Amex BCP CLI vs Platinum Spending Power

[Creditdreamer]

I was approved a couple weeks ago for an Amex Platinum. I was very surprised by this as my score is only about 636 according to Amex. I have a BCP and PIF early every month but only have a $1000 limit on the BCP. However, on the Platinum which I have only had activated for about a week and a half, I already have a $1900 balance and it says I'm able to spend an additional $4000 (or more) on the Platinum according to the "check spending power" tool. So I am very confused. I've asked for CLIs from the BCP for a long time but got denied due to credit score, past collections, etc. and yet I can spend at least $6000 on the Amex that is brand new? 

Does anyone have any insight into this? I don't understand how I have so much spending power with one card and an extremely low amount with another card.  

[Anonymous]

I would imagine its because the BCP is a revolving acct whereas the Platinum is a charge card and cannot carry a bal.

[Creditdreamer]

But in theory if they're worried about me potentially carrying a balance, though I never have, wouldn't they be more likely to cut my Platinum spending since they have no proof I can afford $6000 in one month?

[601flyguy]

I have a prg and i use this to my advantage while my credit limits and history grow. Its my go to since its the only card i can put a major spend through without making multiple payments, and the balance doesn't affect my utilization.

[DeeBee78]

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@Creditdreamer wrote:

I was approved a couple weeks ago for an Amex Platinum. I was very surprised by this as my score is only about 636 according to Amex. I have a BCP and PIF early every month but only have a $1000 limit on the BCP. However, on the Platinum which I have only had activated for about a week and a half, I already have a $1900 balance and it says I'm able to spend an additional $4000 (or more) on the Platinum according to the "check spending power" tool. So I am very confused. I've asked for CLIs from the BCP for a long time but got denied due to credit score, past collections, etc. and yet I can spend at least $6000 on the Amex that is brand new? 

Does anyone have any insight into this? I don't understand how I have so much spending power with one card and an extremely low amount with another card.  

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The charge cards by nature have a more liberal spend, because you're trusted to pay in full every month. If you can't pay in full by the due date, they'll likely close your account or set a hard limit on the card. I've seen posters on the forum with $500 - $5,000 hard limits on their Amex charge cards. 

I'm in the exact same boat as you. I can spend thousands on my PRG, and only have $500 and $1,000 limits on my Amex revolvers. My last statement balance on my PRG was $3,200, yet I'm not trusted to revolve a maximum of $1,500? Makes perfect sense 

There is something that they don't like in my profile, and I'm not sure what that is. That's OK, becuase after working so hard to obtain my Amex cards, I'm not sure I like them either. Just last month they shut off my PRG because they were concerned about the current balance + new charges ($2,800 at the time) being too high, yet this month I was able to spend $3,200 - plus I have new charges totaling $650 already. 

[601flyguy]

I got my prg and bce with low limit. Few months later i put 7k through my prg with the ability to spend more. Doesn't make sense to me either but hey lol

[AverageJoesCredit]

Id imagine them knowing your income and access to your credit report that they can mote or less calculate if you could afford to pay back the 6k. On a charge, if you dont pay it back after that month their ability to cut off the account is much faster in that at least on a revolver you have minimum payments you could make.

[K-in-Boston]

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@DeeBee78 wrote:

I'm in the exact same boat as you. I can spend thousands on my PRG, and only have $500 and $1,000 limits on my Amex revolvers. My last statement balance on my PRG was $3,200, yet I'm not trusted to revolve a maximum of $1,500? Makes perfect sense 

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Yeah, I have the same frustration on a larger scale.  I got a counter-offer on my 3x CLI request for SPG last month, putting the limit (although generous, it's not enough for my actual spending) down to about 1/4 of what I know they would approve for a single charge on my Platinum.  That and my PRG have both had statement balances in the 20s over the past 15 years, yet they didn't seem to want to give me too much of a buffer on a card that's getting 6-12k every month in spend.  I'm living with the consistent higher util on it for now in hopes of getting a pair of 2x/3x CLIs over the next year.

Going back top OP's question, the charge and revolving cards have differing undewrwriting standards which I feel comes into play.  Charge capacity seems to be more based on income, assets, and history than revolving capacity which seems to me to lean more heavily on risk (FICO EX 08).

[credit_is_crack]

I've learned a ton on here and thru personal experience with AmEx, I have the PRG, BCP, SPG and ED.

Charge card = think of it like one of those "flexible checking accounts" a credit union might offer. When you have your direct deposit thru them and have gone a while continuing so, some CUs will let you overdraft to a fixed amount below zero, like up to a $1,000 overdraft. They see the regular direct deposits and can average out the usual income stream. That $1k flex-limit can change as the deposits change. AmEx treats their charge cards in a similar fashion. Your activity on the direct card influences your spending power similar to Chase and Capital One behaviors, high spend leads to higher limits faster.

Revolvers • this is a straight forward credit card. Although they see the positive trend of you buying and PIF (since it's the only option on the charge card*), they may not view your profile as someone who can responsibly accumulate and manage debt over longer spans. This may not be your specific situation, but it describes how I've seen AmEx to behave and react to Credit profiles regrading revolvers. Credit reports changes more aggressively influence their revolvers. Your current score could be described as someone whose either missed a few payments, or have good history know but reflects past baddies, so they react in what could be deemed a resonablr fashion.

Knowing the difference in how they are assessed will help you maximize and set good expectations for yourself.

My BCP would not budge until my EX FICO hit 700, it was very finite. My starting limit (that was my first revolver with them) was $5k. Hit 700 and they approved CLI to $15k. When score hit 725 got it to $25k.

I'm not saying my definition of them is accurate or based on statistical facts, but rather my observations thru my own and others interactions with them. Sorry so long but hope it helped!

[Creditdreamer]

Thank you guys all so much for the input! I also have a small update.

So yesterday I charged another $1700 on the card bringing my total balance (but only $1900 posted so far) to around $3600. I then went to charge another $4500 on the card and it declined. Spending power link wasn't working because I had maxed it out for the day playing with it. Contacted chat online. They told me my card was with the fraud verification department. I contacted them and they verified me then told me that my card had been declined because while NPSL cards don't have a preset limit, that does not mean they are unlimited spending etc. He then told me that my internal limit was $5800. So the $4500 charge would put me over that. He said that if I made a payment with him over the phone for the full balance ($3600, not the posted $1900) then he would be able to credit it to my account right away and my $4500 charge would go through and that it would also look good for Amex to see that, as far as potentially raising my internal limit. So I made the payment and then tried my $4500 charge again and it went through. Score. I rarely have this many purchases in a month but it just happened to work out that way this month.

I have another question. As far as the Platinum goes, I love it for all the bonuses like Uber etc etc but the only thing is that mentally I have a hard time using it when I am getting essentially 2% cashback on my Venture card (with annual fee). Does anyone have any advice on membership rewards points? I am very new to the points game and all the transfers etc. We want to go somewhere around Christmas and I want to get the most bang for my buck. Usually we fly Southwest because of the free bags. Though could fly elsewhere now because of the airline incidental reimbursement. Advice????