That's awesome, congrat! I would definitely wait until the limit hits your credit reports before you try calling Amex.

I believe depending on OP's income, some banks might refuse to issue new cc because hsi CL is too high (high risk customer)...

I should point out that 1.6 million $ is more than my annual income.

Maybe AMEX knows you're going to win the lottery. Did you perhaps receive an email from a Nigerian address announcing you recently won a Euro-denominated lottery? ;)

Seriously, I wonder how long it would take AMEX to catch this if you don't call. But it's probably best to call and get it straightened out.

is it true that having more total credit lines from cards than your annual income can be a risk to your credit history or for future cards?

High CL does not make OP high risk. It is what the banks says that OP has extended more CL than he can afford based on income.

And trust me - $1.6 Million CL? The banks are looking for at least $10 Million of income or assets. And no offense - all banks will do FR in this case, not just AMEX.

Even OP won a lottery, the maximum a bank can do increase the CL from a 5 figure to 6. Definitely not 7 figure.

Trust me - as ridiculous as it sounds, AMEX won't catch it at all. Even OP calls AMEX, they act like nothing happened. Remember - AMEX has some true high limit spenders. Some time ago, I saw Madoff's Centurion Statement. He was paying like 6 figure per month. So $1.6 Million CL? Rare but possible.

Also - one of the reasons why OP should not fix the issue is it is the fault of AMEX. You have to let them on hook in order to help OP resolving any future issues.

(Remember - reducing CL can be an adverse action for credit report.)

Well - the fact is no banks will ever approve any further revolving credit for sure (Charge cards, store cards are another stories).

However, as soon as OP is making payment of time, his credit will be excellent for sure (as the credit utilization drops to the new low).

I won't categorize that as a risk but an inconvenience.

Oh well. That was fun while it lasted.
The credit limit is back to the expected 16k$. That's about it.
The message I received is no longer accessible, so I don't even have anything to show for it to Amex except screenshots.

Look at the good side - it is worth a big laugh and AMEX fixes the issue without asking.

Holy smokes... that was a wild ride and I was just reading about it!

I applied for my first amex spg card in the uk and got a £18500 limit :eek: I don't spend more than a few thousand a month on this card . Im still not sure whether I should ask them to reduce it as I am concerned about the impact on my credit score if I do so.:confused:

I think I would do what you did in blanking out the #'s and then print it and put it in a frame to show everyone what a great credit risk you are. LOL :D