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From personal experience apping too much (at least with AMEX) and playing with the check my spending ability button I came out ok but it hurts when they shut you down without any notice and takes 2 weeks for the process. On the bright side the lady that did my F/R was very nice and apologetic. Hope this helps....
Yes, I was honest on my credit application. I started out with a $2000 CL and not it's at $5000.
I woulod not close the Target card. I plan on getting a FR soon. I took advantage of some very nice BT offers this month so AmEx is gonna see a completely different credit profile next time they soft me. They can have their card back if they do a FR. Nearly free money is worth more than an AmEx card to me.
I was hit with a FR last spring on my Green. Of course had PIF monthly. My balances were slightly higher and also had doubled my usage on the Green so I probably was already in the crosshairs. I charged some legal services to it and that charge was denied. I talked with a CSR later on and he said the legal fees were the trigger to the FR. The FR was relatively painless. I always understate my income on my apps and after seeing the returns, they assigned a limit to the Green that was higher than my highest usage by a thousand or so. That limit stayed until last week when they bumped it by 10%, though I do spend up to $10k per month on it and need that limit raised.
@mross1080 wrote:I think its mostly charge cards but I dont really think any account is safe. But you really cant worry about it, its either going to happen or not.
Yep both charge and credit cards can be candidates, and multiple F/R requests are not excluded.
AmEx did a FR when we opened the card (Delta Skymiles AmEx) but have not done another one in the 2 yrs we've had the card. It's gone from a beginning credit line of 2k to 9,800 in that 2 yrs.
We are both self-employed, however. My husband does a Schedule C, and I am an independent contractor in the healthcare field. We're used to that triggering a FR and have been surprised we haven't had another one from AmEx or anyone else. We PIF each month and have never carried a balance. We also don't app for a lot of credit.
I think self-employment income can wave a red flag to some creditors...and when it's both of us, creditors can be understandably jittery. We're used to having to jump through some hoops. We certainly don't blame them and just accept it as part of the decision we've made to both work independently.
@DI wrote:Yes, I was honest on my credit application. I started out with a $2000 CL and not it's at $5000.
Was it a auto CLI or did you have to call in?
How long did it take you to go from $2k to $5k?
I don't recall Amex giving out auto CLI..I could be wrong.
When my wife got FR'd, it was when we tried to buy a new MacBookPro from the Apple Store online. We generally charge 2-3k/mo; and were going to pay it off right away. We used Amex through the bonuspointsmall to get the extra points. The charge was declined and we went into FR. The CSR just told us they had "concerns" about our spending pattern. No amount of bitching/whining/complaining/etc did any good. They eventually got our tax information, and set us up with an $8k/mo limit...which is just fine. Still irked about the entire process. I have a love/hate with Amex; they can be a Godsend when you need them, or your worst enemy.
@n777ua wrote:When my wife got FR'd, it was when we tried to buy a new MacBookPro from the Apple Store online. We generally charge 2-3k/mo; and were going to pay it off right away. We used Amex through the bonuspointsmall to get the extra points. The charge was declined and we went into FR. The CSR just told us they had "concerns" about our spending pattern. No amount of bitching/whining/complaining/etc did any good. They eventually got our tax information, and set us up with an $8k/mo limit...which is just fine. Still irked about the entire process. I have a love/hate with Amex; they can be a Godsend when you need them, or your worst enemy.
Did they give you any indication of what those "concerns" were?
@n777ua wrote:When my wife got FR'd, it was when we tried to buy a new MacBookPro from the Apple Store online. We generally charge 2-3k/mo; and were going to pay it off right away. We used Amex through the bonuspointsmall to get the extra points. The charge was declined and we went into FR. The CSR just told us they had "concerns" about our spending pattern. No amount of bitching/whining/complaining/etc did any good. They eventually got our tax information, and set us up with an $8k/mo limit...which is just fine. Still irked about the entire process. I have a love/hate with Amex; they can be a Godsend when you need them, or your worst enemy.
While there isn't a reliable method to predict FR, it usually entails some sort of "outlier" behavior. For example, multiple balance transfers that seem to captialize on the interest rate spread; paying through paypal to one's own account to circumvent cash advance fees; using a rewards card to purchase large amounts from the us mint; unfavorable transaction scores signifying high risk spending; or, any combination of varying factors.
However, it's surprising to see an FR for a mac purchase (through their own site, no less) after 2-3k/mo of monthly spending. This must have been with a charge card, right? In this case, I would be pretty annoyed at being FR'ed over a simple computer purchase.
Also, I've noticed that credit card only holders seem to have a lesser chance of FR than charge card holders. The highest probability of FR appears to be those Amex cardholders with both charge and credit cards.