amex reasoning

[Anonymous]

So about  week I hit the luv button (softt)on my amex blue---Today I got a letter no cli because exp score to low---this fic score in 720 or more---And they listed other reasons at the bottom--I agree length of time accounts have been established, is true--but the listed  proportion of revolving balances to revolving credit limits is too high.....

at that time and still today, I only have 1 of 3 cards showing a balance of $100 amex with line of 2000...

So what do they consider low

[Anonymous]

Yeah they gave me the same reasons and I dont know what they mean by low score. I'm not getting it, i have creditsecure with them and the score they show me from Experian is 723. HOw's that LOW?

Other reasons are length of time account was opened etc..

OH well whatever, im gonna wait until another 6months or so

[Anonymous]

Watch it!!! The next thing is them closing the account.

[haulingthescoreup]

It is pretty widely acknowledged here on the forums that AmEx's "reasons" for denials and AA (adverse action) are dartboard-generated --in other words, completely random and meaningless.

Most banks suffer to some degree from an unwillingness to say, "We gave out too much credit, and we're taking some back, and we're not giving out much new credit," but American Express takes the cake in refusing to be upfront.

Don't tie yourself up in knots about it --it's just that your name wasn't on the list of the Voices inside AmEx's Head. Or looking at it from another angle, it was.

[Anonymous]

I have an American Express HHonors Card with a 2K limit. I PIF every month around 1K (I use this for work expenses) last month I tried to obtain an increase in limit.. Denied!!!. But what happened next took the cake about a week later I get a call from this woman with Amex in the Account Review Dept. she informed me that I have been selected for a Financial Review and that she needed me to fax her the last 3 yrs 1040's and the last 3 months of my banking statements. I complied and faxed her the docs. two weeks later I get a letter informing me that the review has been completed and that based on the documentation verified they were going to lower my credit limit from $2000 to $1800 !!!!! is this insane or what. They seem to be just picking with their card members.

The next week I logged into Amex Acct online and tried the love button for CLI What do you know it gave me an CLI offer to accept for $ 2400 which of course after what I just previously went through with Amex I was quick to accept that CLI. But the bottom line is I hate Amex, and the overseas call center reps!

[Watchmann]

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@haulingthescoreup wrote:
It is pretty widely acknowledged here on the forums that AmEx's "reasons" for denials and AA (adverse action) are dartboard-generated --in other words, completely random and meaningless.

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Although it may seem to us who are looking from the outside that the reasons are 'dartboard generated' you can be sure that the internal analysis used by AMEX is based on something they have found in the myriad of data that they analyze.  Just because it looks non-sensical to us does not mean there are not sound reasons behind it.  One thing you can be sure of, it is not done just randomly. 

[haulingthescoreup]

Yes, I was referring to the reasons (explanations) that they give to members, not the reasons why they choose to do things.

[Anonymous]

I dont know. I have been hearing to many strange things about AMEX. Should I be worried? I just became a member in December 2008 - 5 months ago..Any suggestions?

[haulingthescoreup]

Well, here's what I'm doing, fwiw, which isn't much, since no one knows which way AmEx is headed: I have one recurring charge on my Blue card per month (cell phone) and about once a month, I use it for a restaurant charge. It is certainly not my go-to card. As Watchmann pointed out, we don't know their rationale for taking AA, so there's no point in my worrying about it.

I honestly have no idea if they're going to come back to the way they were over the past few years, or if they will go back to its old model of charge cards, PIF'd monthly, with emphasis on travel and leisure, or to some profile in between the two.

I don't depend on my card to remain as it is. If the CL stays intact, great; if not, oh well. I'm certainly not going to request a CLI or carry a balance. Maybe when the economy turns around and American Express recovers, it will be a useful card; maybe not. I plan to hang around and see what happens. But I'm sure not going to get embarrassed in public by trying to use it and finding out the hard way that I've been CLD'd.

[haulingthescoreup]

Not sure what's happening with this thread --it keeps changing, lol --but I'd like to point out that OP's original question was about the reasons that AmEx provides to the consumer when they take AA (adverse action.)

The interesting debate about why AmEx decides to do something belongs on a different thread.