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@Anonymous wrote:Actually I find it kind of funny that so many people are railing on AMEX, when 6 months ago they would be [edited], , pay the annual fee, etc just because they thought it "said something about them".
Exactly. There is a continuous drumbeat of anti AMEX bashing at the same time these same people are actively hoping and trying to find a way to keep their AMEX cards. Even after losing them they still pine away for the lost accounts. It's the classic case of wanting something you can't have.
For those hoping that AMEX will go out of business......It ain't happening!!
Watchmann wrote:
Exactly. There is a continuous drumbeat of anti AMEX bashing at the same time these same people are actively hoping and trying to find a way to keep their AMEX cards. Even after losing them they still pine away for the lost accounts. It's the classic case of wanting something you can't have.
there is a difference between bashing and making accurate statements and voicing well grounded concerns about an unpredictable issuer. i don't wish them ill, nor am i an amex sycophant.
why harbor resentment toward those who lament the loss of a hard earned account despite that they may have problems with how the issuer handled it?
@score_building wrote:@Watchmann wrote:
Exactly. There is a continuous drumbeat of anti AMEX bashing at the same time these same people are actively hoping and trying to find a way to keep their AMEX cards. Even after losing them they still pine away for the lost accounts. It's the classic case of wanting something you can't have.
there is a difference between bashing and making accurate statements and voicing well grounded concerns about an unpredictable issuer. i don't wish them ill, nor am i an amex sycophant.
why harbor resentment toward those who lament the loss of a hard earned account despite that they may have problems with how the issuer handled it?
Some of it is unpredictable, but not all. Much of what we see is Amex annoying and/or kicking out several segments of their clientele that they don't want to have anymore. This is not restricted to people with less than good or excellent credit. They don't want to have customers that have a small business, are self-employed, or just run their living expenses through the cards. They don't want people with small BT's, because those obviously deal in peanuts. It looks as if they just want to keep frequent travelers. People who regularly run up travel expenses are usually a low risk. Many of them are corporate and will get reimbursed, plus they run huge sums through their cards.
It's funny how they use their own products to sort their customers into desirable/non-desirable groups. If you apply for a Clear, you show them that you don't want to give them any fee income. I'm not only talking about the annual fee here, but a Clear only makes sense for people with a low purchasing volume, which equals few transaction fees. They don't want those customers anymore.
The fees on their charge cards tell the same story. If you think those fees are expensive, you probably don't charge enough to see them as a drop in the bucket. I'm aware of the fact that, for me, these fees are not a drop in the bucket. But this just tells me that those cards are not for me. I don't need an Amex charge card for show. You have to charge enough to lift this charge card from pretense to useful instrument.
Which leaves one oddball card in their portfolio: The Costco Trueearnings. It's the only card they have that is really good for people who don't run much through their cards. Let's see whether this one will stay as it is or see an early demise.
@score_building wrote:
why harbor resentment toward those who lament the loss of a hard earned account despite that they may have problems with how the issuer handled it?
I harbor absolutely no resentment to those that have lost their AMEX accounts. I am only commenting on what I observe in their own comments and try to put it into some sort of perspective instead of the shrill, "I've been wronged" tone. I believe that some of the misinterpretation of what is going on is best described in your own words, "hard earned account". Truth be told, many accounts over the last few years were not hard earned, they were given out like lollipops by a sort of online financial Santa Claus. "Push the app button and enjoy your new CL. Have a nice day." Few scores were too low or too damaged for AMEX and almost all the other creditors to give out copious amounts of cheap credit. That was foolish on their part and they are paying for it, as are all US taxpayers. But as the old saying goes, it takes two to tango. Let's not delude ourselves into thinking all the retracted lines of credit were hard earned and deserved. As someone previously posted, when AMEX gives out cards to college kids with no income how prestigious, or wise, is that? We all got drunk on this cheap credit. It had to end and that is happening now. Sure people are upset and that is to be expected. No one wants to see their lifestyle crimped. We have have petitioned our Government and they have acted. In my view it won't make much difference, but that is how things normally work out. Hopefully all of this will result in the right amounts of credit, at the right price, will get to the right people. Some will win, many will lose. The story is unfolding.
@nathan wrote:
Who cares about amex? I will love to see them out of business.
Me tooooo!!!
The green was the 2nd card I ever got - 1 year out of college. If it wasn't for the fact I've had it for 25 years, I'd have closed it before now.
I can understand your son's thrill of getting an AMEX card - I was thrilled also. being so young and getting an Amex card.
But American Express isn't the same American Express it was when I started with them. I'll take NFCU any day.
@nathan wrote:
Who cares about amex? I will love to see them out of business.
@score_building wrote:@Watchmann wrote:
Exactly. There is a continuous drumbeat of anti AMEX bashing at the same time these same people are actively hoping and trying to find a way to keep their AMEX cards. Even after losing them they still pine away for the lost accounts. It's the classic case of wanting something you can't have.
there is a difference between bashing and making accurate statements and voicing well grounded concerns about an unpredictable issuer. i don't wish them ill, nor am i an amex sycophant.
why harbor resentment toward those who lament the loss of a hard earned account despite that they may have problems with how the issuer handled it?
Agreed