Good Bye AMEX

[Anonymous]

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@UncleB wrote:

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@Anonymous wrote:

I love how just about every other major issuer will see a suspicious charge and text or call you to find out if you made it but Amex will CLD and send you a notice and trash your credit in the process. 

People get credit cards so they have expanded purchasing power but that doesn’t mean they will always spend on the same level. I mean I might use a card for $20-$200 a month months on end and then turn around and slap a $2000 tech purchase on there - Amex would undoubtedly CLD me at that point while Capital One, NFCU, and Disco would ask if it was me and that’s it. 

It just makes no sense to me. 🤷‍♂️ 

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Some months my Amex balance will be under $100, then other months I'll have a single swipe that's over $1k and they don't flinch.

FWIW I've found them to be quite solid... they are actually one of the cards I would use when I really want there to be no chances for drama. 

While there are always exceptions, whenever you hear of Amex acting squirrelly there's often a rational underlying reason.

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I have no doubt that they don’t mind once they’ve gotten to know you, they just seem to be over the top risk averse until that happens. I mean it’s fine for those of us who read about cards and know the do’s and dont’s when it comes to Amex and I wouldn’t count it against them on a decision to go for a card when my credit is much better so I don’t get a prove yourself limit, it’s just an observation. 

[xaximus]

Most of the time, I have purchase protection on, on most of my cards. I know when I do have a large expense, I usually already have a selected card for it and remove the purchase protection. Most of the time, knowing my expenses, I have a cap set which means anything over $250 and it'll send a text to my phone to verify said purchase. One of the other things I have on is Card tracking, which helps. If my phone is by my card, then the charge goes through, if not, declined. There are certain protections that are given to you by lenders that you can utilize. In OP's case - its all speculation on what happened. Possible fraud? Maybe CLD? Maybe AA? Lost bonus? Lost SUB? It's difficult to say.

[Anonymous]

It seems pretty clear from OP’s post that it was a CLD after a purchase was made but the rest of the details are quite sparse otherwise indeed. 

[RicHowe]

At risk of stating the obvious. The OP needed to vent their frustrations on the AA, but no meaningful contribution to the community has been offered. I would suggest closing this thread.

[Anonymous]

I don't currently have an Amex due being blacklisted. But when I make a large charge out of my norm on one of the cards I do I have... Like $2k in dental work or $1500 in car repairs, etc I figure out which card I will be using and then call them and let them know a LARGE change is going to be put through.

[Remedios]

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@RicHowe wrote:

At risk of stating the obvious. The OP needed to vent their frustrations on the AA, but no meaningful contribution to the community has been offered. I would suggest closing this thread.

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There is nothing in this thread that warrants closing it. 

The discourse has remained civil and some valid points were raised.

If there is no further interest, it will drop into oblivion, just like the rest of threads. 

[pinkandgrey]

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@UncleB wrote:

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@Anonymous wrote:

I love how just about every other major issuer will see a suspicious charge and text or call you to find out if you made it but Amex will CLD and send you a notice and trash your credit in the process. 

People get credit cards so they have expanded purchasing power but that doesn’t mean they will always spend on the same level. I mean I might use a card for $20-$200 a month months on end and then turn around and slap a $2000 tech purchase on there - Amex would undoubtedly CLD me at that point while Capital One, NFCU, and Disco would ask if it was me and that’s it. 

It just makes no sense to me. 🤷‍♂️ 

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Some months my Amex balance will be under $100, then other months I'll have a single swipe that's over $1k and they don't flinch.

FWIW I've found them to be quite solid... they are actually one of the cards I would use when I really want there to be no chances for drama. 

While there are always exceptions, whenever you hear of Amex acting squirrelly there's often a rational underlying reason.

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Definitely true. I used my BCE very lightly for a loooong time and then one day bought a $1000 phone. No problems. 

[Anonymous]

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@Anonymous wrote:

I don't currently have an Amex due being blacklisted. But when I make a large charge out of my norm on one of the cards I do I have... Like $2k in dental work or $1500 in car repairs, etc I figure out which card I will be using and then call them and let them know a LARGE change is going to be put through.

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Yes and this is definitely best practice. I have been known to do this myself unless I know the lender doesn’t care (like Capital One which would not even think twice about me making a purchase for more than 50% of my limit as long as I respond to their text) and would definitely make sure to do so with Amex. 

I also agree with Remmy and see no point in closing the thread. Threads like this can be beneficial to those who don’t know that Amex can get skittish about weird purchase activity and as long as it stays FSR, I don’t see a problem with it at all. 

[MrDisco99]

I have gotten called by Amex in the past when I triggered their fraud algorithms. They actually make that process pretty painless, and a lot less hassle than some other issuers.

I don’t think that’s what happened here.

[JustBPatient]

I just want to add, as others have said, I've never had issues with Amex on big purchases.  If I ever felt like a transaction would send a ripple their way, it takes a couple of minutes to either call or I have just jumped on chat to give them a heads up.  Their response is typically is well you have a (X) limit so that won't be a problem.