mia

Citi is reportedly paying American Express $1 billion above the outstanding balances for the Costco portfolio. American Express will have a contractual agreement to continue to administer these accounts to the same standards to the very last day, and they probably have financial incentives tied to the default rate over a period of time. The issuer buying the portfolio would be foolish not to stipulate this lest they receive a higher proportion of accounts with noncollectable balances. The fact that your account happens to be a Costco co-branded card should be irrelevant to American Express' decision making procedure.

shfawaz

Excuse me? I see you have allot of time on your hands to admonish other members. I'm not sure what value your 2k posts have contributed to this board and frankly don't really care, but unlike you who has time to post some two thousand posts, I have a life.

Why would I care if my Amex is closed now or in 58 days like it will regardless of my actions or inactions. Everyone's Costco Amex is getting closed--even if the business is being transferred to another bank, it's not an Amex anymore. I have enough Citibank Mastercards and Visa's to fill my wallet thank you very much.

Anyway, I believe this board is for members to share experiences and compare notes. If you can't offer a response that contributes positively to the conversation, it's probably best you remain silent instead of jumping all over someone who mostly reads rathers than writes. I don't think there are any rules that prohibit that.

And yes, maybe I am venting by sharing, but certainly are not complaining. You must have mistaken me for someone who thinks other members loved the Amex review process. Your mistake I guess.

jsk1973

I didn't "admonish" anyone.

Methinks the FlyerTalker doth protest too much.

If having an Amex card is important to you, keep in mind that you probably won't be able to get another one until you've complied with the financial review request. (Some people have success after waiting at least 6-12 months before re-applying.) If having an Amex card isn't important at all, then it's unclear why you're ranting here. Just pay off the balance and be done with it.

shfawaz

I wasn't aware of that. Thanks for the clarification.

Regardless if my account is closed or open at this point, I imagine my remaining balance should I choose to carry it forward will go to Citibank at this point. I don't think Citibank gets to cherry-pick which accounts it takes and which it doesn't, with the possible exception of accounts that are maybe past due by a certain number of days (90 or more I imagine). I don't know what the cutoff is, but all I know is mine is, and always has been in good standing. So at this point, I don't believe a financial review helps anyone here, most especially me.

shfawaz

Again, this board is for sharing experiences, and I don't believe I am ranting. As a matter of fact, I have had Amex in the distant past (over a decade ago) where they asked for FR and I declined to share my tax return then. They closed the account as I expected them to. I wasn't happy about it, but it is what it is.

I only chose to reopen an Amex when it became the only credit card Costco accepted. So I reapplied and had no trouble getting it. It wasn't even three or four months after they closed the previous account, so I don't believe that not submitting to a FR is really prejudicing one to apply for another Amex card down the road.

At this point, Amex offers nothing other cards don't emulate. So yes, I guess I'm done with them.

mia

I think they have to take 100% of the open Costco co-branded portfolio. No idea what happens to accounts which have been closed, but still have a balance.

baccarat_king

"always" is a very long time

mia

To be sure I understand correctly, you show a large loss on your personal tax return, but you file a separate tax return for the business? Is the loss from the business for which you are using the card, or from some other source? I don't care about the details of your financial affairs, just trying to understand what American Express will see.

In general American Express cares more about top line income (cash flow) than about bottom line (profit or loss), but the business needs to appear viable.

Nafees Khaiser

Yes, I am showing large losses on the Personal return, and file separate business taxes. I am a sub S corp, so when I can show a loss in the corp, it flows to my personal tax, thus giving me a nice tax deduction. I still have a decent net income, though on the personal side.
Yes, the loss does come from the business which I use the card for.
They are not looking at the business tax returns, just personal, which worries me a bit. My personal income, weather you look at gross or net, won't support my spending on the business card but will support the personal card. However, if you look at the gross sales from the business, that will support the spending on the business card.
I hope this clarifies my situation. Thanks for the help!

Nepasser

So I got hit with a financial review after trying to buy 9k at Simon. Pretty stupid of me to do it on my Business Platinum but it is what is it is.

The problem is I'm a student that doesn't file taxes so Amex won't get anything from the IRS to verify my income.

Should I just submit the form and see what they respond with? I would prefer to keep my Plat for the travel benefits. Or should I just close out my cards and reapply when I have verifiable income?

CodeAdam10

How did you get approved for a Business Platinum card if you have no personal or business income?

United747

I'm confused. I'm a student and definitely have to file taxes.

Nepasser

I have access to my family's household income which is in the mid 6 figures.

daw4888

I would cancel your cards, and wait until you get your own income. Its going to be hard to justify your position to them.

United747

I guess if you're over 21, you can include household. But under that you cannot. Maybe see if your parents are willing to send in the forms. But then how are you able to get the business card? Do you have a sole prop with no income?

I guess I'd have to agree with daw4888. Have you parents apply and become an AU.