Amex shut downs

[K-in-Boston]

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@adelphi_sky wrote:

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@Anonymous wrote:

I don't want to sound negative but spending thousands of your "new friend's" dollars as soon as they say you can. Would spook anyone.

Unless you don't have any other cards I would avoid spooking Amex and causing issues. Use other cards to put your spend on at least for 60 or 90 days.

Build up the trust. Their algorythms are there for a reason. They have been burned a lot.

Amex is constantly sueing celebs for millions of dollars. This isn't the best publicity for them.

I was new to Amex in Febuary and I want to avoid any situations that give them pause to think that I am not worth dealing with.

I spent 1.5 k on my first amex card in  week. They sent an email to ask for payment which I did right away.

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Should consumers, who have multiple credit options, be treating Amex like the hot-tempered relative by walking on eggs shells hoping not to upset him? That sounds like a dysfunctional relationship. I must say Chase has been rock steady with me so far. They don't touch my limits or anything. As long as I pay on time. With so many other things to worry about, we should have to put our Amex products on special credit watch just in case Amex changes the account paramters at any time. 

I like Amex. I have a long relationship with them. But they need to decide whether or not they are going to be consertive or liberal with their product line. I think what is catching most people off guard is that Amex Platinum /Gold has always been the product that offered "unlimited" spending. Now they are just throwing limits everywhere. And people are like, "Huh?"

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No, and for the overwhelming majority of consumers who get these cards, this is never an issue.  These forums are filled with outliers, and patterns like this should never be considered "the norm."  The OP's highest existing consumer credit card limit is $8,500 and they stated they have run $36,023 so far this month on their Amex Gold Card.  This is not typical consumer behavior, and someone running half a million or more annually in credit card spend will typically have established revolving credit card limits that have previously supported this level of spending.

American Express has always made it very clear that No Preset Spending Limit does not mean unlimited spending:

No preset spending limit does not mean unlimited spending. Purchasing power adjusts with your use of the Card, your payment history, credit record and financial resources known to us, and other factors.

[Anonymous]

I'm not big spender at all, especially compared to some here. But even when i do spend more than my normal patterns, I have yet to receive any type of notifcation from them that I've reached their compfortable limit. Nor have they ever call and said pay it down if you want to continue using it. I also didn't try pumping 3-10 time smy CL through the card in one month rigth after approval, or app multiple other cards within a short period of time. 

Amex also considers other factors going on besides just what is happening with them, so any number of things could be impacting their decisions. And while a notification upon application in regards to internal CL available to you would be nice, it's probably easy enough to find out if there is. And maybe someone should push this issue with them to incude it, considering you know where you're at when they issue a SL on a CC. It should perhaps be the same with NPSL internal limit, so that less people keep running into this brick wall.

That said, anyone expecting to get around a $5K SL on a normal CC should be expecting the same on a Charge Card.

Keep in mind there may be big difference between someone with 750 score applying, and someone with 650 ⇓, and how Amex treats the account. There's a little bit of common sense that should be considered in this situation.

[Anonymous]

Not all charge cards are the same. They are internally weighted against your payment and purchase history with AMEX, credit profile, and income. 

I don't really know why you have pushed through 36K in spending a month, but if it's business related, then it would be wise to keep it away from a personal card as stated by other users, that's not traditional consumer spend. So if your other limits do not match with that level of spend, I could see AMEX being weary. 

[adelphi_sky]

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@K-in-Boston wrote:

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American Express has always made it very clear that No Preset Spending Limit does not mean unlimited spending:

No preset spending limit does not mean unlimited spending. Purchasing power adjusts with your use of the Card, your payment history, credit record and financial resources known to us, and other factors.

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I think the majority of people understand that. Of course you can't go out buying $60k diamond rings when your highest purchase was a $1200 laptop. I think when most people get caught, the purchase is something low like trying to make a $4000 or allowing the total charges get to $4000 after normally spending as much as $2500. It is the small increments that are catching people off guard. A $10k jump in spending? Yes. But God forbid you get capped because you dbouled your $2500 spending. Especially when your history has shown small spikes in spending either around bonus time at the end of the year or tax season. We're not talking about people missing payments.

We were cut off at the knees just before a big windfall. No, my annual income wouldn't account for such infusions of cash. Amex doesn't either. So, we're now managing a low limit with higher cashflow to pay the bill every month.

[tparks5961]

I think ultimately my biggest problem is that I've reported income that I can prove with a 4506 t audit. My revenues will probably increase 300% this year.. I'd also like to point out I kinda did default on an optima card in 2000 that I never paid back for $4000.00.

In the end that's why I'm working through the frustration because I know that at some point it will start too work out.

I called Amex today asking when my accounts will be shut down, Ive come to expect them once or twice per month.  It's just going to take time I'm sure and Ill be ok... I was just frustrated at the lady that I spoke with a few days ago who said my average monthly balance is $2400.00 because I normally pay off a significant chunk every month before the statement cuts.. because AMEX gives me no choice. 

Meh..  My internal spending limit is @ $21,000.00 now , my statement closed 3/8 and I've already spent $15,000.00 in 2 days.  When I first got the card I wanted to I undergo a voluntary financial review and was assured I didn't need one.. Basically I'm trying to force one at this point.

I have no devious plans and don't plan on screwing them. My situation today is much different than it was when I was 20.

I'll keep you guys up to date with my credit adventures :-)

[tparks5961]

Oh yeah, It is a business card. I have 2 personal cards through Amex 1 @ $1000.00 and 1 @ $2000.00.

They've recently approved me for $2000.00 for the blue business plus.. and they allow you to spend over the limit.. (here we go again).

They did let me spend $6000.00 on it.. but when they shut my accounts down, I had to also pay down that balance as well.

[Creditaddict]

Once again applying for more cards and over spending on them is just hurting your case.

[Remedios]

Amex makes me want to fly into a ceiling fan trice. 

Once to get it over with, and two additional times just to make sure job is completely done. 

Often you see the whole talk about less stringent UW standards on charge cards.

This is the reason why. Approve people, then act like you gave them $300.00 Cap One Platinum.

"Oh buddy, you wanna buy things??? That's cute. You have a late from 5 years ago, you will need to pay twice a day" 

It was hilarious watching outrage over Credit One using Amex network for one of their cards, while at the same time there seems to be a census among those who will always find a way to excuse them for everything that it's just "till they get to know you" 

So, using their network is tarnishing their image, but them approving only to punish that same aspect of population is a good thing. There is a word for it. 

I know of people here who are still getting calls and emails couple of years later, even if they've never been late with them or defaulted on them

Why?  There is a late or something else negative on their CR. 

So, no. They aren't getting to know you. They are supervising you. 

They really need to decide who they want to be when they grow up, who they are trying to cater to, and now that their charge cards have been totally hybridized, be quite more transparent with the customers they dont really want, but are willing to carrot/stick, because while they may not like your derogs, they sure like your money. 

It shouldn't be that hard explaining that the amount that can be charged each month may be fluid, but currently it tops at $Whatever, unless additional payments are made. 

They put it prequals for some on revolvers, but play "wont tell you ahead of time, will email you when it's too late"

Any other lender would be the anathema by now. But, it seems Amex M&M are laced with  mind control substance.

I've done some silly things with my credit, mainly applying for stupid cards that I later closed. I thought that was my biggest mistake. It's not. "These people" take the cake on my mistake list. 

A costly mistake at that, because my stupid card is not going anywhere for another year and 10 months. 

There is another thread, might be on page two by now, where entire two pages were spent describing steps needed for a charge to go through. 

Two pages, and not a single "Drop them, do you really need this aggravation in your life at this time"

I dont want to follow a set of some arcane rules on how to buy something without feeling like I'm going to be stood up. 

We fault lenders for a whole lot less than this. 

Of course, they work for some just fine. The reason for that is that those "some" are the customers they actually want. 

You can pretty much tell who's who by who asks questions, and who provides answers. 

There, I feel much better now. 

If that sounds like incoherent rambling, it's probably because they make me feel a bit on a grrr side with another side of 😒😒😒

[tparks5961]

Hey alex, 

I was getting frustrated with them shutting my account down every other week. What I wanted more than anything is a hard limit so we would both be more comfortable. I would know exactly how much I could spend and they know exactly where to cut me off.

Although I was annoyed with the $2000.00 limit, at least they let me spend $6000.00

[mikesonthemend]

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@tparks5961 wrote:

Hey alex, 

I was getting frustrated with them shutting my account down every other week. What I wanted more than anything is a hard limit so we would both be more comfortable. I would know exactly how much I could spend and they know exactly where to cut me off.

Although I was annoyed with the $2000.00 limit, at least they let me spend $6000.00

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Why not spread your spend over your other biz cards and let AMEX gradually boost their comfort with you. You would probably see growth across all of youz biz accounts.