AMEX history

[Anonymous]

My wife is an AMEX cardholder since 2000. Her first card was a regular AMEX but she closed it in 2004. She just applied for a blue cash and got approved. She has added me as the Authorized user. On our online account, it shows her as "member since 2000". Will I also be considered a member since 2000 as I'm an Authorized user?

[dragontears]

You credit report (and hers) will have 2016 as the open date as Amex no longer backdates

[SunriseEarth]

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@Anonymous wrote:

My wife is an AMEX cardholder since 2000. Her first card was a regular AMEX but she closed it in 2004. She just applied for a blue cash and got approved. She has added me as the Authorized user. On our online account, it shows her as "member since 2000". Will I also be considered a member since 2000 as I'm an Authorized user?

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Your MSD would be effective as of the year you became an AU.  At one point in the past, AMEX did give AUs the same MSD as the original member.   Of course, the significance of the MSD greately depreciated when they quit using the MSD year on your CRs when reporting new accounts.  

[Anonymous]

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@dragontears wrote:
You credit report (and hers) will have 2016 as the open date as Amex no longer backdates

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Like I've said on another thread, the company needs to fire their CEO. 

AMEX no longer goes out of their way to make the customer happy anymore, they don't back date, their card rewards programs are par or only slightly above par, and they're losing partners left and right... Plus their underwriting criteria has loosened up significantly. 

"Uh, boss, why aren't we back-dating anymore?" "Well, you see, we have to keep our downhill slide going." 

[dragontears]

While I personally find Amex to be a meh company, I seriously doubt that they quit back dating based on someone's whim. Most likely it was to prevent the government from fining them since the law states accurate information must be submitted to CRAs and even though it benefited the consumer, back dating is inaccurate information

[Anonymous]

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@dragontears wrote:
While I personally find Amex to be a meh company, I seriously doubt that they quit back dating based on someone's whim. Most likely it was to prevent the government from fining them since the law states accurate information must be submitted to CRAs and even though it benefited the consumer, back dating is inaccurate information

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Technically they aren't lying. All AMEX has to say is, "once a customer, always a customer." 

They did it for years, so no excuses are acceptable. 

[dragontears]

You can argue all you want but if you open a card in 2014 and they report it as opened in 2000 it is incorrect information. Simple fact you did not have that card the entire time

[RonM21]

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@Anonymous wrote:

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@dragontears wrote:
You credit report (and hers) will have 2016 as the open date as Amex no longer backdates

---

Like I've said on another thread, the company needs to fire their CEO. 

AMEX no longer goes out of their way to make the customer happy anymore, they don't back date, their card rewards programs are par or only slightly above par, and they're losing partners left and right... Plus their underwriting criteria has loosened up significantly. 

"Uh, boss, why aren't we back-dating anymore?" "Well, you see, we have to keep our downhill slide going." 

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I agree, the underwriting appears to have loosened for sure. I'm not sure why they decided to stop backdating, but it may just be unrelated.

[Credit_hawk]

I'm inclined to agree about loose approval criteria for not only AMEX but many traditionally upper tier cards. When I see people in the 600's getting approved for the Prestige, CSP, AMEX BCP, Gold, Platinum, etc I'm a bit surprised. I don't know if it's a good thing or bad thing.

[creditguy]

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mountaindewvoltage wrote:

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dragontears wrote:
You credit report (and hers) will have 2016 as the open date as Amex no longer backdates

---

Like I've said on another thread, the company needs to fire their CEO. 

AMEX no longer goes out of their way to make the customer happy anymore, they don't back date, their card rewards programs are par or only slightly above par, and they're losing partners left and right... Plus their underwriting criteria has loosened up significantly. 

"Uh, boss, why aren't we back-dating anymore?" "Well, you see, we have to keep our downhill slide going." 

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While I agree that Amex needs a new CEO for various reasons I would not include backdating as one of them. Backdating was a courtesy extended to customers and wasn't required, but now Amex must appease this guy and his business, his names Uncle Sam and his business is the US government. They got this thing about accurate credit reporting nowadays and backdating just doesn't mix with that. You open an account 20 years ago and close it a year later then open a new one 19 years later, is it really accurate to say that new account is 20 years old? Nope. So in this case the CEO is blameless, everything else? Sure, go ahead and pile it on him.