Open AMEX account

[Anonymous]

Hi everybody,

This is a great forum, hopefully I can get my question answered here (none of representatives from either 3 CB could do so) -

I have an AMEX open acct that I pay in full every month, I use it as my charge card for everyday expenses, also to pay some bills like cell phone, etc. All that to earn points/rewards which my regular debit card doesn't offer. However, recently I realized that since it doesn't have a fixed credit limit, they report the highest balance instead, and since I charge about the same amount each month, it probably looks like a maxed out credit card every single month.

Am I right? And if so, how much does it hurt my credit score, and would it be better to stop using this card and go back to regular debit card (nevermind the rewards, which are probably are not that great anyway after applying the annual fee)?

[Anonymous]

It PROBABLY does look like 100% util on that card. Of course if you know the date of your statement, you can pay the bill a few days or a week early and have it show a 0 balance when it does report. The other option would be to get another card....like Blue or Clear or Delta etc that does report your CL.

Message Edited by bamf70 on 08-28-2007 02:51 PM

[fused]

As long as the Amex charge card reports under type of account as other open account and NOT revolving  you have nothing to worry about. Other open accounts do not factor in your CC utilization percentage calculations.

[Anonymous]

Thank you, I have all other AMEX cards too, and I think I will switch to Blue Cash then since it doesn't have annual fee and 5% cash back for rewards.

[Anonymous]

No, it's reported as revolving account, just like every other cc account I have. I should have probably disputed it, but maybe it'll be easier to just drop the card?  

[fused]

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mellamory wrote:

No, it's reported as revolving account, just like every other cc account I have. I should have probably disputed it, but maybe it'll be easier to just drop the card?  

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What amex card is this? Is is reporting as revolving on all three CRAs?

[Anonymous]

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@Anonymous wrote:

No, it's reported as revolving account, just like every other cc account I have. I should have probably disputed it, but maybe it'll be easier to just drop the card?

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I wouldn't close the account if it is a positive TL. I would just sock drawer it and maybe use it every few months to keep it current.

[Anonymous]

It is AMEX gold reward card, and it shows in all 3 reports together with my other cc under the section 'revolving accounts'. I couldn't see it marked anyhow different anywhere, and I called all 3 CB to ask this question, but nobody could give me any answer that'd indicate anything different about this card, they only said that if CL is 0, they'd use the highest balance instead, which I assume is making it look like it's maxed out each month.

If I don't use it, there is no point in keeping it and paying annual fee. The payment history is good for this card, but I have a few others opened around the same time and with good payment history as well, so closing the account shouldn't hurt my score. Am I wrong?

[fused]

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mellamory wrote:

It is AMEX gold reward card, and it shows in all 3 reports together with my other cc under the section 'revolving accounts'. I couldn't see it marked anyhow different anywhere, and I called all 3 CB to ask this question, but nobody could give me any answer that'd indicate anything different about this card, they only said that if CL is 0, they'd use the highest balance instead, which I assume is making it look like it's maxed out each month.

If I don't use it, there is no point in keeping it and paying annual fee. The payment history is good for this card, but I have a few others opened around the same time and with good payment history as well, so closing the account shouldn't hurt my score. Am I wrong?

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I agree with bamf70, I wouldn't close the card. I have the same card and love the rewards. You should dispute with all three CRAs as reporting the account type inaccurately. Make sure they understand that this type of card in not revolving one so it should not report as a one. Get them to report it as an other open account so it will not factor in your CC util percentage calculations.

[Anonymous]

Thank you for advise. I will try to dispute the type and see if it affects my score.

I have a few more questions:

What to do with Capital one card, which doesn't report credit line, and again every time I charge it even for 25 bucks it looks maxed out? or do they really use the highest balance instead of CL? I would close it, but it's the oldest TL I got. So from what I understand reading this forum - closing is not good, having 0 balance is not helping - but if even 25 balance brings it up to 100% util, it's even worse??? I am really confused with this one, please help

I have another AMEX card - Blue - it's an old one, and about 3 years ago they increased my CL from 4200 to 9300, and from this point I got 2 separate records in my reports (all 3), one for AMEX acct with 4200 CL 0 balance, and another AMEX acct with 9300 CL and current balance. At first I tried to dispute and delete the duplicate but it didn't work, I got the letter stating that reporting is accurate, and since I didn't think that this extra record was hurting my score, I left it alone. I thought that it might be even beneficial for me to have an extra (duplicate) CL to bring down total util %. But after reading this board I understand that there are so many factors contributing to the score that I'm not sure if it's helping or hurting to have this duplicate record. Should I dispute it again or leave it alone?