American Express Membership Rewards - am ex starwood card HELP!!!

i have a personal am ex plat card and a am ex starwood card. my company does hundreds of thousands in billings every year and i insisted we get the starwood card for the points. so we call up to sign up. our company also has am ex gold and a high spending limit. the starwood person says we are approved but then tells us it's probably for 3k. we're like "what's the use of that!?" so they are reviewing it to see if it could be higher. i'm thinking not likely in this environment... no?

Call and ask them to review it again. I was given a 5k limit on my Reserve card initially. While on the phone w/ them, I asked to have it looked at again. They came back w/ a MUCH larger limit afterwards.

That said, this happened before Sept 2009....

Just call and ask them to transfer you to the underwriting department.

I got an SPG Amex for my company last October, and also got 3k credit line and not a penny more. They refused to do a credit limit review initially stating I did not have a card for 6 month. I applied for a CLI again and was declined with a strange letter that I had to many credit inquiries on my credit report. I have pulled my credit report and my last inquiry was in October for SPG Amex and nothing since nor six month before that. Also no credit pull by Amex was there either since 10/09.

Got it. we'll find out monday if they'll bump up our line of credit.

we typically bill 25K a month on our am ex gold but their final word is "no, 3K limit". they said it "will go up" but it could be 6 months or more.

I guess I just don't understand why anyone would put up with this sort of nonsense.

Do you really *need* them that badly?

I guess I just don't understand why anyone would put up with this sort of nonsense.

Do you really *need* them that badly?

I've been saying that for months!

But there seems to be a small sub-set (of 4 people, to be exact) on this forum who will defend Amex regardless of what they do. They could adopt a policy instructing their collections department to go to your house and kill your dog if you're 5 minutes late with a payment, and those 4 will happily defend this obnoxious company.

Personally, if I were the OP, I would pick up and take all of my business elsewhere.

I've been saying that for months!

But there seems to be a small sub-set (of 4 people, to be exact) on this forum who will defend Amex regardless of what they do. They could adopt a policy instructing their collections department to go to your house and kill your dog if you're 5 minutes late with a payment, and those 4 will happily defend this obnoxious company.

Personally, if I were the OP, I would pick up and take all of my business elsewhere.

wow, lots of anger. i don't think i'm the one "defending" am ex. my feeling is this... i want the starwood points. i'd take another starwood card if that worked better. starwood points are better for hotels then am ex mem awards points. and transfer from am ex into starwood card is 3 to 1.

what do you suggest?

lately all across the board they've been setting 2k or 3k limits on new cards no matter if you had/have other cards with them, and policy is no CLI for 60 days on a new account.
best thing to do is just wait the 60 days, and request CLI.
the other thing with the requested CLI is they'll approve up to 3X the current limit, so request 6k (if you have a 2k card) or 9k (if you have a 3k card).
once at those new limits wait another 60 days, request again...

I've been saying that for months!

But there seems to be a small sub-set (of 4 people, to be exact) on this forum who will defend Amex regardless of what they do. They could adopt a policy instructing their collections department to go to your house and kill your dog if you're 5 minutes late with a payment, and those 4 will happily defend this obnoxious company.

Personally, if I were the OP, I would pick up and take all of my business elsewhere.

I'm sure I'm counted in the 4 number above, so just wanted to throw my 2 cents in and thank you for the honor. Personally, I find it interesting the amount of time some people will spend fighting Amex on internet disucssion boards - even with Amex noticeably not present. But then, I have my own hobbies that other people question. And it is good for people to be aware of Amex practices, so at least they were warned. Personally, there is only so much warning I really need.

Aside from that, though, the question is similar to what Counsellor posted. Except it's not "do you *need* them that bad?", it is "do you *want* them that bad?" Nobody *needs* amex. Any ole' credit card will do.

My personal analysis is that the SPG points are the most versatile around, and the point earning ratio is higher (when looking at air miles) than for any other card out there, with the possible exception of airline branded cards, for money spent with the airline. I would also not want to tie my points to an individual airline, because it is less flexible, and who knows what will happen to the airlines? I have used the Return Protection, Purchase Protection and Extended Warranty feature of my cards many, many times, and have come to depend on these insurance features.

So for ME it is worth jumping through a few hoops, though not too many. SPG denies about 1 transaction per month for me, forcing me to call in and verify the purchase. Compared to the ~ $100K I put through on the card each month, this is peanuts, and I actually appreciate this security feature. (Irrespective of the brand of software used to calculate the risk on each purchase.) To put it in perspective, my Priority Club visa habitually declines both 1 and 2 purchased per month, and my monthly total with them is about $5K. i keep that card too, btw.

Amex has never been particularly ornery with me, but if they made it difficult to use the card, I would weigh the benefits closely, and go where beneficial to me. So far, I will admit to having kept my first born, and my dog, and only being late a couple of times on payments.

What Amex is not good at, btw, is acting like an accounting department. This does annoy me, since they bill themselves as business friendly. With multiple cards on hand, I use them to separate out purchases for different purposes and departments. Amex doesn't necessarily care, and moving a charge from one card to another is a major pain. Even if the charge originally belonged on a specific card.

I've been saying that for months!

But there seems to be a small sub-set (of 4 people, to be exact) on this forum who will defend Amex regardless of what they do. They could adopt a policy instructing their collections department to go to your house and kill your dog if you're 5 minutes late with a payment, and those 4 will happily defend this obnoxious company.

Personally, if I were the OP, I would pick up and take all of my business elsewhere.

Wow. I guess (as one of the 4) I'm just offsetting the other 4 people that spew anti Amex vitriol every chance they get because they had their lines reduced, card canceled, and/or their feelings hurt? :confused:

I look at Amex as any other lender. I don't trust them any further than I can throw them, but am more than willing to get the Starpoints they give me for my monthly spend. Since Starwood (like Delta) is an Amex only shop, if you want the Starpoints, you have to play the Amex game.

Amex is a greedy corporation with their own best interests at heart, not mine. They charge usurious interest rates on balances, late fees, over limit fees, and like the other 3 cards in my wallet (BofA, Chase, Citibank) can cut my limit or cancel my card at any time of their choosing.

No loyalty on either side, no hurt feelings. Is simply business.

I'm just offsetting the other 4 people that spew anti Amex vitriol every chance they get because they had their lines reduced, card canceled, and/or their feelings hurt? :confused:

I'll take a wild guess: as a result of what Amex did to them, "Amex has no idea how much money it's going to cost them" after they tell everyone about it.

You guys are so predictable...

And all we need now is SBM12 and we almost have a complete set!

You guys are so predictable...

Pot. Kettle. Well, you know the rest.

Interesting. Mrs. upgrader got an AMEX Hilton Surpass card with a 5K limit, had it for about 4-5 months, went online and requested a 15K limit and was approved immediately online. I guess just another case of YMMV.

I'll take a wild guess: as a result of what Amex did to them, "Amex has no idea how much money it's going to cost them" after they tell everyone about it.

In the short term, it will cost them money and goodwill. But if they have made the decision to "raise the bar" on minimum requirements from 680 to 720 (or 750) then there's going to be some pain as they cull their client list.

The interesting thing to me is that they seem to be content in letting the computer make the decisions. I've stated all along that if they are going to let the computer make the cuts, they should have some formal appeal process in place for exceptions. FICO is not infallible. There are high net worth individuals with lower FICO scores because they choose to carry debt. FICO makes no allowance for income, or net worth.

But I'm sure that Chris will point out: its Amex's funeral.

The macro credit climate is what it is.


If you prepay $20,000, you will be able to charge $23,000 if you have a $3000 line.

Sure you are losing the float on the money, but if you value SPG points a lot more than M.R. points then maybe its worth to to you.

You guys are so predictable...

And all we need now is SBM12 and we almost have a complete set!

LOL, you do know most people post and read here because they *have* an amex card, right? By that I don't mean that others should leave (far from it), but that as a whole people, who hold any type of card have typically made the determination that the benefits outweigh the costs.

If I'm wrong in this assumption, then I feel sorry for all those people who have determined they are too good for their amex card, yet continue to pay the fees and/or read & post ad-nauseum about it.

Oh wait, here they are to run off with my dog again. :D

Sure you are losing the float on the money, but if you value SPG points a lot more than M.R. points then maybe its worth to to you.

MR points are close to worthless to me, due to the limited number of airline partners and horrible conversion to hotels. It does have a decent selection of gift cards.

ding ding! back to your corners!

i pretty much dislike all credit cards. i don't trust any of them. hopefully the new obama credit card legislation will tip the balance to be more in favor of the consumer.

ding ding! back to your corners!

i pretty much dislike all credit cards. i don't trust any of them. hopefully the new obama credit card legislation will tip the balance to be more in favor of the consumer.

I heard Obama's new CC program will pay off all delinquent debt, and if you show proof that you are a welfare recipient, all your CC limits will be increased to $100,000, and the government will pay all your future bills through the year 2025.

This is such a simple solution to our country's consumer debt problem. I can't believe no other President in history has come up with it before.

I

This is such a simple solution to our country's consumer debt problem. I can't believe no other President in history has come up with it before.

yes i'm joking. it's gonna get worse (but i do support obama). Thanks Bush!

i'm saying all credit is challenged nowadays. You could complain about am ex until the cows come home but i could tell you horrors about capital one, citi, and visa. when it comes down to it, its about the points and starwood points to be specific. sorry, that's what works for me. so i have to ride out the storm.

I heard Obama's new CC program will pay off all delinquent debt, and if you show proof that you are a welfare recipient, all your CC limits will be increased to $100,000, and the government will pay all your future bills through the year 2025.

This is such a simple solution to our country's consumer debt problem. I can't believe no other President in history has come up with it before.

Hey you coulda done that for far less $$$ than Bush gave AIG, not to mention the banks, and at least that would have stimulated consumer spending and the economy.

And I'm not necessarily the biggest O supporter, either. When the election came around I didn't even care who won, I was just happy that the buffoon would be gone no matter what. Seriously, anything's better than Bush.

The macro credit climate is what it is.


If you prepay $20,000, you will be able to charge $23,000 if you have a $3000 line.

Sure you are losing the float on the money, but if you value SPG points a lot more than M.R. points then maybe its worth to to you.

That's a good way to work around if it allow you to overpay (I thought BoA does but AMEX does not).

Even if it works, the other drawback is the limit for single transaction is still $3,000.

That's a good way to work around if it allow you to overpay (I thought BoA does but AMEX does not).

Even if it works, the other drawback is the limit for single transaction is still $3,000.

This is allowed with Amex - I just got off the phone with an agent (regarding another issue).

My issue is that I called Amex to reduce my cash advance limit, but they also decreased my credit limit without telling me (apparently they are inextricably tied together at Amex). Now they won't bump my credit line back up to what it originally was until 60 days...

What's more, they won't even extend the promo deadline to spend $15K for 15K bonus *points. I'm stuck at $1K CL. I refuse to go through the prepay hassle (unless someone wants to lend me $15K ;))

Not a good way to be accomodating to new customers.

TMy issue is that I called Amex to reduce my cash advance limit, but they also decreased my credit limit without telling me (apparently they are inextricably tied together at Amex).

Hmm...

My May Amex credit card statement showed my limits for both, as they have always been: cash is 20% of the total limit. The June statement for the same card, however shows an increase in my credit limit by $5k but my cash limit is now $0.

Amex sure is great at causing confusion, that's the conclusion I have reached.

Here I am reading stories about how people's limits are being cut ruthlessly on cards they use all the time, while my credit card (which I use sporadically at best... I use my charge cards) gets a $5k limit increase I didn't ask for. On top of that, like Mr Bean above, I was under the impression that the cash allowed was always linked to the overall limit. In my card's case at 20%. I knew this because I actually did use this card for the odd cash advance under circumstances abroad when it was cheaper to do so than to use an ATM card. But my statement now says my cash limit is $0. This is on the heels of them cold calling me up two days ago offering to upgrade my gold card to a platinum card. Again, while people seem to be getting the axe by Amex for actually using their cards, they're calling to upgrade me when I barely put enough through my gold card to justify even having that card, let alone the plat. Amex just confuses the hell out of me. I dumped them before, I came back to them, and now I don't know what's up with them.

ding ding! back to your corners!

i pretty much dislike all credit cards. i don't trust any of them. hopefully the new obama credit card legislation will tip the balance to be more in favor of the consumer.

I feel that it does the exact opposite, unfortunately.

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That's a good way to work around if it allow you to overpay (I thought BoA does but AMEX does not).
2
Even if it works, the other drawback is the limit for single transaction is still $3,000.

1
The best way is to set up the Amex as a payee on your bank end and
PUSH the funds.
You cannot pull the funds any more with Amex, if it crosses your limit.
If you opt for autopay full balance and then pay the bill online soon after the bill you can every month go to twice the credit limit.
My new letter from Amex tells me that if I pay the bill they can reduce my autopay amount, but they have not yet actually done so.

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Interestingly that is not true.
Once you prepay, Amex lets you often charge more than the credit limit.
I do not know exactly how much.
I have a 1 k SPG that is getting by with 10k per month due to prepayment.
My Biz SPG has a 3k limit and I just put 9K on it in one transaction.