Please forgive me for the very long story, but I want to provide as much information as possible so others can benefit from the thread.
Last year I started a new business. As a result, my utilization skyrocketed (not with AmEx; with other creditors) and that caused my FICO8 to take a huge hit (probably -100 points or so). I know AmEx watches this stuff closely, but I didn't think they'd take any AA as long as I kept my AmEx accounts in good shape. I was wrong and about 10 months ago they applied a (fairly generous) pre-set limit to my personal Platinum and a (not-so-generous) pre-set limit to my Plum card. They also slashed my Plat pay over time limit by 90%, but I had not been using that anyway. The "trigger" seemed to be a huge purchase (85% of the limit) on my AmEx Cash Magnet card that had been sitting idle for a long time. Within just a few hours of that, I got the email about the limits. Interestingly, they did not lower my limits on my credit cards. If I recall correctly, the reasons given for the imposition of pre-set limits were (paraphrasing) :
- Balances carried with other creditors (it was phrased something like "recent amounts carried vs amounts we believe you have paid with other creditors")
- Number of times you've utilized the deferred payment option on your Plum Card
- A couple other minor reasons I cannot remember
I also noticed that after this happened my AmEx pre-approvals (for other products) disappeared and went to "Applying to expand your membership is easy, BlueMystic!" Previously I was pre-approved for all products.
The business is getting traction and, accordingly, cash flow has improved drastically. Over the past 10 months, I've done the following:
- Used the Plum card up to its puny limit each month
- Completely paid off my AmEx Cash Magnet card
- Always paid the Plum card within a few days after statement cut (bonus: 1.5% cash back)
- Once pre-paid a large amount on the Plum in order to make a charge that was 3x the preset limit
- Swiped the hell out of the Platinum Card, making mid-cycle payments to keep it usable and under the preset limit. My monthly charges are averaging about 2x the pre-set limit
- Always paid the Plat statement balance within a few days of statement cut
- Paid other creditors to zero - utilization is about 5-10% on an average month
My FICO8 has hovered around 760-790 for the past few months.
Out of curiosity, I called AmEx a few days ago to ask when the pre-set limit on the personal Platinum might possibly be lifted and put back to NPSL. The very nice CSR put me on hold to speak to the credit department. She came back and told me that the credit department said I would have to wait until the 1-year mark, which is when it would be automatically reviewed. OK, that's fine, I can live with that.
BTW, as of today, my pre-approvals have still not reappeared, which tells me they still have me on a short leash. I am pre-approved for none of their card products.
ANYWAY, I will finally get to the point. I noticed recently on my Plum Card when I click "Account Services - Payment and Credit Options" I now see an "Increase Your Preset Spending Limit" option. I am 100% sure this was not there until recently, because I'm a dweeb and I check such things.
Since they took the AA, I have intentionally not asked for a CLI on my AmEx credit cards (Cash Magnet, etc.) because I love AmEx more than any other issuer and don't want to do anything to spook them or cause further AA (FR, etc.). I'd rather wait until everything is back to normal before I try to push the proverbial envelope. I also know they are re-evaluating risk in their portfolio due to COVID and are behaving more conservatively.
But because my very low Plum pre-set limit constrains the card's utility so much, I am tempted to see what would happen if I made that request. I know AmEx requires 180 days between CLI requests. But given Plum is a business card, would a Plum CLI request mean I could not request a CLI on my personal card (e.g. Cash Magnet) for 180 days? Also, would it affect the 12-month automatic NPSL review for the Plum or my personal Platinum?
Also I'd welcome any feedback from people who've had preset limits imposed on their personal Platinums, and if/how they were ultimately lifted and placed back to NPSL. I've seen a couple threads here about it but there seems to be no science to it.
Thank you all!
