@kdm31091 wrote:So to be clear, you went for it and were denied?
Amex has really clamped down on approvals from what I've seen. Sorry to hear.
Yes, that's correct. Denied.
Thanks for the condolences.
I'm shocked but it's more their loss than mine. I don't need the credit. You can see from my siggy that I have plenty and my income has not been interrupted in the least. DW and I both are still fully employed and we have healthy savings. And as @Saeren put it, it's a frickin' charge card I applied for with an AF, not even a revolving line-of-credit!! Combined with my high FICO and otherwise strong profile, it just makes it that much more astonishing.
The first pic was the screen I saw last night which didn't actually say "denied" but implied it. I got no email but they promised a letter. Then today, I went to their website to check application status and confirmed the denial before I called Recon.
*AMEX Application Status website Link:
https://www262.americanexpress.com/eaol/welcome.do
*AMEX RECON Phone numbers I found online:
877-399-3083 (tested and worked)
800-567-1083
800-528-4800 (possibly for CLI recon only??)
866-314-0237 (possibly for existing cardholders??)
@Remedios wrote:@Aim_High I'm sorry about your denial.
With that said, there is a point when credit seeking (guilty) makes all other factors such as score, income, length of credit etc. irrelevant.
You can only go so long until denial, or even worse, approved under terrible terms with horrible SL.
We can all debate how it relates to current situation till cows come home several times, but in the end, it all boils down to the fact once you catch a case of myficoitis, the only cure is to stop hitting that beautiful and shiny apply button.
Awww .... Mom!! But everybody is doing it! 
But you're absolutely right. I've always known that even though higher FICO and other factors can sometimes push approvals and credit terms in one direction or the other, there is a limit to how far that can go.
@Anonymous wrote:
@Aim_High wrote: I'm shocked but it's more their loss than mine. I don't need the credit. )Oh no, the LTL trigger phrase! No, you applied, you wanted the card, they didn't give it to you, so it is your loss. Or at most a wash, both of you are perfectly happy without each other.
I object to the phrase because I think it can help prevent a lesson being learned. It IS an undesired outcome, so thinking about why it happend and how to prevent it is a good thing. Whereas saying "their loss" suggests the issuer needs to smarten up their game if they want to succeed, which is really not the case.
End of preaching.
Wow. Seriously? I shared about making a difficult decision with the community and then I came back to share my embarrassing defeat to try to help others. And you want to kick me over it and "teach me a lesson"?? I did nothing wrong. I thoughtfully considered adding another credit card to my wallet and I didn't take that step wrecklessly or without due regard to my recent credit activity. I knew my new accounts might be pushing it, but when I checked their prequalified offers page, AMEX offered me cards so I thought it would be okay.
As I mentioned, I've always been careful about not overapplying for credit. Perhaps too cautious, if anything. I can't remember last time I got turned down for any reason. After I came to My Fico, I have seen others successfully adding much more credit over a short period than I ever added, so I decide to slowly step up my game as I realigned my cards. My biggest complaint is that there is an invisible line in the sand that lenders expect you not to cross. But that line can vary by lender, by applicant based on their total file, and the external environment such as we are seeing with coronavirus and tightening up on credit as a result. Bank A might approve an application one day while Bank B will not. (@Saeren even commented above how much AMEX has 'tightened up' since last year.)
So exactly what "lesson" is there to be learned? That one should never apply for credit because you don't know what a lender will find acceptable? That I should be happy with one simple Visa card with a $5K limit and not ever come out of my comfort space to try to build on it?
No, I'm not suggesting that AMEX needs to "smarten up their game." (Although it would be nice if all lenders had some general disclosures about minimum underwriting criteria when we apply. And it would be nice if all lenders did what Apple Card does and make you a firm offer with CL and APR with only a soft pull instead of prequalified offers that don't hold water.) But I agree with you that AMEX and I obviously don't need each other at the moment. They have plenty of other customers and I have plenty of other lenders and cards. In the meanwhile, they lost an opportunity to earn some of my business, and I would have been a good customer. I wasn't applying just to chase a SUB.
Just wanted to send an FYI to the community. Despite my overall strong profile, I failed but I hope others can benefit from my mistake.
Apparently, American Express is becoming more sensitive to how many new revolving accounts you've recently added. I knew it might be pushing it, but they had been offering me cards on their prequalified offers page so I thought it would be okay. I'm not really sure what the cutoff was with them previously, but I just posted in another thread about my denial for an AMEX GOLD card.
FICO (EX) 834. High household income. Low DTI. Thick file. Previous AMEX cardholder in good standing.
Some of my most recent new accounts were in the process of aging beyond six months, so the numbers depend on how they calculated. I only had one new account this year in April. Last November, there were technically four (one already closed; one AU.) So in six months, I was either 1/6, 3/6, or 5/6. (Since four of my accounts had passed milestones within previous two weeks.) In one year, I was at 7/12. In two years, I was at 9/24. However, I had a 10th one drop off on May 6 from two years ago, so it could possibly have shown 10/24. Let's just call it 3/6, 7/12, 9/24. (Worst case would have been 5/6, 7/12, 10/24.) And by the way, that is BY-FAR the most accounts I've ever added in such a brief period with over 35 years of credit history.
Honestly, I never even looked up data points to see where AMEX draws the line. My general impression has not been that they are particularly sensitive to new accounts. Obviously, I was mistaken.
Data points from others who have been recently approved or declined with AMEX with large numbers of new accounts would be helpful. (Six months, One year, and Two year new accounts.)
My other thread with more Data Points:
https://ficoforums.myfico.com/t5/Credit-Cards/AMEX-wants-my-business/td-p/6025410
@Aim_High wrote:* * * U p d a t e * * *
Well, fiddlesticks.
Good ole' @Aim_High pulled the trigger on the AMEX GOLD card last night after careful consideration. As I said, it was more a spontaneous decision yesterday afternoon and evening, due mostly to the healthy SUBs I was seeing. DENIED, if you can believe it, with an 834 EX FICO, high income, low debt, thick file, and prior AMEX cardholder in good standing.
I verified the denial via the website today and then looked up Recon numbers to call for more information and to plead my case. Sure enough, as I suspected, it was all about the "recent new accounts.". And the representative said there was no way to recon that denial. She also couldn't even tell me what was an acceptable level of new revolving accounts.
Ironically, I've never been an excessive credit-seeker and have gone for years in between apps for most of my life. It's only in the last year or so (since joining My Fico) that I started working even harder on realigning my cards and went through somewhat of an app spree, but nothing near what I've seen others report on the forums!! And I also thought my high FICO score and other profile factors would help insulate me from an outright denial. It's literally been decades since I got a denial. I had noticed my SLs were slowing down last fall and thought that might be a sign to stop, so I gardened for six months. The only new card I had added recently was the AOD FSU Visa, which was also an impulse decision but one I don't regret.
As for the numbers, it depends on how you calculate it and how it was reported to AMEX since I had four cards dropping off right about the six-month point from last November. In six months, I was either 1/6, 3/6, or 5/6. (Two were dropping off yesterday which would have left me 1/6. Two others dropped off about a week ago.) In one year, I was at 7/12. In two years, I was at 9/24. However, I had a 10th one drop off on May 6 from two years ago, so it could show 10/24. I also had an INK business card which doesn't report to my personal credit report. Let's just call it 3/6, 7/12, 9/24. Honestly, I never even looked up data points to see where AMEX draws the line. My general impression has not been that they are particularly sensitive to new accounts. Obviously, I was mistaken.
It's noteworthy that one of my "new" accounts was closed immediately since I found the $1K approval limit on my Discover IT Miles card too low to bother with. Unfortunately, it's still counting against me since I opened it. Then DW applied and added me as AU on her Miles card. That was two essentially wasted "new accounts", especially since I got the AOD 3% Visa. I also apped for the Apple card, which in hindsight is not useful enough to me. For the others, I have absolutely no regrets about my AOD Visa, NFCU Platinum, PenFed Power Cash Rewards, and World of Hyatt cards. I just wish lenders were not so picky about people with good profiles trying to make some adjustments over a short period. A couple of other changes and I'd probably be set for five to ten years. I just don't like dragging out every change I'm making. Patience is overrated!!
Back to the garden for at least another six months. (On 11/19/2020, I'll be 0/6, 1/12 9/24.) But AMEX won't see my face again for a long time. As they would probably tell me, "it's just business" but I have other fish to fry. I previously targeted the Bank of America Premium Rewards card, enlarging my Navy Federal and/or PenFed relationships, or maybe a USBank Cash+ card.
@Aim_High Sorry about the Denial, honestly i think the new accounts spid was just a smokescreen.. like you said you seem to be doing fine without and as an impulse decision is it really that bad that you were stopped in the tracks? so you opened one account last month and a what a couple last year it sounds like? new accounts my butt xD the profile even now can and should easily handle multiple new accounts at a decent SL from top banks given the right circumstances.. you have to ask yourself though is it really worth your effort diluting your current rewards on a new structure ESPECIALLY given you have the same "gold card" just at Chase and at terms you've already come to know, grow, n love. Honestly as someone who has multiple AMEX cards, if i was in your shoes.. i would be relieved at the denial.
i believe looking at someone with as an established profile as yourself, they had just deemed you a net-negative customer. 1% out of 482k in tradelines doesn't exactly scream transactor material and during these times, they are looking for the best way to mitigate losses and what they see from you is someone who has alot available among many (meaning pretty much no interest cause your responsible and then nominal swipe fees to balance losses beyond intro bonus/yearly credits). Theres a reason why AMEX happily (or did at least more leniently prior to COVID) takes on thin profiles because they know it's gonna be their main card for the forseeable future.
They are scared they are going to come out too far behind in this relationship, to top it the timing probably adds to the fact that they feel having you on as customer just isn't "worth it" in the long run, i'd take the win and bring your obviously valued business elsewhere