topic Re: WOW! F/R'd TWICE IN 3 MONTHS BY AMEX!!!! in Credit Cards

WOW! F/R'd TWICE IN 3 MONTHS BY AMEX!!!!

aftermath — Mon, 07 Jul 2008 19:05:28 GMT

Some of you may know from my previous post 3 months ago, I asked for a CLI upon activation of my new Delta Skymiles Gold and was FR'd soon after. That matter was taken care of with the release of my tax papers.

Today, I get a call saying that my account has been "selected" for F/R and that I needed to fax over my last 3 paycheck stubs.

I really don't understand. If they know and have verified how much I make through my tax forms, how come they need to now see my paycheck stubs? Are they paranoid that I might somehow be unemployed now within then and now (3 months)?

I expalined to the F/R CSR that I had already underwent a F/R not too long ago, and she stated that just because I was F/R'd once, does not exempt me from being F/R'd again. She didn't know much about the first F/R occurance, but she did say this one was selected "randomly" by their system.

I run roughly around $2000 every month and I PIF every month. (2 times so far, 3rd statement hasn't cut yet).

I have a speculation/hunch that this F/R MIGHT have been triggered by a "single" activity over the 4th of July weekend.

Some friends and I went on a spur of the moment trip to Las Vegas. I grabbed my wallet and hopped into the car. When I got there I had realized that I had left my ATM card at home because we were in a rush (and I usually only carry a few dollars, my ID and AMEX). So I did a cash advance for $100 on my Amex and no more activity beyond that, as it was just a 1 day trip and friends paid for everything else.

Now I have to go hungry today at work because my Amex and ID is all I carry with me. (Imagine if I had gone overseas for vacation instead) "Amex... Never leave home without it." Yeah, right.

Re: WOW! F/R'd TWICE IN 3 MONTHS BY AMEX!!!!

chartley3 — Mon, 07 Jul 2008 19:09:32 GMT

Sounds like AMEX is just being very cautious with the credit crunch and Mortgage meltdown going on. Until the economy improves your at the mercy of the card brands.

Re: WOW! F/R'd TWICE IN 3 MONTHS BY AMEX!!!!

Uniqua — Mon, 07 Jul 2008 19:09:58 GMT

Sorry you're going through this again, but your post and many others on here have convinced me that Amex is simply not worth it. I would be highly upset if they asked me for tax forms, etc. That's going way too freakin far in my book!

Re: WOW! F/R'd TWICE IN 3 MONTHS BY AMEX!!!!

Anonymous — Mon, 07 Jul 2008 19:45:03 GMT

aftermath wrote:

So I did a cash advance for $100 on my Amex and no more activity beyond that, as it was just a 1 day trip and friends paid for everything else.

Sorry to hear about your double-F/R, but that was a horrible idea, and I'm sure others are going to tell you the same thing. What's even worse is that you have been around here long enough to know better!

Edit: Just a little HVT. Nothing personal.

Message Edited by cheddar on 07-07-2008 12:45 PM

Re: WOW! F/R'd TWICE IN 3 MONTHS BY AMEX!!!!

MidnightVoice — Mon, 07 Jul 2008 19:13:11 GMT

Uniqua wrote:
Sorry you're going through this again, but your post and many others on here have convinced me that Amex is simply not worth it. I would be highly upset if they asked me for tax forms, etc. That's going way too freakin far in my book!

No worse than getting a mortgage

But to the OP - I NEVER use my Amex in public I have it for specific purposes, and intend to merely build up a good relationship with them until I need it.

Re: WOW! F/R'd TWICE IN 3 MONTHS BY AMEX!!!!

Anonymous — Mon, 07 Jul 2008 19:43:43 GMT

I agree, thats probably what did it. They hate cash advances...... They hate a ton of things, but cash advances are one of the highest on the list. Sorry to hear this.

Re: WOW! F/R'd TWICE IN 3 MONTHS BY AMEX!!!!

Anonymous — Mon, 07 Jul 2008 19:49:25 GMT

@Anonymous wrote:

@aftermath wrote:

So I did a cash advance for $100 on my Amex and no more activity beyond that, as it was just a 1 day trip and friends paid for everything else.

Sorry to hear about your double-F/R, but that was a horrible idea, and I'm sure others are going to tell you the same thing. What's even worse is that you have been around here long enough to know better!

Well, yes and no. Under two different sets of circumstances, I had to cash advance on my Amex Blue at a casino. My very first use of my then SkyMiles was a cash advance at a casino in Dover as my hotel, without my consent, put a hold on all of my gambling funds.

The second incident was after I was in Vegas, and for whatever reason my debit card refused to work. I ended up cash advancing about $1200 off of my Amex without issue.

I should note I immediately PIF'd both charges when I got home.

Re: WOW! F/R'd TWICE IN 3 MONTHS BY AMEX!!!!

Anonymous — Mon, 07 Jul 2008 20:14:44 GMT

Are you going to comply? At this point, I would tell them to sit-n-spin. Whether they like it or not, taking out a 100 cash advance hardly indicates a huge risk. Amex thinks EVERYTHING is a risk, or atleast they claim it to be so they can justify their absurd F/R's. After what I have read on this forum, I will NEVER apply for an Amex card, I don't care if they give 50% back in rewards.

Oh and their bit about randomly selected by the computer...Yeah sure...if that's the case, you better play the lotto, because you have some luck! You'd think they'd atleast have the b*lls to tell you..."Hey Dude, we saw that you were in vegas and took out some cash at a casino...we don't like that!"

Message Edited by UpUpUp on 07-07-2008 04:14 PM

Re: WOW! F/R'd TWICE IN 3 MONTHS BY AMEX!!!!

aftermath — Mon, 07 Jul 2008 21:09:23 GMT

UpUpUp wrote:
Are you going to comply? At this point, I would tell them to sit-n-spin. Whether they like it or not, taking out a 100 cash advance hardly indicates a huge risk. Amex thinks EVERYTHING is a risk, or atleast they claim it to be so they can justify their absurd F/R's. After what I have read on this forum, I will NEVER apply for an Amex card, I don't care if they give 50% back in rewards.

Message Edited by UpUpUp on 07-07-2008 04:14 PM

As much as I DETEST Amex for bending me over twice, I will likely comply. The only reason being is that I don't value Amex, but I do value the CL they have given me ($13,500). I will fax in my paystubs and then sock drawer the card. It would be a shame to close out $13k of available credit. I will start using the card again once things settle down over there at the Amex camp.

UpUpUp wrote:

AMEN!

Message Edited by aftermath on 07-07-2008 02:09 PM

Re: WOW! F/R'd TWICE IN 3 MONTHS BY AMEX!!!!

MidnightVoice — Mon, 07 Jul 2008 21:13:37 GMT

Like all CCCs, Amex is lending unsecured money, so they set the rules. If we don't like them, we do have options

Re: WOW! F/R'd TWICE IN 3 MONTHS BY AMEX!!!!

smallfry — Mon, 07 Jul 2008 21:17:54 GMT

Hey OP never leave home without something else besides Amex in your kick. Two AR's? Shred that bad boy. They won't even let you explain the circumstances right? It's just a piece of plastic after all. You could have gotten a cash advance on a 400 Dollar Orchard for gosh sakes. Who needs who more? Lots of banks out there willing to loan you money. Dump it.

Re: WOW! F/R'd TWICE IN 3 MONTHS BY AMEX!!!!

Anonymous — Mon, 07 Jul 2008 21:25:13 GMT

BOA offers to let me cash advance all of my 20k limit via direct deposit into my checking account OP. They seem pretty cash advance friendly, and are definitely a great lender if you need to consider replacements.

Re: WOW! F/R'd TWICE IN 3 MONTHS BY AMEX!!!!

smallfry — Mon, 07 Jul 2008 21:31:50 GMT

@Anonymous wrote:
BOA offers to let me cash advance all of my 20k limit via direct deposit into my checking account OP. They seem pretty cash advance friendly, and are definitely a great lender if you need to consider replacements.

Penfed too but I would NEVER take a cash advance on a credit card EVER.

Re: WOW! F/R'd TWICE IN 3 MONTHS BY AMEX!!!!

Anonymous — Mon, 07 Jul 2008 21:37:35 GMT

@smallfry wrote:

@Anonymous wrote:
BOA offers to let me cash advance all of my 20k limit via direct deposit into my checking account OP. They seem pretty cash advance friendly, and are definitely a great lender if you need to consider replacements.

Penfed too but I would NEVER take a cash advance on a credit card EVER.

Oh I definitely try not to, but I've been put in the position where there was no other option.

I went ahead and opened a line of credit with NFCU to try and eliminate the need to ever cash advance again. The fees and interest suck.

Re: WOW! F/R'd TWICE IN 3 MONTHS BY AMEX!!!!

smallfry — Mon, 07 Jul 2008 21:48:28 GMT

@Anonymous wrote:

@smallfry wrote:

@Anonymous wrote:
BOA offers to let me cash advance all of my 20k limit via direct deposit into my checking account OP. They seem pretty cash advance friendly, and are definitely a great lender if you need to consider replacements.

Penfed too but I would NEVER take a cash advance on a credit card EVER.

Oh I definitely try not to, but I've been put in the position where there was no other option.

I went ahead and opened a line of credit with NFCU to try and eliminate the need to ever cash advance again. The fees and interest suck.

No fees with Penfed and the interest rate is the regular APR for purchases. The clock does start immediately on the interest however. All in all not too bad.

Re: WOW! F/R'd TWICE IN 3 MONTHS BY AMEX!!!!

Anonymous — Mon, 07 Jul 2008 22:03:59 GMT

Just because they set the terms and conditions on their money doesn't mean they should be ridiculous about it. It is why they will never have my business nor the business of many others on this thread. They should disclose upfront - if you are a new customer we will interpret a wide variety of acts as threatening and be a general pain in the butt. If they came out and said that they would avoid many new apps and probably save money by precluding the need for a F/R Department.

Re: WOW! F/R'd TWICE IN 3 MONTHS BY AMEX!!!!

Anonymous — Mon, 07 Jul 2008 22:14:20 GMT

MidnightVoice wrote:
Like all CCCs, Amex is lending unsecured money, so they set the rules. If we don't like them, we do have options

Exactly, and as I said for this reason, I will NEVER apply with them.

However, I can see where OP is coming from - if you already have it and the credit limit is going to make a big impact on util...

Re: WOW! F/R'd TWICE IN 3 MONTHS BY AMEX!!!!

Anonymous — Mon, 07 Jul 2008 22:16:36 GMT

I think the cash advance probably looks pretty bad. To them it looks like you ran out of cash in your bank account.

I really wanted to have new Amex cards over the past year but instead I applied for other bank cards to fill my need. My only Amex is a very old and fear of loosing it stops me from using it. So it holds down my UTL. Too scared to charge anything on it. Thinking about applying for Green or Gold but the F/R keep me wondering.

Re: WOW! F/R'd TWICE IN 3 MONTHS BY AMEX!!!!

aftermath — Mon, 07 Jul 2008 22:52:42 GMT

ilovepizza wrote:
I think the cash advance probably looks pretty bad. To them it looks like you ran out of cash in your bank account.

I really wanted to have new Amex cards over the past year but instead I applied for other bank cards to fill my need. My only Amex is a very old and fear of loosing it stops me from using it. So it holds down my UTL. Too scared to charge anything on it. Thinking about applying for Green or Gold but the F/R keep me wondering.

I hear a lot of people say the same thing as you. "... i don't use it, in fear of losing it..."

You won't lose it unless you have something to hide. If they ask for proof of income, all you need to do is supply it to them. Yes it's an inconvenience but as long as you can prove your financials, you wont lose it.

Re: WOW! F/R'd TWICE IN 3 MONTHS BY AMEX!!!!

Anonymous — Mon, 07 Jul 2008 23:04:36 GMT

aftermath wrote:

Yes it's an inconvenience but as long as you can prove your financials, you wont lose it.

actually some have reported being closed down, even after complying w/the f/r. i don't know if they had something to hide or not, but they indicated otherwise and given amex's rep on the matter i'm leaning towards beleiving the person who was willing to let amex snoop.