How long does it take for Amex to relax?

[SRT4kid93]

As some of you may know I was recently approved for my gold card. Since getting it I have been using it for all my charges. I got an email from Amex saying future purchases may be declined and it went on to say 

"your balance is high compared to your limited history with us"

however my balance was only $1500, granted, up until that point I hadn't made any payments with them yet. So they were probably worried about me charging up a no limit card and doing bust out fraud or sometbing.

anyways the suggested payment was $320 but I paid the full balance as soon as I got the email just to show them I easily could. How long until they relax a bit?

[imtherealghost]

I had that happen a few years ago but I cant remember which amex card it happened but it was a one time thing. I think once they are familiar with your patterns it may go away. Out of my 4 cards, I had it happen the one time.

Congratulations on your approval by the way (sorry didn't see if you posted about it).

[Jnbmom]

"your balance is high compared to your limited history with us

Your card is brand new , I think you should do the relaxing . They will give a little over time .

[FicoMike0]

Roflol, so much for no credit limit! I think you did the right thing, pif. I suppose you could use the limit s on your other cards as a guide. I would think you'd be ok if you stay under the highest fixed limit you have, but what do I know?

I've found amex is generous with clis, they go 3X in 91 days. So, if expect they would ease up on a charge card limit in 91 days as well.

[Jeffster1]

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@SRT4kid93 wrote:

As some of you may know I was recently approved for my gold card. Since getting it I have been using it for all my charges. I got an email from Amex saying future purchases may be declined and it went on to say 

"your balance is high compared to your limited history with us"

however my balance was only $1500, granted, up until that point I hadn't made any payments with them yet. So they were probably worried about me charging up a no limit card and doing bust out fraud or sometbing.

anyways the suggested payment was $320 but I paid the full balance as soon as I got the email just to show them I easily could. How long until they relax a bit?

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It varies on a case-by-case basis. Just keep charging and paying...charging and paying. Eventually, their algorithm will catch on to your patterns. But if you're asking if it's going to be within the week, within the month, within the year, it's impossible to predict. 

You also want to keep an eye on whether you remain NPSL, and you also might want to check your spending power on their website periodically. Even if it says NPSL, that does not mean they don't have an internal limit set on new purchases. 

[SRT4kid93]

Thanks everyone for the quick replies.

I do want to say I'm not mad at Amex for this, they are doing their job. I was more asking out of curiosity. A brand  new customer that's never made a payment should be watched. 

@Jeffster1 

I am afraid to hit the spending power button because I have heard when you do this, Amex is expecting you to be making a purchase for that amount InThe very near future. So they remove that amount from your hidden limit.

for example let's say your hidden limit is 10k, and you check spending power for 10k. They will be expecting you to make a purchase at or very close to 10,000 and therefore, they may not allow you to make any more purchases since they are expecting you to hit your hidden limit. From what I have read, they will wait about  month for you to make that purchase, If you never end up making it. They will release the 10,000 back into your "hidden limit"

plus the financial review aspect, which is a pita for everyone involved. 

I should say that using my current limits as a gauge doesn't work in my favor. Seeing as all of my cards are new and I haven't really had a chance to work up their limits yet. Despite the fact that I have already proven that I can easily charge way more than my limit and successly pay it off immediately. I have spent the last 3 months charging more than my limit. Always pay in full immediately And capital one came back and offered me $100 increase. Chase hasn't offered anything yet. Credit one is the only one of the 3 that actually offered a substantial increase. 

[Jnbmom]

I have checked my spending power many times , I would never use the card to the amount I check for.Never has this triggered a FR nor has it changed what I am approved up to, I don't buy that scenario.

[SRT4kid93]

@Jnbmom 

I wasn't sure about that either as you can't believe everything you read/hear. 

although when thinking about it logically it does make some sense. The purpose of the spending power button is to see if you would be approved to make a purchase for Xamount. So when you check your spending power. It's really not all that crazy for Amex to assume you are planning on making a purchase for that amount. Technically that is the purpose of the button, Amex didn't put it there for people to fool around with it. 

so yea I'm not exactly sure if that's true or not. It makes sense but that by itself doesn't mean it's true.  (The financial review part of the equation certainly has some proof behind it though)

[Jnbmom]

Well yes a FR may occur if you ask for really high spending amount , but hitting  it should not  trigger unless you ask for something that is very high.

[Tdatb64]

I think Amex understands that it's human nature - "Ooo, button... Shiny..." - and as long as you don't get excessive about it, it shouldn't be a problem.