I found a loophole in the system. They asked for my credit history, and after declining to give them the satisfaction I kept calling back hoping to get a nicer agent.. I had no luck. I tried to request a line of increase online about 5x as well, no luck.

What I found is that if you request line increases online of >$7,000 every 60 days, the system will process your request without a need for authorization. They didn't call me back to request IRS documents either. So I bypassed this stupid Amex policy, with a stupid loophole.

Your experiences may vary, but like other members I have been an amex member for about 10 years and never made a late payment.