AMEX: Check Your Spending Limit

[ArisGreek]

So on my Zync I am buying 2 macbook airs. One for me and one for my parents, as well as two iPad 2's. I did the "Check Spending" option for AMEX and I did the run through for the exact amount which was a little over $3700.  It said I was approved for the transaction.  What's interesting is it says LIMIT DETAILS - Spending Limit: No Pre-set Spending under total.  There is no asterisk or anything on it. It just says below "Any changes in the status of your account such as additional charges, an overdue payment, or card expiration may affect the approval decision."  Does this mean I do not have a cap on my Zync? 

[Anonymous]

Same here. What it means is that there is no disclosed limit. There is a limit on all accounts but it's fluid and based on your spending habits and how much they feel you can repay. The limit itself is per transaction and based on their internal algorithm. I believe they call it "maximinum exposure" internally. I've seen quite a few posts on this. If you feel uncomfortable about putting that charge through you can also push the money in there first.

[Anonymous]

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@ArisGreek wrote:

So on my Zync I am buying 2 macbook airs. One for me and one for my parents, as well as two iPad 2's. I did the "Check Spending" option for AMEX and I did the run through for the exact amount which was a little over $3700.  It said I was approved for the transaction.  What's interesting is it says LIMIT DETAILS - Spending Limit: No Pre-set Spending under total.  There is no asterisk or anything on it. It just says below "Any changes in the status of your account such as additional charges, an overdue payment, or card expiration may affect the approval decision."  Does this mean I do not have a cap on my Zync? 

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Amex charge cards normally have "no pre-set limit" which, for you, means that Amex can accept or decline any purchase.

In practice it means that Amex has an internal spending limit (that they don't tell you about). If you exceed this limit, Amex may suspend charging priviledges until you make a payment.

Some users, usually those who undergo a financial review, have an actual hard cap (a real credit limit) assigned to their account.

[spankyspanky]

FWIW, I believe that AMEX looks across all of your accounts to decide what you would be approved for while clicking that button.  I do not use my Zync card, well,  ever, but I am a very very heavy user of my Amex Blue Cash card, and I just tried $12,000 on my zync and it said I was approved.     I ran $5100 through my zync card in the first two months of the year, and the only other charges on that card is my comcast bill which is auto-pay. I never got around to switching it over to my blue cash card.

[scottwagnon]

i just tried this on both of my cards.

for blue cash.

your interest of purchasing 9500 is APPROVED

credit line            9300

available credit  9419

for hhonors

credit line             5000

available credit   4979

your interest of purchasing 5100 is APPROVED

i believe most if not all amex centurion bank cards, like visa signature and world mastercard operate with almost the same intention. No Preset Spending Limit. they may not advertise this, and be it that it also reports the revolving limit, you can appear to max the card out even though you are not maxing it out necessarily. since there are NO overlimit fees, it is expected that a well to do amex cardholder will occasionally go over the limit, and pay most of it off and perhaps keep a balance with a high monthly payment. this is a profitable cardholder to them.

so no i don't think the check spending ability function is broken. this is american express not only proving, but also encouraging responsible cardholders to "max" their card out occasionally.

[john398]

but also be aware playing with this function is not good

read msg #4

http://ficoforums.myfico.com/t5/Credit-Cards/Where-on-Amex-web-site-is-the-quot-spending-limit-quot-...

[Creditaddict]

To the poster that checked spending ability to over CL, I would not be to surprised if you requested CLI you would get it.

[scottwagnon]

i always get a kick out of doing this. (don't do it too often though, only like one a month or two.)

[n777ua]

Playing with that button too much is a short cut to a FR.   Trust me on this.

[scottwagnon]

i've read that someone did this often and when he/she just started out (two months) and tripped FR. i started with them in oct 2010, even though i have been a card member since june 2005. (i had a gold card for two weeks and then closed it.)