Amex Recon by Mail- Any Experience?

[Anonymous]

Sent an old school snail mail recon letter to AMEX about three weeks ago my denial of a Hilton Ascend. Wondering if anyone has been through this process ( mail) and can shed some light on what to expect ( if anything) as far as response. If denied again- I’m gonna call ( what the heck right?). But hoping someone has some insight on whether I can even expect a response, a sign they received the letter or silence if it’s still a decline? Thanks in advance!

[FinStar]

Did anything change online as far as the application status? Meaning... Declined > In Progress?

You can reach out to them and see whether they received any correspondence from you.

If declined again, there's no further reconsideration option, the 2nd review is usually pretty final, unfortunately.

[Anonymous]

Thanks - no change in the status online.  Was holding off on the call out of candidly, fear it would turn into an over the phone recon. Will prob call though to confirm. 

[FinStar]

You still have the option to submit the request over the phone for reconsideration. No guarantees, of course, but you're welcome to give that a try.

If at some point they receive your letter, they'll likely see that the request is either in-process or has already been decisioned.

Out of curiosity, what were the reasons cited for the denial?

[Anonymous]

So the denial reason cited was my credit score - I’m at 650 for Experian according to AMEX but that is not the full story since my other bureaus pull much higher and is why I wanted to recon via mail. My other scores are Equifax 686 and TransUnion 674 ( and my Bankcard 8 and 9 are in the ballpark for those 2).

Candidly , Ive improved my credit situation immensely over the last few years and back in December was able to complete the transformation from building cards to where I want to be ( Penfed extremely high sl, Discover same and Jet Blue) but Hilton and chase united escape me and would ultimately close the book on my card goals.

I currently have two cards with Amex, Delta and Blue Cash but really want a Hilton ( I travel frequently and I’m always staying with Hilton) and would easily replace either or both to do it but no dice from Amex to this point. I have been executing against a plan I’ve had in place for multiple years to get my scores into the 700s and I’m almost there but given the recent approvals I thought this might be it and wanted to recon by mail to show the other scores.

Sorry if too much detail.

[Jeffhacker]

I'd write the letter, and, in your case, point to (a) your record with current Amex accounts, and (b) your improved credit scores.  My experience is that you'll likely get a better result than just calling.  They won't acknowledge your letter, but you may hear something about three weeks after you send the letter.

Good luck!

Jeff