@Anonymous wrote:I'd like to pose a question to those familiar with Amex, I've searched quite a bit and can't seem to really find an answer. I opened my first Amex account while in college a green charge card in 1987 followed the a true optima card when they came out a year or so later. Due to the terrible economy in the early nineties the accounts were included in a chpater 7 bankrupcty. The one time I applied for a new account some years later I was denied blacklist of course, wrote them a letter asking for possible recon and was told no due to two previous accounts not being collected on due to the chapter 7.
Finally in 2016 i was approved for a Delta Gold card with a 1,000 SL. The card gets denied everytime for a credit line increase and the every application gets denied. When this card was issued the card stated membership 2016 but my online account shows the 1987, i recently upgraded to the platinum Delta and that card shows member since 87. I've tried many tactics to try and get this card to grow, not using it, putting monthly bills like the gym on it, tried the feature to see if a large purchase was be approved, denied. I've got cards with NFCU and Pendfed with 25K and 12K limits.
I recently dug out the recon denial letter and the old chap 7 paperwork to see how much Amex lost some 26 years ago, for both accounts just at $2,300 dollars. I've read some of the posts here recently of getting an account reestablished by paying back what was owed to them. Would that be possible since its been so long? Would it finally get my new account able to grow? Or should i just drop the idea of ever having a good Amex product? I've puzzled on this a long time and thought i would see what the community thought.
Have you tried to speak with AmEx underwriting to see what might be holding you back? That might be the place to start.
I have no experience in this area, however, I recently read an MFer state that you might motivate an agent if you offer to pay an uncollectable debt. That would make them look good and perhaps spread some goodwill your way. YMMV
Amex can be extremely generous but at the same time quite stingy.
I was approved for my first Amex card with a 610 EX and two collections reporting.
I was given a Delta Gold with 2K SL.
I tried for the 61 Day CLI denied.
Tried to app for Amex ED.... denied at 665 EX
I disputed these collections and got one removed. Score rose to 675ish so I waited until my 5th month mark to request CLI again on the Delta.
Denied for FICO score.
Finally got the other collection removed and score increased to 755, so when the 90 day limit was up. I mashed that button and I was granted 6K instantly.
I have since opened 4 additional cards with Amex and have gotten comparable limits to my other cards. All instant approvals.
There seems to be a magic number of around 680ish with Amex or you have a clean file finally based on other posts ive seen here.
Amex training wheels limits can be difficult to overcome. I thought I would chime in on the Member Since date. With myself and DW opening 4 new Amex accounts over the past few years, every single time we received the new card with a MS date of the current year, yet the AU cards and subsequent replacement cards had the correct MS year printed on the front. Just seems to be a bug with new accounts for existing cardholders. It’s purely cosmetic, but requesting a replacement card will solve the issue when it happens. 
I've posted this many time. My Delta is stuck at $1000 but the SPG has grown from $1k to $13K. SPG is the newer one too.
@Anonymous wrote:I'd like to pose a question to those familiar with Amex, I've searched quite a bit and can't seem to really find an answer. I opened my first Amex account while in college a green charge card in 1987 followed the a true optima card when they came out a year or so later. Due to the terrible economy in the early nineties the accounts were included in a chpater 7 bankrupcty. The one time I applied for a new account some years later I was denied blacklist of course, wrote them a letter asking for possible recon and was told no due to two previous accounts not being collected on due to the chapter 7.
Finally in 2016 i was approved for a Delta Gold card with a 1,000 SL. The card gets denied everytime for a credit line increase and the every application gets denied. When this card was issued the card stated membership 2016 but my online account shows the 1987, i recently upgraded to the platinum Delta and that card shows member since 87. I've tried many tactics to try and get this card to grow, not using it, putting monthly bills like the gym on it, tried the feature to see if a large purchase was be approved, denied. I've got cards with NFCU and Pendfed with 25K and 12K limits.
I recently dug out the recon denial letter and the old chap 7 paperwork to see how much Amex lost some 26 years ago, for both accounts just at $2,300 dollars. I've read some of the posts here recently of getting an account reestablished by paying back what was owed to them. Would that be possible since its been so long? Would it finally get my new account able to grow? Or should i just drop the idea of ever having a good Amex product? I've puzzled on this a long time and thought i would see what the community thought.
I have experience with nearly this exact scenario. 
I included a Green card in BK7 back in 2000, and I never tried to get another card since I was sure they would say no anyway. In April 2015 I decided to try for another Green just for 'giggles' and you could have knocked me over with a feather when it was instantly approved. Realizing that it was actually the BCP that I wanted I tried for it a few minutes later, and was again instantly approved for $1k at the highest APR. I was a happy camper.
That said, CLIs were non-existent on the BCP, and each time I would try (every 91 days like clockwork for the first 18 months or so) I would be turned down, and the letter would always reference a "past derogatory account", i.e. the Green card from the BK years ago.
Anyway, what I did was use the BCP (relatively) hard... usually $400-$700 each month, and I always PIF. After doing this for a while, in November 2016 they finally gave me a auto-CLI to $3k. Details are here: https://ficoforums.myfico.com/t5/Credit-Card-Approvals/Amex-3x-Auto-CLI-Finally/td-p/4798993
After that I though I would be out of "detention" but I was wrong... my CLI requests continued to be denied for the same reason as before. Then in October 2017 I was given another auto-CLI, not quite 3x but bringing my new limit to $7500 - very sufficient for my routine purchases. Details here: https://ficoforums.myfico.com/t5/Credit-Card-Approvals/Amex-BCP-Auto-CLI-2/td-p/5071036
I figured I would be forever limited to auto-CLIs, and to be honest I was fine with $7500, but back in June I was annoyed at being denied a sign-up bonus and figured I'd get all of my 'disappointment' out of the way in the same day, so for grins I went for another CLI on the BCP - not even taking it serious enough to be overly concerned with the amount I was requesting. I was quite surprised to be approved for my requested amount of $2.5k, bringing my new credit line to $10k. Details: https://ficoforums.myfico.com/t5/Credit-Card-Approvals/Amex-BCP-CLI/m-p/5272743#M543782
In between all of this drama with my BCP, I was approved in 2016 for a PRG and a Delta Gold with a CL of $1k (Delta since closed), and in early 2017 for a ED with a credit line of $8k which I've never bothered asking for a CLI.
TL;DR... For those of us with a "past" with Amex all is not lost, but it might take some patience. Also, they seem to respond better to heavy use that will justify a CLI than simply sending the card to the SD.
I hope this helps.
Edited to add: My online dashboard also shows my "old" member date as well (1995).