zict

Just got email from amex, and they stated like this:
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Dear xxxx yyyyy:


We are contacting you to be sure you do not have any surprises when you use your card. In this difficult economic environment, we all need to make choices about how we spend and save. For us, that means carefully reviewing the spending and debt profiles of our Cardmembers - and making some difficult decisions. Unfortunately, we have had to make the decision to place a spending limit on your account listed above.

Your spending limit is now set at $3,000.00. Once you reach this limit, we will not approve any charges above this amount. If you have any additional Cardmembers on this account, please tell them of this change. We don't want you or your additional Cardmembers to have any negative experiences the next time you use your Card.

Please understand that this spending limit is not permanent. We will review your account periodically and notify you of any changes.

You will also receive this information by letter, but we wanted to be sure you were aware of this change as soon as possible. We strive to be a responsible lender during both prosperous times and more challenging ones, and we do remain committed to our relationship with you.



Sincerely,

American Express Account Services

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And ofcourse it is very surprising for me with that very low credit limit. I need to pay 11k for my college with this card to earn more points, and now I am limited? Is there any way to let me do on-time charge 11k?

mia

Welcome to Flyertalk.

I suggest you call, during normal business hours. Explain that you will soon need to pay your tuition, that you have the funds in the bank, but you prefer to pay with your American Express card. Ask if you can pay $11,000 in advance and be assured that your charges will be approved.

kennycrudup

Here- let me run this thru my UnBushllit Filter:
It's especially galling when you get this letter after a perfect repayment history raising your interest rate.

DirtyShirt

You will have to pre pay amex the 11k to allow the charge to go through.

jackal

AMEX does not allow prepaying the balance online. If you try to enter a payment greater than your current balance, the following error appears:

You might be able to do it on the phone, and you can certainly try to mail them an $11,000 check and hope they post it and give you a credit balance, but there are no guarantees.

Another option might be to split your payments up. You can pay an American Express card up to once per day, and as soon as you submit a payment (even before it posts), it releases the equivalent funds into your available credit. So, here's what you would do:

Charge $3,000 to your card
As soon as the charge posts, make a $3,000 payment
Immediately charge the next $3,000 to the card
As soon as that charge posts, make a $3,000 payment

Repeat until your bill is paid in full. American Express posts charges to cards relatively quickly compared to other cards (since they own much of the infrastructure for transferring funds between merchants and customers), so you should be able to do this every 1-2 days, meaning you should have it paid off in about a week (maybe 8-9 days, factoring in weekends).

islandguy84

This is correct, HOWEVER while you may not be able to pay greater than your current balance at the AMEX website, if you use the online bill pay of your checking account at a bank and set up AMEX as a payee, AMEX will accept a payment of any amount regardless of your balance. I have done this numerous times.

Call AMEX to confirm that prepaying the 11K will allow you to charge 11K but you can definitely force a payment through using your checking account.

rajuabju

I thought the Gold cards from AMEX had no limit, and thats what differentiated it from other CC's?

pannhead51

+1 ... I do this all the time without any problem.

mia

This is a common misconception. American Express charge cards (Green, Gold, Platinum or Centurion) normally have no fixed limit, but this does not mean unlimited spending. American Express will not reject transactions automatically, but rather they will evaluate them based on the information they have about the cardholder's assets, income, payment history and spending pattern.

In this instance it appears American Express is experiencing lender's remorse, probably upon realizing that the cardholder is a student, and has elected to notify him of the limit.

jackal

Funny this thread was started just now--I just had my previously displayed limit converted back into NPSL this morning! Odd...

Okto

No offense to OP, but doesn't it sound reasonable that AMEX limit its exposure to $3000 to a student that, presumably (and I'm making assumptions here) has no relevant source of income? In other words, how many here would be willing to assume a $11,000 exposure knowing that the borrower has (again making assumptions) no steady cash flow from income?

zict

before, the've asked me to fax them my 3months checking statement and it shows that I also paid about 11k for last quarter. It also showed that I have 12k available in my checking.

rajuabju

Ok... but for other people who are not students have decent income, etc... charging $10k to $15k a month, and paying it off every month as agreed should not be an issue for AMEX to try and limit, right? Or is this something they can decide to do on a whim and the card holder has no recourse?

mia

Any card issuer can restrict your ability to use the card at any time with no notice or explanation. Your recourse is to use a card from another issuer. You cannot force American Express to authorize a charge which they judge you do not have the means (or intention) to pay.


We don't know what you mean by a decent income. If your spending is a high proportion of your stated household income the card issuer will want to understand the source of the additional funds. For example, if they see that much of the spending is in traditional travel and entertainment categories such as airlines, hotels, restaurants, it's straightforward for them to understand that these are reimbused business expenses. However, if you are buying inventory for your eBay business they may not be comfortable with the pattern.

If you are concerned about a specific transaction, call and ask. Whatever you do, have a backup means of payment.

rajuabju

Of course I always have a backup payment method.

Thanks for the clarifications.