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Having Amex is not COMPULSORY - and why I have one

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smallfry
Senior Contributor

Re: Having Amex is not COMPULSORY - and why I have one

I plan on getting one myself as soon as my BK drops off my reports. I know quite a few people that have their charge cards and credit cards and have never had any problems. Great customer service and concierge service.
Message 31 of 55
haulingthescoreup
Moderator Emerita

Re: Having Amex is not COMPULSORY - and why I have one

So far, so good here. They've offered the pay over time option and whatever the other thing is, they're trying to give (sell) me some sort of planner, and now they want to give me points for checking out their shopping mall thingy.

Either they like me, or they're a giant financial cat, toying with me. Smiley Wink
* Credit is a wonderful servant, but a terrible master. * Who's the boss --you or your credit?
FICO's: EQ 781 - TU 793 - EX 779 (from PSECU) - Done credit hunting; having fun with credit gardening. - EQ 590 on 5/14/2007
Message 32 of 55
Anonymous
Not applicable

Re: Having Amex is not COMPULSORY - and why I have one

I really enjoyed this thread- MV is taking a conservitive approach and AMEX loves him.
 
I am still "Done saying nice things about AMEX"


Message Edited by Timothy on 09-18-2008 09:08 AM
Message 33 of 55
Anonymous
Not applicable

Re: Having Amex is not COMPULSORY - and why I have one

I can jump on mob mentality easily against most of corporations but lenders are tracking so many things to reduce their risk that any complaint is difficult to impossible to make a judgment about. The only way to understand is to literally take a look at the persons credit reports leading up to the AA.

However some of their risk models are dubious at best. First purchase modeling comes to mind as is tracking the type of establishments a customer shops at. Now I'm sure they have statistics which justify the implementation of these red flags however I wouldn't expect any AA taken for one of these dubious flags alone.

A combination of flags I don't mind as long as internal history can negate them. Like a long time customer visits Vegas for a vacation once should not have to worry about cards being declined. The first place you use your card should not designate a person to "second class" status for life.

I picked up Blue in june after a 6 year hiatus from Amex. I had green for 7 years before that with no problems. Just got gold this month and pretty much indifferent towards Amex. If I canceled them tomorrow it would have zero effect as I have already gotten what I wanted from them backdate history. Yes I used them for this express purpose lol.

I think the key to becoming an Amex customer is to join them when you don't need them. Not in the early building/rebuilding stages when you may need them for utilization calculations. When you don't give a fig about a lender you can walk at the first AA without a second thought.
Message 34 of 55
MidnightVoice
Super Contributor

Re: Having Amex is not COMPULSORY - and why I have one



shreco wrote:
I think the key to becoming an Amex customer is to join them when you don't need them. Not in the early building/rebuilding stages when you may need them for utilization calculations. When you don't give a fig about a lender you can walk at the first AA without a second thought.

Agreed.  I just keep them ticking over at a standard amount per month and a couple of bigger purchases - all piffed.
 
 They can FR me if they want, and I will comply because I want them long term, and I under4stated my income on the application Smiley Very Happy 
The slide from grace is really more like gliding
And I've found the trick is not to stop the sliding
But to find a graceful way of staying slid
Message 35 of 55
GFer
Valued Contributor

Re: Having Amex is not COMPULSORY - and why I have one

Great post!
I've been reading so much negative that I needed to hear the positive. Now I, of course do not have an Amex and was somewhat recently declined, even with better scores than I presently have. I didn't take it personally, as I am after all, rebuilding. And it was clearly a business decision.
 
But curious---how long does one have to be with Amex for them to 'trust' you, so to speak?
And must one have a totally clean report to get their foot in the door?
Acceptable scores?


EQ 817, EX 815, TU 813 (Updated 1/5/18: TU 843

Take the myFICO Fitness Challenge
Message 36 of 55
MidnightVoice
Super Contributor

Re: Having Amex is not COMPULSORY - and why I have one



GFer wrote:
 
And must one have a totally clean report to get their foot in the door?
Acceptable scores?


I got mine at about EX 680 with one baddie only - a 6.7 year old collection
The slide from grace is really more like gliding
And I've found the trick is not to stop the sliding
But to find a graceful way of staying slid
Message 37 of 55
Anonymous
Not applicable

Re: Having Amex is not COMPULSORY - and why I have one

I love Amex, but at the same time, I can empathize with the folks who have had recent CLD's. I've been a member since the early 90's. I got my first card (Green) in College. Back in 2006, I had incredibly high utilization. (over 60%) I was never CLD's by Amex, or any other company, and I had ALOT of CC debt out there. I've finally dug myself out of the hole, but I imagine I would be in the same boat as many of the other posters here, if my Utilization was high right now.
Message 38 of 55
MeganML84
Frequent Contributor

Re: Having Amex is not COMPULSORY - and why I have one

Part of me can't help but wonder if bringing this post back from the dead is related to my AMEX CLD thread started a few days ago.
 
While I am bummed that I was CLD'ed, I understand in this market why they did it. I don't NEED them as I have plenty of other cards to use in the interim, but I wish they would have been a little more patient while I was paying off the balance (which was at 50% utl. when I was CLD'ed, or roughly $500).
 
My whole point is that if AMEX does not like people revolving debt, they should not offer revolving cards. It seems as though they are being a little pre-emptive with some people doing CLDs and FRs when there is no history of late payments, unusual charges or even HIGH (>80%) utilization.
 
I will stay with AMEX simply to build a relationship, as someone whose husband is in the military I'll be taking advantage of their customer service when traveling as I know it's outstanding. It's just a shame I have to use my other cards and miss out on the rewards in the meantime.
Wisdom doesn't automatically come with old age. Nothing does - except wrinkles. It's true, some wines improve with age... but only if the grapes were good in the first place.
Message 39 of 55
MidnightVoice
Super Contributor

Re: Having Amex is not COMPULSORY - and why I have one



MeganML84 wrote:
Part of me can't help but wonder if bringing this post back from the dead is related to my AMEX CLD thread started a few days ago.
 
 


I like to bring it back when the "I hate Amex" fever hits  Smiley Very Happy
The slide from grace is really more like gliding
And I've found the trick is not to stop the sliding
But to find a graceful way of staying slid
Message 40 of 55
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