@chrisw1968uk wrote:I think this is one reason that i prefer a set spending limit so I know exactly where I stand - rather than presenting a NPSL card for a large purchase and "hoping" that it gets approved
It's not a blanket thing. Myself and many others have never run into the issue over decades of having the cards. Usually people only run into caps like this with limited credit history and/or the presence of derogatory information. If you have a clean and well-established profile and/or have been an Amex cardholder for a lengthy period of time, it's rare to see this.
Mostly it comes down to terms and likelihood to become late, and "Pay Over Time" kind of throws a kink into the reasoning. American Express expects charge cards to be paid in full each month, and in the absence of POT, they would start being 30+, 60+, etc., late if payment was not received in full. With revolving cards, one can keep the accounts current by making much smaller minimum payments.
From OP's signature it appears that they are rebuilding or building, so we're running into short credit history and/or derogs, which is where we usually see people hitting the internal spending limits.
@Anonymous thanks for posting the screenshot, that does make it a little clearer. So while you made multiple payments, what Amex sees is that you had 1 statement close and you paid it in full 1 time. You have a new statement that closed a few days ago with a few thousands bucks of charges that hasn't been paid yet, so it does appear that your internal spending limit is right around your current balance.