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