topic Re: Amex NPSL in Credit Cards

Amex NPSL

Anonymous — Fri, 03 Feb 2012 17:56:26 GMT

Last month I mentioned that I've started to use my Amex Green as my primary card. I'm ramping up my spending gradually so that I don't trigger any flags from a sudden spike in activity. I've had the card since May of last year and started using it very gently, only $300-$500/mo. In November, my statement was just over $700; for December, just over $600. I paid my January statement the day it cut, for $958.26.

I'm planning on putting ~$1200 or so through the card this month. But, every time I get close to where my largest past balance was, I get nervous about whether or not the charge will go through. This is because I really have no idea of what my internal limit is. And having spent so much time with subprime credit, I'm used to small limits. I've paid each statement promptly, either the day it cuts or within a few days, well ahead of the due date. I'm assuming that I'm developing some trust with Amex and that my internal limit is creeping up. Does anyone here have any ideas on how this works? Am I overworrying?

Re: Amex NPSL

seattletravels — Fri, 03 Feb 2012 18:00:39 GMT

I can't really speak for Amex - but I did have a question for you regarding your history when you were approved for Amex, if you don't mind sharing. I know in the gardening thread you mentioned you are waiting for some baddies to fall of this summer. Do you mind sharing what they are and how long you had them when you were approved for Amex?

Re: Amex NPSL

pizzadude — Fri, 03 Feb 2012 18:03:23 GMT

IMO, your internal limit is probably higher than you realize. You could even use the "Check your spending ability" button. There's no harm at trying it, that's why they put it there. Just don't go crazy trying it 40 times in a day.

I'd try maybe 2K or something similar, if it doesn't say that you are approved then try again, maybe 1500...

You aren't going to get FR'd for using the button. Just don't abuse it.

Re: Amex NPSL

birjest — Fri, 03 Feb 2012 18:05:32 GMT

I can help...I have the AMEX Zync. I am station abroad and I called AMEX last week about it. I explained to them that I would like to know my limit incase I need to buy a last minute airline ticket for an emergency flight back to the US. They told me my limit was $3750, and I ask if I could have $5000. The wonderful rep came back, and said that my limit was bump up to $4200. Fine by me, since the military pays for such expenses, but at least I now know my limit.

Re: Amex NPSL

CS800 — Fri, 03 Feb 2012 18:16:19 GMT

@Anonymous wrote:
Last month I mentioned that I've started to use my Amex Green as my primary card. I'm ramping up my spending gradually so that I don't trigger any flags from a sudden spike in activity. I've had the card since May of last year and started using it very gently, only $300-$500/mo. In November, my statement was just over $700; for December, just over $600. I paid my January statement the day it cut, for $958.26.

I'm planning on putting ~$1200 or so through the card this month. But, every time I get close to where my largest past balance was, I get nervous about whether or not the charge will go through. This is because I really have no idea of what my internal limit is. And having spent so much time with subprime credit, I'm used to small limits. I've paid each statement promptly, either the day it cuts or within a few days, well ahead of the due date. I'm assuming that I'm developing some trust with Amex and that my internal limit is creeping up. Does anyone here have any ideas on how this works? Am I overworrying?

With the charge cards, AMEX studies your habits so as they see that you'r'e slowing ramping up, they would not have an issue with it. When I got my platinum i did the same thing. Started with 400 then the following month went up to 900. Now on any given month the min i put on it is 1800 and the max can be 9-10k. Then it goes back down to 1800. I have never had any problems with it. I did not use the 'check your spending'.

Re: Amex NPSL

Anonymous — Fri, 03 Feb 2012 18:17:52 GMT

@seattletravels wrote:
I can't really speak for Amex - but I did have a question for you regarding your history when you were approved for Amex, if you don't mind sharing. I know in the gardening thread you mentioned you are waiting for some baddies to fall of this summer. Do you mind sharing what they are and how long you had them when you were approved for Amex?

I don't mind at all. I was approved with scores in the mid 600s and 2 CAs and 4 COs showing. The baddies were from 6-7 years prior; one CA and 2 COs have since aged off. Not only that, I had an old charge off with Amex from 20 years ago that was never paid, and I know that they were aware of it. When I received the offer in the mail, I was ready to toss it as I didn't believe that I stood a snowball's chance in SW Florida of being approved. But, some members of this forum told me that if I was blacklisted, they wouldn't even pull an inq, but would just reject the application. I pulled the trigger and was floored at the approval. Please bear in mind, I believe that my experience is very atypical.

Re: Amex NPSL

seattletravels — Fri, 03 Feb 2012 18:20:17 GMT

@Anonymous wrote:

I don't mind at all. I was approved with scores in the mid 600s and 2 CAs and 4 COs showing. The baddies were from 6-7 years prior; one CA and 2 COs have since aged off. Not only that, I had an old charge off with Amex from 20 years ago that was never paid, and I know that they were aware of it. When I received the offer in the mail, I was ready to toss it as I didn't believe that I stood a snowball's chance in SW Florida of being approved. But, some members of this forum told me that if I was blacklisted, they wouldn't even pull an inq, but would just reject the application. I pulled the trigger and was floored at the approval. Please bear in mind, I believe that my experience is very atypical.

Thank you for sharing. I was considering applying next year but wasnt sure if there was any chance in Hades. lol. I have a few baddies but they are all 5-6 years old at this point.

Re: Amex NPSL

Anonymous — Fri, 03 Feb 2012 18:24:28 GMT

@CS800 wrote:
@Anonymous wrote:
Last month I mentioned that I've started to use my Amex Green as my primary card. I'm ramping up my spending gradually so that I don't trigger any flags from a sudden spike in activity. I've had the card since May of last year and started using it very gently, only $300-$500/mo. In November, my statement was just over $700; for December, just over $600. I paid my January statement the day it cut, for $958.26.

I'm planning on putting ~$1200 or so through the card this month. But, every time I get close to where my largest past balance was, I get nervous about whether or not the charge will go through. This is because I really have no idea of what my internal limit is. And having spent so much time with subprime credit, I'm used to small limits. I've paid each statement promptly, either the day it cuts or within a few days, well ahead of the due date. I'm assuming that I'm developing some trust with Amex and that my internal limit is creeping up. Does anyone here have any ideas on how this works? Am I overworrying?
With the charge cards, AMEX studies your habits so as they see that you'r'e slowing ramping up, they would not have an issue with it. When I got my platinum i did the same thing. Started with 400 then the following month went up to 900. Now on any given month the min i put on it is 1800 and the max can be 9-10k. Then it goes back down to 1800. I have never had any problems with it. I did not use the 'check your spending'.

Thanks. With all appreciation for the other replies, I'd prefer not to play with the button or call in. I've thought of calling in as part of me would love to know, but I just don't want to rock the boat. I feel very lucky to have been approved at all and don't want to appear on their radar.

My DH and I are planning a trip at the end of this year, and I'd like to book it through Amex sometime this summer and use my points. So, I want my spending to be increased enough so that booking a trip won't make too huge a spike. Yes, it WILL be a spike because I'll have my monthly spending on their as well. But, Amex should be used to that when people put vacation expenses on their cards. Still, I'd like to show more usage on the card on a routine basis before making such a large purchase.

Re: Amex NPSL

Anonymous — Fri, 03 Feb 2012 18:25:16 GMT

Have you tried to use the thing on AMEX's website that tells you whether or not you would get approved for a charge of X amount?

Re: Amex NPSL

Anonymous — Fri, 03 Feb 2012 18:26:04 GMT

@seattletravels wrote:
@Anonymous wrote:

I don't mind at all. I was approved with scores in the mid 600s and 2 CAs and 4 COs showing. The baddies were from 6-7 years prior; one CA and 2 COs have since aged off. Not only that, I had an old charge off with Amex from 20 years ago that was never paid, and I know that they were aware of it. When I received the offer in the mail, I was ready to toss it as I didn't believe that I stood a snowball's chance in SW Florida of being approved. But, some members of this forum told me that if I was blacklisted, they wouldn't even pull an inq, but would just reject the application. I pulled the trigger and was floored at the approval. Please bear in mind, I believe that my experience is very atypical.
Thank you for sharing. I was considering applying next year but wasnt sure if there was any chance in Hades. lol. I have a few baddies but they are all 5-6 years old at this point.

Amex can be a strange beast. Some people with decent scores and clean reports get rejected, and then every once in a while someone like me manages to get approved. I don't quite get it, but they do seem to have their own system.

Good luck apping when you're ready.

Re: Amex NPSL

Anonymous — Fri, 03 Feb 2012 18:27:32 GMT

@Anonymous wrote:
Have you tried to use the thing on AMEX's website that tells you whether or not you would get approved for a charge of X amount?

I used it a grand total of ONCE, and that was the day that I got the card. I was quite sheepish and only tried $200 just to make sure that the card was active and ready to go. I haven't used it since, not after the comments that I've read here that advise against it.

Re: Amex NPSL

Anonymous — Fri, 03 Feb 2012 18:43:18 GMT

@Anonymous wrote:
@Anonymous wrote:
Have you tried to use the thing on AMEX's website that tells you whether or not you would get approved for a charge of X amount?

I used it a grand total of ONCE, and that was the day that I got the card. I was quite sheepish and only tried $200 just to make sure that the card was active and ready to go. I haven't used it since, not after the comments that I've read here that advise against it.

I think you'll be fine using it a few times. Just don't abuse it.

Re: Amex NPSL

pizzadude — Fri, 03 Feb 2012 18:44:56 GMT

I used it a grand total of ONCE, and that was the day that I got the card. I was quite sheepish and only tried $200 just to make sure that the card was active and ready to go. I haven't used it since, not after the comments that I've read here that advise against it.

They put it there for the exact reason of allowing you to check your internal limit. You can use it without fear of reprisal or being FR'd. But just don't click on it repeatedly or excessively.

Re: Amex NPSL

OhioCPA — Fri, 03 Feb 2012 18:55:14 GMT

I have used the "check spending limit" button on a regular basis since I received my Amex cards back in June. I don't see any reason not to use it, just don't abuse it and you should be fine.

Re: Amex NPSL

Anonymous — Fri, 03 Feb 2012 19:10:13 GMT

@Anonymous wrote:
@seattletravels wrote:
I can't really speak for Amex - but I did have a question for you regarding your history when you were approved for Amex, if you don't mind sharing. I know in the gardening thread you mentioned you are waiting for some baddies to fall of this summer. Do you mind sharing what they are and how long you had them when you were approved for Amex?

I don't mind at all. I was approved with scores in the mid 600s and 2 CAs and 4 COs showing. The baddies were from 6-7 years prior; one CA and 2 COs have since aged off. Not only that, I had an old charge off with Amex from 20 years ago that was never paid, and I know that they were aware of it. When I received the offer in the mail, I was ready to toss it as I didn't believe that I stood a snowball's chance in SW Florida of being approved. But, some members of this forum told me that if I was blacklisted, they wouldn't even pull an inq, but would just reject the application. I pulled the trigger and was floored at the approval. Please bear in mind, I believe that my experience is very atypical.

I'm afraid part of this is inaccurate. When you said that if you are blacklisted they don't pull you, that's not what I saw. I burned them years ago, and had applied April of last year for Zync, which was declined and which shows as an inquiry on my EX. This summer my employer told me to apply for a corporate AMEX which I did, which was declined because I burned them years ago and they required payment on the CO accounts (green and blue) before they would consider the corporate card. To me, that tells me I'm blacklisted, wouldn't you think so?

So, I'm not sure this is quite accurate, wanted to post in case it is of help to anyone.

Re: Amex NPSL

Anonymous — Fri, 03 Feb 2012 19:16:36 GMT

Thanks to everyone for your input. I appreciate the different responses. I think that what I'm going to do is this:

Continue ramping up gradually. I'll run ~$1200 through the card this month, about ~$1500 next month, and after that stop worrying about it and just use it for my normal spending. I think that so long as I use/pay, use/pay (lather/rinse/repeat) every month, I should be fine.

Of course, I could always pay weekly, but I've had to do that to stay under the limit on my subprime cards and I'm trying to get away from that. Also, I want to be able to have a larger balance show on my CRs -- since it doesn't factor into my util on EQ or the latest TU -- so that I can demonstrate to future lenders that I can rack up larger balances and pay them off monthly.

When summer comes and I want to book the trip, I'll either use the button to see if the charge will clear, or perhaps call up CS and explain that I'm getting ready to make a larger than normal purchase and find out what my limit is.

This seems like a reasonable approach. Thanks again, myFICO friends.

Re: Amex NPSL

Anonymous — Fri, 03 Feb 2012 19:19:20 GMT

@Anonymous wrote:
@Anonymous wrote:
@seattletravels wrote:
I can't really speak for Amex - but I did have a question for you regarding your history when you were approved for Amex, if you don't mind sharing. I know in the gardening thread you mentioned you are waiting for some baddies to fall of this summer. Do you mind sharing what they are and how long you had them when you were approved for Amex?

I don't mind at all. I was approved with scores in the mid 600s and 2 CAs and 4 COs showing. The baddies were from 6-7 years prior; one CA and 2 COs have since aged off. Not only that, I had an old charge off with Amex from 20 years ago that was never paid, and I know that they were aware of it. When I received the offer in the mail, I was ready to toss it as I didn't believe that I stood a snowball's chance in SW Florida of being approved. But, some members of this forum told me that if I was blacklisted, they wouldn't even pull an inq, but would just reject the application. I pulled the trigger and was floored at the approval. Please bear in mind, I believe that my experience is very atypical.
I'm afraid part of this is inaccurate. When you said that if you are blacklisted they don't pull you, that's not what I saw. I burned them years ago, and had applied April of last year for Zync, which was declined and which shows as an inquiry on my EX. This summer my employer told me to apply for a corporate AMEX which I did, which was declined because I burned them years ago and they required payment on the CO accounts (green and blue) before they would consider the corporate card. To me, that tells me I'm blacklisted, wouldn't you think so?

So, I'm not sure this is quite accurate, wanted to post in case it is of help to anyone.

Thanks for sharing your experience. I was simply relating what I was told. In my case, since I was approved, I don't know what would have happened had it been otherwise. Sorry to hear that you took the inq.

Re: Amex NPSL

Anonymous — Fri, 03 Feb 2012 19:19:46 GMT

@Anonymous wrote:
@Anonymous wrote:
@seattletravels wrote:
I can't really speak for Amex - but I did have a question for you regarding your history when you were approved for Amex, if you don't mind sharing. I know in the gardening thread you mentioned you are waiting for some baddies to fall of this summer. Do you mind sharing what they are and how long you had them when you were approved for Amex?

I don't mind at all. I was approved with scores in the mid 600s and 2 CAs and 4 COs showing. The baddies were from 6-7 years prior; one CA and 2 COs have since aged off. Not only that, I had an old charge off with Amex from 20 years ago that was never paid, and I know that they were aware of it. When I received the offer in the mail, I was ready to toss it as I didn't believe that I stood a snowball's chance in SW Florida of being approved. But, some members of this forum told me that if I was blacklisted, they wouldn't even pull an inq, but would just reject the application. I pulled the trigger and was floored at the approval. Please bear in mind, I believe that my experience is very atypical.
I'm afraid part of this is inaccurate. When you said that if you are blacklisted they don't pull you, that's not what I saw. I burned them years ago, and had applied April of last year for Zync, which was declined and which shows as an inquiry on my EX. This summer my employer told me to apply for a corporate AMEX which I did, which was declined because I burned them years ago and they required payment on the CO accounts (green and blue) before they would consider the corporate card. To me, that tells me I'm blacklisted, wouldn't you think so?

So, I'm not sure this is quite accurate, wanted to post in case it is of help to anyone.

On this note, I do not see an INQ for the summer application for the corporate AMEX. So, that would tell me I'm blacklisted there, but then why the INQ for the Zync? It doesn't quite make sense to me.....

Re: Amex NPSL

Anonymous — Fri, 03 Feb 2012 19:23:27 GMT

@Anonymous wrote:
@Anonymous wrote:
@Anonymous wrote:
@seattletravels wrote:
I can't really speak for Amex - but I did have a question for you regarding your history when you were approved for Amex, if you don't mind sharing. I know in the gardening thread you mentioned you are waiting for some baddies to fall of this summer. Do you mind sharing what they are and how long you had them when you were approved for Amex?

I don't mind at all. I was approved with scores in the mid 600s and 2 CAs and 4 COs showing. The baddies were from 6-7 years prior; one CA and 2 COs have since aged off. Not only that, I had an old charge off with Amex from 20 years ago that was never paid, and I know that they were aware of it. When I received the offer in the mail, I was ready to toss it as I didn't believe that I stood a snowball's chance in SW Florida of being approved. But, some members of this forum told me that if I was blacklisted, they wouldn't even pull an inq, but would just reject the application. I pulled the trigger and was floored at the approval. Please bear in mind, I believe that my experience is very atypical.
I'm afraid part of this is inaccurate. When you said that if you are blacklisted they don't pull you, that's not what I saw. I burned them years ago, and had applied April of last year for Zync, which was declined and which shows as an inquiry on my EX. This summer my employer told me to apply for a corporate AMEX which I did, which was declined because I burned them years ago and they required payment on the CO accounts (green and blue) before they would consider the corporate card. To me, that tells me I'm blacklisted, wouldn't you think so?

So, I'm not sure this is quite accurate, wanted to post in case it is of help to anyone.

Thanks for sharing your experience. I was simply relating what I was told. In my case, since I was approved, I don't know what would have happened had it been otherwise. Sorry to hear that you took the inq.

Well I guess I deserve it, I did burn them. Sadder but wiser now, which is why I'm so fanatical about paying these things IMMEDIATELY after buying.

However, from what I've seen even that isn't a good idea. Reading the information you get with the card you can only dispute that which you haven't paid for, so if I need to dispute something, I can't have paid for it. Most people aren't wacko like I am on paying immediately. I can't help it, too many years of using a debit card and too much fear of ever screwing up again.

Re: Amex NPSL

CS800 — Fri, 03 Feb 2012 19:24:13 GMT

@OhioCPA wrote:
I have used the "check spending limit" button on a regular basis since I received my Amex cards back in June. I don't see any reason not to use it, just don't abuse it and you should be fine.

I assume by 'regular basis' you mean more than X number of times a week?