If I remember correctly, someone once mentioned that AMEX "never forgets" certain things, such as bankruptcies where they lost a lot of money, etc. Supposedly those people get auto-denied for future Amex products forever. Essentially, they really do keep at least some records forever. I've also read anecdoctal reports of people getting approved for Amex, despite having bankruptcies with them before. So it seems that YMMV when it comes to Amex with just about anything.