@firefox100
You and I have exactly same situation/circumstance except I might have been blacklisted by Amex much longer than you have been. Last month I did prequalification tool on Amex site to see if I am still on their blacklist and could be eligible for their credit products, and found that I was eligible for their ALL cards, which was not the case before because I did check this 5 yrs ago and it never stated that I was eligible for any of their cards...So, I was happy and thought I am now out of their blacklist. I immediately applied for the same card which you did...and within 20 second system denied my application and stated that I would get denial letter in the snail mail...But an hour later I got an email wherein I can immediately see the copy of denial letter which stated that my past relationship with them is the reason for them to deny me.
Don't really know if you and I would ever be out of their blacklist. Its been more than 26 yrs for me since I burned them and I am still on their blacklist. Those who are forgiven and given a second chance have had different situation than ours...They either paid what they owed or their debt was discharged thru bankruptcy which is not our case...We, not only didn't pay them back what we owe to them, but also we didn't get those debt discharged thru bankruptcy. So, our situation is different than others. Unless we see data-points from those who have had exactly same situation like ours, everything is just on the air...assumptions...presumptions...speculations...opinions...That's all. Even Amex can not tell you for sure what could/would/should happen...
In order to get exact right/correct answer, amex rep or an individual must have to be aware of cases exact to our specific situation...Until then the only way to know for sure about this is- keep applying with Amex, which is not bad at all because if we will still be on their blacklist then there won't be any HP whatsoever...Thus, nothing to lose at all. And if we were to be out of their blacklist then most probably it will be an approval or at least an HP which means we are no longer on their blacklist...Either way it would be a win-win situation for us, in my opinion....So, just keep trying/applying every 3 months. You have nothing to lose or fear about.
However, keep it in mind that every time when we do pre-qualification tool, Amex does SP which doesn't matter anyway because it will not impact your credit score AND nobody sees that SP except you only. Further, Amex always pulls from one more smalll bureaus like SageStream or Innovoice like Discover and Barclay's do.
As for your concern if Amex will come after you to recover a debt from 20 yrs ago then answer is NO. They can't because statue of limitation has run out for them to sue you. Every state in the US has their own limit on Statue of Limitation...but most are between 6-7 years...Some outside or 3rd party collection agencies do still sue people even though debt is subjected to statute of limitation defense. They purposely sue people in hope that defendants will not respond to the lawsuit or won't show up for the hearing, which is true in 90% of times, and then they can easily get a default judgement. That's why its so important to always respond to a lawsuit no matter what...by denying everything...even if you owe the money...By the time, these cases go to court, these 3rd party plaintiffs never have any proof of proving that you owe the money...Just deny everything.. and ask the judge to dismiss their case because of statue of limiation defense...eventually these plaintiffs will ask you to go along with them in a motion to get the case dismissed/withdrawn but after 3-6 hearings (meetings)...These are called hearings, but these are not actual hearings at all...they are meetings...Their attorneys will just try to scare you in order to recover money or will give you a deal to settle the matter in less. Don't settle nor give in to their tactic...Eventually, they will withdraw their case. And without a judgement, nobody can get anything from you. Nevertheless, no one can sue you on this debt anymore...So don't worry. They can not report this debt on your credit reports as well because Federal regulations prohibit them to do so.
I know we all want Amex...it has very good products, good line of credit...good subs...good business cards as well...Big and prestigious name to back it up...There are many countries which never accept any credit card which is issued outside of their country...no matter what, but Amex is accepted around the world without any problem...even in those countries wherein credit cards issued out of their country are prohibited...because Amex first 6 digits of the card don't specify to them where that card is issued at...Their system assumes that Amex card is issued in their own country...I recently tried to pay electric bill of my gf who is right now in another country...I tried every card I have, including US bank cards and NFCU but none of the cards worked as each time I get the same message that "we do not accept credit cards issued by foreign banks"...then I tried Amex card of my ex wife and it went thru like a charm..My ex wife has given me all her cards to manage. She has 3 Amex cards for the same time I am on a blacklist...27 yrs...and funny thing is- she got all these cards thru me as I had put her as an AU back then...but when she applied 5 yrs back then her membership is stated 27 yrs back...lols...Anyway, the whole point is that Amex is accepted worldwide when other cards don't. Many merchants at abroad don't accept foreign issued cards. So because of all these reasons, I also want to get back into their ecosystem but there is nothing we can do if these lenders don't want to give us a second chance...Thus, I have realized that we can not always get what we hope for...just go with other lenders...there are many to pick from...Good luck...
