the moment. Once your scores bounce back and a little time goes by you'll very likely be able to get your limit back, and possibly even more.

Just my 2¢.

Re: AMEX Decreased my Limit From 14K to 1800. I'm Devastated.

SouthJamaica — Wed, 29 Mar 2023 14:17:54 GMT

@Luxeedee wrote:
@K-in-Boston wrote:
@Luxeedee wrote:
I don't know what I did wrong. I was careful to spend and not carry a balance more than 2-3 months. For two years I used it and paid it off, never going beyond a few months and never paying late. I got a lot of sweet offers and fell in love with another card or two.AMEX raised my APR quietly while increasing my limit. So instead of using them and their 24% card, I switched my heavy usage to a 9% card. Who wouldn't.

Today I took my 14K Amex and decided to charge $1300. In minutes I got an email saying My credit limit had been decreased to $1800!!! There's no way in hell I would have used the card if I knew it would instantly make me look like I'd nearly maxed it out! I look really sloppy right now because of them. I'm planning on paying it at the end of the week and the sock drawering that nuclear bomb.

Why would they do this? I have a perfect payment streak, and a 696 credit score. I was careful to use but did not abuse their card. I have two other large cards with 50% usage that are paid promptly. I have smaller cards that are niche cards paid off every month, like a medical card, and an Apple card I used for my school computer.
@fury1995 covered this already, but it's definitely going to be risk mitigation and balance chasing. Regardless of what you are paying other lenders, all Amex can see is your credit reports when they do their regular account reviews. If you have multiple cards with very high utilization, they are going to assume that you are carrying these balances, even if you are using a substantial portion of your credit line and paying in full each month.

You mentioned a perfect payment "streak" - does that mean you have previous negative history on your reports but have been paying on-time for a while, or that you have always paid every account on time? There's a big difference there; 696 without other blemishes seems a bit on the low end for FICO 8 and is definitely a bit under where Amex would typically be comfortable with larger credit lines. Once your balances are paid down, it should be quite easy to restore your credit line.

As for "So instead of using them and their 24% card, I switched my heavy usage to a 9% card. Who wouldn't." Those who want rewards from credit cards would be the answer there. With grace periods, whether the APR is 0% or 30% doesn't matter when the statement bal;ance is paid. Amex cards are generally not good for carrying balances outside of promotional offers. As with most rewards cards, carrying a balance offsets the rewards earned and depending on the card and APR you end up paying more in interest than what the rewards are valued at. A majority of consumers carry balances, but rewards cards are not the best way to do so financially.
I had a 3-year streak of perfect payments on my cards. A fluke happened, and I was charged for a medical procedure, but the charge was not billed. So I paid what I was billed, then received a letter for a past-due bill. I thought it was Aa scam because I kept going to the doctor's website and seeing no charge. I called to dispute it and eventually found out I was billed on different months for the same visit. I had the charge taken off my credit report, but it still screwed up my nice streak.

When I got the Amex I had a 750 credit score. It's down 50 points over a year-long period of creeping balances. I did indeed use my Amex for their 0% offer, and the month they raised the APR I paid the card off. I can't pay the cards down until June because I'm knee-deep in classes. I'm gobsmacked that I don't have the extra two months to adjust my credit profile in time for my card anniversary. I planned for it to be below 30% usage by then. Now I just want to pif and sock drawer it. I'm so mad. Maybe once I cool off I'll call them in the morning and see if they will reinstate any of my old credit limit. I live in Hurricane Alley and like to keep a bit more credit than I need because you truly never know what the elements will do.

Definitely wait until you've cooled off.

Re: AMEX Decreased my Limit From 14K to 1800. I'm Devastated.

OmarR — Wed, 29 Mar 2023 14:38:49 GMT

@Luxeedee wrote:
I live in Hurricane Alley and like to keep a bit more credit than I need because you truly never know what the elements will do.

Because of what you are experiencing, you should not rely on credit for this.

Build up an emergency cash fund instead.

Re: AMEX Decreased my Limit From 14K to 1800. I'm Devastated.

TMDSCT — Wed, 29 Mar 2023 15:09:33 GMT

@Luxeedee wrote:
I don't know what I did wrong. I was careful to spend and not carry a balance more than 2-3 months. For two years I used it and paid it off, never going beyond a few months and never paying late. I got a lot of sweet offers and fell in love with another card or two.AMEX raised my APR quietly while increasing my limit. So instead of using them and their 24% card, I switched my heavy usage to a 9% card. Who wouldn't.

Today I took my 14K Amex and decided to charge $1300. In minutes I got an email saying My credit limit had been decreased to $1800!!! There's no way in hell I would have used the card if I knew it would instantly make me look like I'd nearly maxed it out! I look really sloppy right now because of them. I'm planning on paying it at the end of the week and the sock drawering that nuclear bomb.

Why would they do this? I have a perfect payment streak, and a 696 credit score. I was careful to use but did not abuse their card. I have two other large cards with 50% usage that are paid promptly. I have smaller cards that are niche cards paid off every month, like a medical card, and an Apple card I used for my school computer.

A situation like this is tough to deal with, I'm very sorry it happened to you. Hopefully you'll get over it quickly and accept that it happened and allow time and patience to restore AMEX's faith in your credit management. You'll get there...

Re: AMEX Decreased my Limit From 14K to 1800. I'm Devastated.

MT64 — Wed, 29 Mar 2023 15:44:33 GMT

Since I think for most you're required to have at minimum a 700 score to open an account with AMEX, I'm guessing anything that hits under 700 is a red flag to them and nothing more. Wouldn't take it personal and use it to learn from and grow forward with and as others have already stated, once things have cooled off, ask for the limit to be reinstated.

Re: AMEX Decreased my Limit From 14K to 1800. I'm Devastated.

fury1995 — Wed, 29 Mar 2023 15:46:22 GMT

@Luxeedee

One final thought. American Express is a relationship bank.

An overreaction would have been if Amex had chosen to close down your card. So I wouldn't overreact to the limit decrease.

I suggest refraining from pushing your utilization higher than 50% on your other cards if you can avoid it (you mentioned PSECU). I don't know more about your situation than what you've disclosed here so I don't know if this is an extended financially tough time or if it's just that you have few avenues to accomplish what is necessary in the short term just for school then all clear..

Unlike many other banks/car issuers, Amex is very loyal, generous and forgiving.. once they get to know you.

Re: AMEX Decreased my Limit From 14K to 1800. I'm Devastated.

7774x — Wed, 29 Mar 2023 17:16:20 GMT

@Luxeedee wrote:
I don't know what I did wrong. I was careful to spend and not carry a balance more than 2-3 months. For two years I used it and paid it off, never going beyond a few months and never paying late. I got a lot of sweet offers and fell in love with another card or two.AMEX raised my APR quietly while increasing my limit. So instead of using them and their 24% card, I switched my heavy usage to a 9% card. Who wouldn't.

Today I took my 14K Amex and decided to charge $1300. In minutes I got an email saying My credit limit had been decreased to $1800!!! There's no way in hell I would have used the card if I knew it would instantly make me look like I'd nearly maxed it out! I look really sloppy right now because of them. I'm planning on paying it at the end of the week and the sock drawering that nuclear bomb.

Why would they do this? I have a perfect payment streak, and a 696 credit score. I was careful to use but did not abuse their card. I have two other large cards with 50% usage that are paid promptly. I have smaller cards that are niche cards paid off every month, like a medical card, and an Apple card I used for my school computer.

You may have been hit for some reason with the Amex credit review .. exact happened to me years ago .. 1st amex raised rates ,then cut credit line .. with no changes on CR..

Re: AMEX Decreased my Limit From 14K to 1800. I'm Devastated.

7774x — Wed, 29 Mar 2023 17:19:08 GMT

@UncleB wrote:
@Luxeedee wrote:
When I got the Amex I had a 750 credit score. It's down 50 points over a year-long period of creeping balances. I did indeed use my Amex for their 0% offer, and the month they raised the APR I paid the card off. I can't pay the cards down until June because I'm knee-deep in classes.
At the risk of seeming like I'm piling-on, in addition to what has already been mentioned these ^^^ were likely significant factors for your AA (adverse action), or at least was what got Amex's attention (proverbial 'straw', so to speak).

A few years back I went on an ill-advised app-spree, and my credit sccores also took a dive... in my case, I ended up going from 780s-790s to the 750s - a similar drop to what you experienced. I didn't think that was anything to be concerned about and none of my other lenders flinched, but Amex noticed.

My APR was previously close to the lowest rate for the product (EveryDay card) and per the letter they sent the reason for the AA was "Your APRs...are lower than average APRs on similar cards currently offered by American Express for consumers with similar FICO scores." (see below) This same letter also provided the Experian score that caused all the drama, and it was 758 (see below). That is still the only AA I've had in the last ~10 years from any lender.

I still have the card, and it's doing fine. I've not asked for the APR to be lowered since I won't ever carry a balance on this card.

TL;DR: Amex can be twitchy when FICO scores take a significant dip. If it were me I wouldn't do anything drastic even if it might feel good in the moment. Once your scores bounce back and a little time goes by you'll very likely be able to get your limit back, and possibly even more.

Just my 2¢.

.. Many other cards give out high limits...that are Not twitchy....

Re: AMEX Decreased my Limit From 14K to 1800. I'm Devastated.

Remedios — Wed, 29 Mar 2023 22:44:44 GMT

Amex isn't twitchy, they are data driven.

I'm not a fan girl but when Amex does CLD or closes account for reasons other than non-use, others follow but much later and they do it once poop emoji already happened.

They are all about risk mitigation and you're a high risk customer with high utilization.

Once your situation changes, card will grow again.

As far as 'Been paying it for two years", everyone pays until they don't. Amex doesn't want to have too much exposure when *don't* happens. Also, paying is the norm, it's not something we get a cookie for.

We do get cookie taken away for paying too little or not paying.

It's one of those situations where cliche such as "it is what it is" perfectly explains it.