HoKo

So in December '11 I was put under financial review. I submitted all of the requested paperwork (including 4506-T requests). Despite my cooperation a couple weeks later I received notice from my AMEX FR agent that the accounts were in a queue to be closed and that the decision was final. I didn't want "Account closed by creditor" showing up for 5 different AMEX accounts on my credit report so I quickly transferred all MR points and shut down all of the accounts myself.

The agent refused to provide me the reason for closure but I believe the cause was a discrepancy in my income. In 2010 (the year for which they requested 4506-T) my salary was that of a first year college graduate working at a crappy job. By December 2011 I had changed jobs and was literally making $17,000 more than I had been in 2010 (and of course this was the income I was listing on my CC applications). I attempted to explain this to the FR agent but they basically said 'tough luck, we can only count verifiable income from your 4506-T.'

All AMEX accounts were closed in December '11 so it has been slightly over one year since all of this happened. I just received a targeted AMEX Plat offer for 100K MR and would really like to jump on this offer. I have never had an AMEX Plat before.

Some of the questions running through my head:

1. Does the fact that I initiated the account closure myself matter?
2. Does AMEX have some sort of notation on my name/SS # indicating that I was shut down due to FR (even though I initiated the closures)?
3. Is there a set amount of time where people are allowed to get another AMEX card after being shut down due to FR?
4. Should I expect to be asked for income verification when I apply for the AMEX Plat?
5. Will I be on a watch-list for AMEX going forward and should tread very carefully with my Plat usage (assuming I get approved)?

I realize some of these questions may not have any black & white answers but if anyone has experience with a similar situation I'd appreciate hearing about your experience.

some dude

1) It may help slightly.
2) Amex does maintain a record of people by SSN, and does occasionally blacklist people (generally for bankruptcy). It's unlikely they blocked you for FR alone.
3) I've seen reports on creditboards of people opening a new amex account one month after a FR
4) Maybe
5) You will probably be on a watch list for the first few months -- once you build up a history with them, you'll likely be fine.

As far as if you are on a blacklist, you can probably just call amex and ask before you apply if you are on a blacklist. Call platinum customer service at 800-525-3355 and just dial zero a few times.

LETTERBOY

Any idea why they FR'ed you?

ddallas

HoKo

Thanks, very helpful

I hate to be rude but did you even read my original post? The entire 2nd paragraph was dedicated to potential reasons for the FR.

HoKo

Can't quote your post but thanks for the input ddallas

Steve M

The second paragraph of your OP contains your suspected reasons for failing the FR, but that's not the question you were asked, which was "Any idea why they FR'ed you?" That is, why was the FR triggered in the first place?

HoKo

Excellent point, I should have read more carefully.

To answer the question yes I believe I triggered the FR by purchasing a large number of CVS giftcards.

Often1

If you do get the card, stick to using it for its intended purposes. Trying to churn gift cards and the like is becoming increasingly suspect, forcing issuers (Amex) to file Suspicious Activity Reports (SAR's) with the feds and consuming more effort than the accounts are worth.

ddallas

How large of a number?

HoKo

I'm not gonna specify an exact number in a public thread but in retrospect it's definitely not surprising that it ended up setting off alarms. I should've known better than to risk it with AmEx haha.

LAX88

I'm confused as to why you'd buy a large number of CVS giftcards in 2011 before VR. Were these Green Dot cards? If not something that could be drained without 2+% fees, what was the point? If it was just to hit minimum spend, that's well below what I manufacture on a monthly basis with AMEX cards.

HoKo

Completely different deal, nothing to do with VR

leftpinky

I had an FR, but passed. 2 weeks later my card was cancelled due to a drop in credit score (uh-huh). applied a month later for the delta card and got approved. I'd say apply for a card with a lower credit score (not the SPG, but maybe the green?) and go from there.

StartinSanDiego

Oh, that's scary, since all these activities cause so much bouncing around in credit scores. My husband and mine have both dropped by 50ish points (for a couple of different reasons). What was your original score and how much did it drop?