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@SouthJamaica wrote:I've been paying $450 a year in annual fees for my Amex Business Platinum Card. I don't use the perks much but I like(d) having it on hand in case I had business travel coming up. I always pay my bills with them super promptly, mostly before the statement even cuts.
The other day on 'check spending power' I was approved for at least $70,000.
Today I'm approved for only $8,800.
After spending 20 minutes or so on the phone I was advised that the reason I'm only approved for $8,800 is that I haven't been using the card much lately.
This is true, but how can I use a card for business travel where I don't even know how much I can spend on it? I can imagine myself on a business trip, in a restaurant or hotel, and having my card declined. This is absolutely ridiculous.
The first opportunity I get I'm going to dump this card and replace it with a business travel card with an actual credit limit upon which I can rely.
If your not using the perks then dump the plat card. Its not worth the AF. I just got rid of mine. Your can dowgrade to the PRG if you have spend in those categories. In terms of your internal spend limit if you use the card a lot then they will give you more credit. If you rarely charge on it don't expect to run 10 grand through it all of a sudden. Really how much credit will you need suddenly? You can use the check credit button so if you are running a few hundred through you shouldn't have a problem. If you have a very large transaction(s) coming up and the spending ability isn't showing you enough credit you can call in and talk to them about it. That internal limit is set by the computer and it tries to predict how much you need based upon your prior use. I do agree that its annoying not knowing what your limit is and its a reason I am not a fan of charge cards. They are good for people with large expenses who are going to PIF within one cycle.
@iced wrote:Unfortunately, even with the $70,000 spending power, you risk having the card declined when you travel. While still somewhat uncommon, the number of places that won't take American Express is growing. Not going to steer you in any one direction, but I would recommend you have something that's not American Express as a backup because having it declined just for being an American Express is a when, not an if.
I don't know about the number of places that don't accept amex growing. I think amex is fairly well accepted and is more accepted than in the past. There are a few times I have not been able to use it and its always good to have a card on a different network as a backup.
@Anonymous wrote:I've always found that Amex is pretty easy to deal with, especially if you give them notice about your behavior.
For example, since the 0ct 6 increase of 5 pts per $ spent on airfare, ALL of my airfare charges have gone on my platinum Amex. Until then it was going on my SW Premier. I average between 5k-10k a month in airfare. As this is a dramatic increase in spending on my amex compared to prior, I wanted to let them know.
I chatted with an Amex rep for a few min on the website and told him my future usage would be much heavier than in the past due to the change: I was worried about the same thing you are. He made a note in my file and basically assured me that any charges that fit this profile, even if it caused my balance to be higher during the month than normal, would not be a problem.
I've had other cards decline and/or shut me down with no notice. On a memorable trip to Russia, both my Bank of America MC and my Corporate Amex were shut down due to "suspicious" activity - ie, I forgot to call and tell them prior that I would be traveling in Russia. Only my NFCU MC saved me lol.....
YMMV
Yea going to Russia is probably something you want to mention to a credit card comapny for obvious reasons . Heh. I bet they added something to their system not to panic when people start suddenly spending on their plat after not using it for years, because I am sure many people are using it for airfare now.
@Anonymous wrote:
The PRG actually isn't half bad considering the point rewards and the travel credit. But ya the Platinum is hard to justify for a lot of people.
Yea I travelled a fair bit this year but since I had the prestige card the benefits from the plat were minimal. About the only thing I used it for beyond the airline credit was the spg gold status on some stays. Everything else I have from my hiilton card or prestige card for the most part since I did not travel via any airports that had a centurion lounge. The only reason I could see for keeping it this year is if I was flying Delta (I don't) or I frequented an airport with a centurion lounge (i'd need to use the lounge several times though to really make it worth it though).
This thread title is clickbait for anyone who uses the perks.
I get how the seemingly unreliable NPSL can make you uneasy. Keep in mind, though, that not many other banks will allow a $70k purchase from someone who just uses their card for a few hundred here and there.
@wasCB14 wrote:This thread title is clickbait for anyone who uses the perks.
I get how the seemingly unreliable NPSL can make you uneasy. Keep in mind, though, that not many other banks will allow a $70k purchase from someone who just uses their card for a few hundred here and there.
Yea... that is a valid point. Good luck getting a credit line that will let you spend that kind of dough. Of course, if you used the 70k amex would flag the account and want tax returns and everything else or at least they would for most people.