Originally Posted by
tmiw
The myFICO forums would probably have a lot more information that would be relevant to OP's situation. From what I remember, though, AmEx (used to?) have a special card for those who had bad debt with them as sort of a "second chance" thing; after having that card for a while with good history you'd be allowed to apply for regular AmEx cards.
The special card is/was called Optima Oasis. I'm not sure if it still exists, or exactly how to get Amex to offer it.
In my understanding American Express will not allow you to open another account, or even to hold a supplementary card on someone else's account, unless you repay the amount they wrote off. There hasn't been any recent discussion, policies do change, and exceptions may happen, but that has been their practice.
There seem to be a few different methods of them seeking repayment, but it does seem common. I've heard they tell some former customers that if the customer pays some portion of the former balance, Amex will guarantee approval for a low-CL Optima Oasis. I've also heard them approve applicants for normal cards and then, within a few days, "invite" the applicant to pay off the former balance. From what I've heard, there is some implication that the new account will be closed if the old balance is not repaid. I'm not sure if the people who report getting these "invitations" are exaggerating Amex's aggression or not.