How long to wait to re-apply for Amex card after being shut down?
 

I have a friend that both he and his wife had a American Express blue card, plus he also had a Starwood business card. They always paid on time, but sometime over a year ago Amex did a financial review on them and closed down all 3 accounts. Can he already re-apply for any American Express card, or how long does he need to wait?

There is no magic number because in most cases AMEX will never re-open closed accounts [usually if they were in default]. The best way to know is to call them direct to know what caused the closure in the first place and to ask about re-instatement. Blindly re-applying without knowing leads nowhere [i.e. continued denials].

It was only due to a financial review. I guess he stated that he had a larger income than he could prove.
Do you think if he gives very exact numbers for income that he can verify, that he will be approved?

I think your friend just learned the hard way that honesty is the best policy ;)

I was told a minimum of 6 months by Amex for a credit line increase now.
A new account may be similar.

I have to say I am surprised you would want to go back. If the card was removed/closed because of something you have done then ok, but if it was just an Amex decision then I personally would not give them my custom again.

If he had a relationship with AMEX that ended because he did not provide accurate information when asked, then there is always some wiggle room to plead ignorance and ask for forgiveness. At that point he would simply tell/provide the truth to the questions presented to him. [Same applies to most successful relationships]

Does anyone have actual experience with being shut down due to not cooperating with a financial review, and then waiting a year or so to reapply, and then got approved?

Heavy Traveler Cheque or dollar coin purchases also triggered FR.

Search "Financial Review" and here are some threads -

http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/ameri...n-5-times.html

http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/ameri...l-surveys.html

http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/ameri...view-amex.html

Yes, I have experience. They closed my accounts after 5 days on financial review b/c they did not get the tzx records back fromt he IRS. When they did get the records back, they opened 2 of the 3 accounts that had no balances. the 3rd acct had a 1.99% balance transfer (for the life of the balance) they told me they would not reopen that one unless i agreed to a change in rate terms to 13.99. I told them to leave it closed and I would pay the balance off over time (making the monthly payments or more at 1.99%). When I applied for a corp card, they denied it claiming another acct had been closed. they looked to see that i had other accts, and approved the corp card, but i was told that if they EVER close an acct, they will never open another one for you again.

WOW! So basically you are saying that someone that was shut down by Amex, does not stand a chance of getting approved for a Amex card for the rest of their life??!

Emphasis added.

If you spend some time reading threads in this section you will know that American Express practice often diverges from policy. If you spend time anywhere on Flyertalk you will see that information provided by customer service agents is notoriously inconsistent and unreliable.

Isn't that the truth.

So you think that he can reapply??