American Express Lowered My Credit Limit Following Payment

Can they legally do this? Can they take 3.5 billion dollars bailout
and now do this to the hard working honest people that pay the bills
consistently?

If there is an attorney reading this please reply to this questions,
is a class action and option?

Who are the ones making these policies at AMEX? Is there any consumer
protection organization that can investigate, is this going to be the
next ENRON??????

Could it be anybody at AMEX making big profits out of this policies
and then dissapear with all of the money maybe to the Cayman Islands,
and bankrupt the company?

They did the same to me after almost ten years of perfect payment
record and excellent credit with all of the credit bureaos, they
emailed me, then called me and automatically the credit was reduced
almost 60%, with immediate effects. As a result I am paying off and
bye bye AMEX forever. The question...if there is any lawyer reading
this...they took 3.5 billion bailout, and now they are doing this to
the people that pay!!! with no notification...can this really be done
legally? is there any possibility of a class action for all the damage
they are doing on the people that paid honestly for years and years?

My AMEX was recently reduced from $20,000 to $1,600. I have never
been late on any payments and I have a perfect credit. The one
negative is that I am going through a loan modification with Citi
mortgage. They said it takes about 3 months to complete. Well, its
coming up to a year and there is no end in sight. But that's another
story.

Anyway, because of my modification, it is reporting that I am paying
partial payments on my mortgage. So evidently, I am late on my
mortgage payments, even though I am not. That is the only thing
derogatory on my credit. I am perfect otherwise.

Explaining this to the customer service rep was pointless. They are
robots as someone else said in an earlier post.

The customer service rep did tell me that if I paid off my current
balance, then they can increase my limit to $3000. My payment wasn't
due for 2 weeks, so I waited until the due date to pay it off. Well,
finds out that the only way for them to increase the limit was for me
to pay it off at the time I talked to the rep. Lesson learned I
guess.

Note that I always payoff my balance in full every month and I have
never been late on any of my payments. Yet, they drastically cut my
limit from $20,000 to $1,600.

If it wasn't for shopping at Costco, I would have cancelled the card
already.

The rep did say that I can try to appeal the limit by sending in my
w2's or my bank statements. No thanks, AMEX. I will never use your
card again unless I am shopping at Costco.

Same here. I had been a card "member" for over 22 years. Was at a
business meeting out of town and they arbitrarily reduced our credit
limit after we made a payment in full. Problem was, we were charging
because we were out of town, so charges started to get declined, for
all my employees. And since my personal card was somehow linked to by
business card, they froze that too. Mind you, I never had a late
payment and always paid on time. Over the past five years, I've
charged over $2 million with them.

Lesson learned. I closed all my Amex card accounts and switched to
other banks that didn't cross personal & business spending. I can be
small minded and hold a grudge, so I look forward to the day when they
come crawling back (and they will) and I tell them that I need to
lower MY risk profile by not including an Amex card in my wallet.

Actually after my payment in full online they decided to cancel my
card. When my husband tried to use the card it was declined.. When I
got my final bill they had said they had cut my credit line in 1/2..
What I don't understand is how they took an approximate 3.5 billion
dollar bailout and then do this to everyone?! When I asked their Exec
to the CEO she told me it wasn't my business.. Umm HELLO part of your
bailout was the consumers money.. Maybe the govt should have ran a
credit check on you.. and limited your bailout so you can fall flat on
your face.. Thank Goodness for filing complaints with Better Business
Bureau

I just received a notice that my business Amex credit limit was cut in
half. I pay off my balances every month and have never had a late
payment.

I called them and was told that the reason why it was done was because
I wasn't using my limit. I explained that the reason for a higher
limit was to give me options in case an opportunity came along.

It doesn't cost Amex any money to keep credit limits high and I don't
understand the rationale. Maybe an economist can explain this

Carol

And my Story Goes: http://amexunamerican.blogspot.com/

A similar thing happened to me, where I saw my AMEX credit line
suddenly and unexpectedly reduced from $74,000 to $32,000. I had been
using my AMEX Delta Skymiles card for both personal and business
expenses, usually revolving large balances (which I thought credit
card companies considered a good thing -- until the recession) but
always meeting my payment deadlines consistently for more than two
decades.

American Express is not the only lender to reduce my credit. But
somehow, a carefully worded letter from Chase explaining that the
reduction was all about the company's efforts to deal with an
uncertain economy and in no way a reflection of the responsible way I
pay my bills on time took much of the sting out of their actions.
Whereas American Express sent me a cold-looking form letter that
mentioned their decision could be based on my credit report, payment
history, or other factors -- but that they were not at liberty to
discuss which factors were involved in my reduction in credit.

I realize AMEX's decision was nothing personal, but that's
unfortunate. All good business decisions should be personal. I have
switched all financial transactions to my Visa check card and have
ceased using my American Express card. While it worked nicely during
the Reagan and Clinton economies, I find it unpredictable and
unfriendly during the current economic crisis -- a fair weather friend
indeed!

So, Amex just lowered my credit line to $1000.

I've been an Amex cardholder for 19 years. Never missed a payment -
not on Amex, or anything else for that matter.

Admittedly, I am flipping balances on a couple other cards
temporarily, however again, no missed payments - ever.

I had been using Discover because of the great cash back option. I
then found that the Costco True Earning Business card had even better
cash back percentages, so I opened up a new account. I already had a
Blue card with some very high credit line.. maybe $14k - $20k... don't
remember now.

So, I get my True Earnings card, and it came with $2900 credit line.
I was disappointed because it had 0% for purchases for the first 3
months, and I should have been able to average about $4500 based on my
monthly spend during that time...which at 0% would have been nice.
Instead, it capped after just over the first month...I asked if I
could increase it, and the rep said I could only request an increase
after like 60 or 90 days... AFTER the 0% intro period was pretty much
up... Nice.

Anyways, I went with it because it was enough of a line for me to put
all my charges through without any issues.

In the meantime, I figured if I were to close my Blue card it would
decrease my other credit line so that I could increase my Costco True
Earnings Business card credit line... I didn't necessarily want to
close the Blue card, but I was kind of irritated at the credit limit
issue... I had previously asked if I could shift the credit from one
product to the other, and I was told that wasn't possible. So,
account closed.

At the end of the intro period for the Costco card, I had to pay off
my balance in full to avoid any finance charges - so I could continue
to use the card for all my purchases.... so I did...paid it off. Just
last month.

Much like the other posts here, it seems that once the balance was
paid off, boom... credit line decreased. TO JUST $1000.00!!!

Seriousy, WTF were they thinking????

I pay my balance off in full every month.. I was putting every single
dollar of spend through the card. My average monthly spend is between
$2000-$3000 with at least 2-3 big purchases each year.

I got an email on my phone tonight... ironically just after using my
Amex card to fill up my gas tank...It said important account update,
so I checked it right away.

After seeing the credit line decrease, I immediately called to see if
it could be corrected. I called to explain that I need approximately
$3k to use the card... even if I weren't pissed, I'd still need that
much to use the card without having to worry at the end of the month
if I'm close to my credit limit.

I'm not gonna use a card where I have to wonder "will I at some point
accidentally exceed my limit this month?" I don't have to ... I have
pleeeenty of available credit on other providers.

The rep said she couldn't help me...said she had to transfer me to
someone else... That pissed me off.

So... Gold Card - gone....closed the card I've had since 1990...the
card with no limit, that I've paid $150/year for for ages. $100
pro-rated refund coming back... booyaa.

I had kept the Gold card for large purchases.. purchase protection..
yadda yadda.. so it wouldn't interfere with my credit limit on my
other Amex card. No longer needed. ACCOUNT CLOSED.

Back to the Costco Amex card. I was xferred to someone regarding the
credit line reduction. It seems there's a group of people that get
these calls... that hear people complain, yet are trained to simply
respond like robots..reading a canned script stating some bogus
generic message around why the credit line was decreased. Nothing
specific to *MY* accounts.. Just the rep reading a canned list of
potential factors that impact the decision to adjust credit line.

I interrupted the rep... I told the rep I know all the potential
factors that can effect the decition. I don't give a cr*p. What I
said was look at the factors that a.) I've never, ever missed any
payments, b.) I've been a customer for 18 years, c.) I put ALL my
charges through Amex, d.) I pay them off every month e.) I shop at
COSTCO - with my Amex..and will have to switch to Sam's Club because I
won't keep an account that doesn't meet my minimum needs.

So the rep.. not saying anything related to what I said, just picked
up from that canned note, not missing a beat. I stopped her again,
and asked her point blank, "Can you or anyone else, your manager, fix
the credit line issue and put it back to $2900" (which isn't huge by
any stretch - but would have kept me as a customer). She said there's
an appeal process. I'll be damned if I'm appealing anything... Not
spending any more time on this... I'm not calling back tomorrow.. I'm
not gonna even sit on the phone more than a few more minutes.

The answer was a flat "No".

So... no problem... Close the account.

She goes off and says she is unable to close the account... that I
have to call some other number. She can't transfer me. I'm driving
and have to take down a number and call back... just pissing me off
even more.

So, I call the other number. I explain the situation. I explain that
the card is worthless to me if I can't put my monthly spent thru it.
I explain that I CAN use my Discover card to put my monthly spent
through, and that the benefit difference is marginal... In fact, in
some ways it's better than Amex because you receive the rebate amount
immediately, whereas with Amex you have to wait until the end of the
fiscal year to receive the cash back - decreasing the NPV of the money
coming back to me.

So, I give Amex one more chance... I ask again if the credit limit
issue can be resolved to keep the card useful.

Flat answer - No.

My response: Fine... close my last Amex account. Customer Lost... For
Good. 18 years, and a few HUNDRED THOUSAND DOLLARS of spend over the
lifetime of my accounts - gone... never to return.

I was informed that I had $110 in cash back that I would be forfeiting
... Gee - I wonder why I had that cash back coming... Maybe because I
USE MY CARD WISELY AND PAY MY BALANCE OFF IN FULL EACH MONTH.

Do I care about the $110? Yes. Do I want to keep my Amex card around
for 6 months just to get that cash back? No... Keep it Amex... it's a
gift from me to you. I'll call it a wash with the $100 refund from my
Gold card annual fees being returned to me...

Next step? Pay off account in full... switch over automated
payments... email Costco that I'll no longer be a customer... close my
business Costco account, get refund for pro-rated membership
fees...Tell them I'm switching to Sam's club because I can no longer
pay for purchases at Costco (they only accept Amex cards, and I don't
pay with cash or check)... Sam's Club accepts Discover...so I'm good
to go. I don't think Costco will appreciate losing customers, but not
my problem.

I had just though of the irony of something... with the way things are
calculated.

I opened the Costco True Earnings card because of the cash back
benefits, but didn't receive enough of a credit line when opening the
new account.

I closed my Blue card, which was a large credit line, because I was
unable to shift any open available credit from one account to another.
I had a large credit line on my Blue card, and a small one on my
Costco card, so closed the Blue card and waited to ask for a credit
increase.

Instead, what I *presume* happened is that closing the Blue card
increased my debt to available credit ratio... it also decreased the
average life of my accounts as it was one of my older accounts. This
would have impacted my credit score, which is still very good by the
way.

I then proceeded to pay off my balance on my Costco card in full.

And that's when the shoe dropped... the impact of closing my Blue card
account, which was the only potential way for me to move the available
credit over... actually had the opposite of the desired effect - and
Amex's new policies reduced my credit line to $1000... making the
account utterly worthless for me as a full-monthly-spend card.

---

Oh, it gets better... I just realized something else that could have
prevented this.

I had previously been using Discover to pump all my spending through
because of their cash back.

Before I had a Costco True Earnings Business Card, I had a Costco Cash
Rebate Amex card..

I wanted to switch the card type from the Cash Rebate card to a True
Earnings business card, but apparently the systems didn't support that
switch.. Was told I had to apply for a new account and close the old
one.

Had they been able to switch the card type, none of this would have
happened.

But, they weren't able to switch the card type, so I closed the old
account, and opened a new one.... thereby impacting the average life
of my open accounts, negatively impacting my credit score as a first
step.

So, I went from Discover... to my new Amex card... closing one
account.. then another... trying to make the new Amex card fill my
needs... and then this happens... making the Amex card utterly
worthless, after I closed two other accounts... I finally closed a
third... and then a fourth... and now I only have one left because I
have to - a corporate card that I don't have a choice about.

The end.

If only I had known about this sooner. I am supposed to photograph a
close friend's wedding in Boston on August 1st. I decided to pay down
my American Express so I could buy the airfare and use some of the
credit for my week-long trip. The sad result of this policy Amex is
implementing: I bought the airplane ticket, the credit line was
reduced, and now I have no way of paying for my hotel accomodation or
meals while there. The backlash: I called JetBlue to discuss a refund
on a non-refundable ticket. The rest is history. Now I have a $1236
JetBlue credit for the tickets that were going to get my family to our
delightful annual vacation in Boston, and no trip to Boston.
Obviously, I had to call my friend and let her know what was going on.
This is more than disappointing. I have been an Amex card holder
since the 1990s and for my credit line to be lowered thousands of
dollars without warning or notice of any kind was a huge slap in the
face. Needless to say, anytime I'm standing at a register with a
moment to spare (the people in line must thing I'm crazy), I turn
around and ask the person behind me if they use an Amex card so I can
tell them what happenend to me. Then I refer them to the Internet to
read up and make sure they are choosing their creditors wisely.
Surely this is going to end up in a class-action suit. What if I had
a dying family member I needed to get to or, worse yet, those funds
were something I really needed for my children's purposes? Nevermind
our credit scores; I can think of a number of scenarios where having a
long-time-available credit limit adjusted by several thousand dollars
could have life-altering consequences. I'm sorry for whoever that
happens to...

Okay, I'm feeling a little better after reading all these posts.

A couple of years ago, I paid my AMEX card down $2500 for a cruise to
Mexico. Imagine my embarassment when the purser's desk called to let
me know that I didn't have any credit line on my account. I had to
call AMEX from the ship and was told that my credit line had been
dropped because of one of their "occasional reviews" of my
credit-worthiness. But, I kept on trusting them anyhow.....

A couple of weeks ago, I paid off ALL of my credit cards, including
$14,000 to AMEX. Surprise! Yesterday, I received a letter from them
letting me know that they had completely closed down my account and
that "this action may have a negative bearing on your credit score".
What???? I, too, have a credit score well over 700 which will
probably go much higher now that I have paid off all of my cards. Of
course, I dream of the day that AMEX comes groveling to get me to open
an account and I simply say "you've got to be kidding".

There are better rewards cards out there and also companies that treat
their customers with the respect they've earned. Thanks for letting
me vent.

To all American Express Card Holders , if you think you have
established good relationship with American Express ............you
are totally WRONG.
If you dont believe me. Give yourself sometime and you will find out
yourself ....

I've been an AMEX for 27 years. A "valued" customer. Bullshit. Lsst
evening,on MEMORIAL DAY!, they called to give me the "courtesy call"
that my limit has been reduced from a NO SET LIMIT to $3700.00!! This
was after 2 months ago arbitrailarly and without notice reduced by 2
business accounts from $5000 each to $500 each!! What a business card
that will be!!! I have done more for Amercian Express in the last 27
years than they have ever done and could ever do for me. I promoted
the benefit of the card to friends, family who carried visa/mastercard
and to merchants who were refusing the card. I have universally
promoted the company. I have charged over $1,000,000 on my cards of
the years. In 27 years I have been late 30 days only a couple of times
and none in the past five years. NO MORE!! Chenualt should be fired
immediately from this compnay. He has NO IDEA that the tenured AMEX
cardholder communtiy is the very foundation of his company and that
foundation is crumbling rapidly. I too after 27 years will be
cancelling all cards with AMEX effective immediately. To hell with
them. No more. Their 27 years of good will has been trashed in a
single phone call.

I was with Amex for 10 years, and three months ago, they canceled my
card without even notifying me. I literally used it an hour before I
tried to use it again, and was denied! I told the customer service
rep that I hope the company goes under and she loses her job. It
wasn't fair to her, but imagine my frustration when I'm denied a $4
transaction after I had just used it for a $50 meal an hour before. I
will never, ever go back to Amex.

I understand saying "Glad I'm not the only one" doesn't make things
better, but at least you didn't get a phone call from AmEx saying "Do
you realize your credit limit was reduced?" the MORNING of the
decrease! We use our AmEx for our business as well, pay off the
balance every month. My husband made a $3900.00 purchase at Costco
and 2 (TWO!!) hours later, we got the phone call saying our limit was
$4100.00 (down from $12k). I asked the rep how on Earth I could've
known if their phone call was my first notice. I'm just so frustrated
with this whole experience!!!

I am writing to share my experince from this evening with American
Express. I have a 714 score with Experian. A/X left an automated
message indicating that my credit rating was reduced from $18K to
$4,400. I owe $3,500 on the card, I have a perfect payment history
with A/X and that reduction will now put me in an unfavorable position
with the credit bureaus as I will be over 50% of my limit. I called
and they told me that they reduced my limit because Experian showed me
as a high risk. I informed them that this indiscriminate move will
give cause to lower my credit rating. The supervisor told me that she
knew that but they can not change the 'review boards' decision. My
credit report is very clean and the 714 score is not shabby. AX
really is as despicable as the rest of the banks out there sucking off
of the government motherhood. They took Government money and now they
are throwing all of us who have been faithfull cardholders for years
in the crapper.
I have cancelled my card, I will pay of the balance by the end of this
month and I will cancel all other AX company cards within the
organization where I work.
I hope others will read this and do the same.

Same story, but the timing in my case was really bad ... I had paid
down my card by $25K in prep for a bunch of travel and a week in
Europe, and as I was sitting at the airport 45 min before leaving to
London a charge bounced. AmEx had cut my limit from $50K to $28K,
changing my available credit from $23K to $563. I was essentially
stranded in Europe with no credit card, the Friday before Easter
weekend. I can imagine people who were traveling with their families
and couldn't pay for a hotel, car, or whatever, all due to AmEx's
arbitrary decision-making.

AmEx is reprehensible ... if they want to lower credit limits for
people with decent FICO scores and perfect payment histories, I guess
that is their perogative, but they could give you some notice and not
just treat their best customers with such contempt.

I closed the card and plan to pay it off next week when I am back in
town. I also plan to spend as much effort as I can spreading the word
about their despicable business practices and the huge gap between
what they claim to be ... some kind of high value / high service card
for valued clients ... and what they actually are, a business run by
computer models that treats their customers with total contempt and
disrespect and doesn't care *one iota* how much aggravation and damage
their policies cause to their "valued" customers.

The fact that I paid off $25K last week and can pay off the other $28K
in a week once they pissed me off should speak for itself in terms of
whether this was a valid decision in terms of my being a "risky"
customer.

Idiots.

Glad I'm not alone. I'm in a bit of a different boat though. Have a
business platinum card with a 37k limit. I was running a balance
between 9 and 11k a month, with about 2-3k per month in charges AND
payments....

Decided to make an equipment purchase of 6k and within 24 hours I had
a phone call that my limit was reduced to what equates to my new
balance after the 6k purchase. That's right 17k credit limit, down
from 37k !!

They were totally uncaring on my phone call and offered up that they
would NOT consider increasing it back. And yes, they fed me the same
story about updated information from the credit bureaus was used in
their decision. RIGHT. My FICO hasn't change, it's rock solid at
730-740 and has been for years. No other change in accounts or
balances either!

Goodbye American Express after 15 years! I believed them to be a
business partner, and used the card as a tool like many others. I
simply cannot do business with them anymore!

Totally Unfair and unethical business practice. Been a customer with
AMEX for 13 years and paying the total amount due on time every time
and this is HOW THEY TREAT ME!!! Cut my credit line to half.

AMEX will have to pay for this kind of thing. I will make sure that
going forward and once I have paid off the card - i will cancel the
account and NEVER use your card anymore. I will also make sure that
this kind of treatment will be known to all my relatives, friends,
customers.

Sorry to say but I had a high opinion about AMEX till now. They will
regret such decisions.

Sincerly
Shawn

American Express treats it's good standing customers like criminals.
After a relationship with them for almost 10 years (and I'm not even
30) they decide to cut my credit limit in half.

They say they have a evaluated my credit history and have decided to
cut my available balance from 12,500 to 5,000. Obviously I wasn't
close to the limit, and I pay at least double of what the required
minimum payment should be. The customer service rep kept telling me
after evaluating your credit history we made a business decision to
lower your limit.

I have almost an 800 credit score and you don't keep that by not
knowing how to handle your finances. The obviously don't value
customer service or do they care about the relationship you have built
and established with them.

They lowered my credit limit, yet they continue to call and offer me a
credit monitoring so they can get paid, and offers to open more cards.
The rep said that they didn't know my history before they sent the
offers - so I said "you don't check the history of people who have no
cards with you, but you do check the credit for people have long
lasting relationships of no negative account history" - surprise, she
didn't have a response for that - seem backwards to me!

AMERICAN EXPRESS IS IN FINANCIAL TROUBLE according to my conversation
with EXPERIAN earlier today. I had to hunt down a real phone number
for Experian and finally talk to a real person. Here is the number
that will help you reach a live voice.

Experian
475 Anton Blvd.
Costa Mesa, CA 92626
1 714 830 7000

This started off with AMEX lowering my credit line by $10,700.00.
After asking American Express why this happened, they referred me to
contact Experian, and that they receive a monthly report that showed I
was at a high balance to credit line ratio. AMEX gave me a bunk phone
number to Experian which was just an automated line.
Once I finally hunted down a real person, I found out that they are
having a lot of calls from AMEX customers in the same boat with
perfect credit and payment history. She informed me that American
Express is in financial turmoil.
I will no longer be doing business with American Express. If I had
been planning to make a large purchase at Costco, who accepts American
Express ONLY, and was denied at the counter, I would be irate. I'm not
impressed with their way of doing business.

WWW.CannonSarge.COM

I am right there with the rest of you. Last Saturday I received an
automated phone call from American Express stating that my limit had
been lowered. I steamed about this for an hour and then I called only
to be told by not only the robot sitting in the cubicle but also by
their supervisor that my limit was lowered to do the my making
payments that were too close to my minimum monthly required payment
and that three months ago I was delinquent with another credit card.
First of all I have never been late with any other creditor and each
month I have paid anywhere from three to four times the required
minimum to them - they are out right lying to their customers. I told
the supervisor that by them lowering my limit it would have a negative
impact on my credit score and all the stupid woman could say was "I
know." God, she was so flip about it and I started to imagine being
able to lower her score. Currently my FICO is (was) 744 (average of
all 3). American Express obviously no longer rewards its dedicated
customers. I will be closing this card as soon as possible.

They did this three time to me in that past four months. I too, just
made a sizeable lump sum payment because when they reduced my credit
line on two cards, they effectively cause my FICO score to go down
because of the updated ratio of debt to credit limit. I just received
another email that they cut the limit again on one card that was cut
four months ago. My FICO score was 738 (average across the Big
Three).

I have NEVER been late (that's right , never) on any payments to any
of my accounts, my score across all the Big Three is average of 725
(which is going to go down again now), and I have ALWAYS paid way more
than required minimum, an all my accounts.

Guess what, AMEX? I am closing my accounts tomorrow and am going to
make sure everyone I know that has an AMEX account aware of how you
treat loyal cardholders. Its funny how I googled "Notice of Credit
Limit Reduction," which was the heading of my email and this website
came up #1.

If I weren't a god-fearing man, my words would be much harsher. I
truly believe that your actions are discriminatory, constitute unfair
business trade practices, and are character assassinations on those of
us that take great care to be timely.

Derogatorily,

Robert B.
Palmdale, CA

I'm so glad I googled this!!! My husband and I are actively paying
off a balance of $21k; this is our only credit card balance. After
making a payment of $9,200 last week, they lowered our credit line to
13,000. My husband was so angry that in this economy, they punish
people actually making payments! We had planned to pay off all but
$5k by the end of this month.

Amex gave us the line that we have deragotory credit, etc....I
immediately pulled our score and it's just below 700 despite the fact
that we purchased a house recently.

I secured a fixed rate interest loan through our bank for the
remaining $5k and we got a Mastercard with a reasonable limit for
hubby to use on business expenses. Amex will go in the drawer and
never be used again.

They sure loved the $400 a month in interest we were paying to them
every month...on time and over the minimum payments. Guess they know
how to encourage people NOT to use their cards!

Thanks to everyone for sharing their stories. It's comforting to know
that it wasn't just us.

This is absolutely amazing to me!!!!! I swore that I was the only the
customer who was suffering from their unfair practices. I paid AMEX
$7,800.00 three months ago, thinking that I was bringing down my
balance. Two days later I went online to purchase airline tickets and
my card was declined. I immediately called AMEX and they gave me the
same story stating that Experian reported derogatory latesnesses on my
credit report. I told them that this was impossible....
Coincidentally, I had recently pulled my credit report just a few days
ago and it was in "good standing." Moreover, I asked for their fax
number to prove to them this was an error. I allowed them time to
review the credit report, and about a week I called back only to hear
a different excuse.

My credit limit has been reduced to $32,000.00 and I fear the more I
make large payments, the less available credit I will have. Quite the
conundrum?????

Amex is doing this to everyone. I am so happy today. I cancelled all
my Amex cards. Went to JP Morgan/Chase and they gave me an
"immediate" Visa and M/C with $15,000 limit on each to start off with.
They said they are picking up a lot of business from Amex customers
that Amex screwed. My credit score is 710 so no problems with Chase.

Here's a copy of the email I just sent to the CEP of American Express,
I think it says it all:
Mr. Chenault,

I understand that these tough financial times require the tightening
of credit lending, however, I'd like to tell you my story.

I have depended on American Express for much over the years, I have 3
different cards. I was shocked when I received the first notice that
my credit limit was reduced but took it in stride. For the past 6
months, I have carried a $48,000 balance on my primary credit card -
the limit. Each month, I pay a portion down and then put the next
month of my business expenses on it and would go right back to the
limit. Your company enjoyed the $782 in interest each and every
month. With my business improving, I was able this past month to pay
the balance down to 0. Imagine my surprise when I got another
notification that my credit limit has been reduced to $1000!!!!!!!!!!!
$1000!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

How can you do this to your customers? American Express says it is
the friend of the small business owner. With friends like
this.........

Did I mention when I called your customer service department to
inquire how this could happen they told me the decision was based on
INCORRECT information from Experian about my credit? Did I mention my
credit score is
760!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I am the Publisher of 2 Luxury Real Estate Magazines in Major Metro
areas. Our readers are your customers.

To add insult to injury, not only am I a cardholder but my publishing
company takes American Express as a form of payment from our
customers! That will be ending, as soon as I finishing editing the
piece I intend to run month in and month out about how American
Express is the most corrupt disgusting company I have ever done
business with, and all merchants who process using American Express
and all current cardholders should BEWARE before doing business with
you. I will also run ads for your competitors for free in order to
entice people to open accounts with them and close them with you.

I feel this is my only recourse after being told there was nothing
anyone at your company could do to help restore my credit limit.

I thank god that my other credit sources have kept intact and I will
continue to be able to run my businesses, because if I were just
depending on American Express, I would be out of business as of
tonight.

I recieved a recorded call from AE on Jan 11 to inform me that I
needed to contact them immediately! I called, only to find out that
they had lowered the credit limit on my AE Platinum card (which I pay
a tidy some to have the "privilege" of keeping in my wallet)
significantly. My response to he lady on the other end was, "well they
raise it for no reason, and I guess now they can lower it for no
reason" and the reponse was that "oh no sir, there are reasons, one of
which is that there are derogatory comments on your credit report".
Needless to say I was in a bit of a panic after hearing this and I
immediately got on line to see if my identity had been stolen or
something. After visiting the three credit bureaus and pulling my
credit report, I found that there is absolutely nothing wrong with my
credit and that my FICO score is still in the low 800's. Oddly enough,
after signing into the AE website, it turns out that my credit limit
was lowered to just about $200 over what my balance is. I generally do
not carry a balance on my personal AE but have had a small one for the
past 3 or 4 months which I have been paying down quickly.

I recieved another recorded call today, Jan 12, from AE to inform me
that my AE Costco Business card had also recieved a cut in the credit
limit. Amazingly the credit on this card too was cut to approximately
$200 above the small balance. I use this card for business and
generally do not carry a balance on it.

I guess I dont mind if for business reasons AE has decided to reduce
the amount of credit they are offering. What bothers me is to do it
in this way and to then cite reasons which are not true is just plain
wrong. I was somewhat comforted to google this website and find out
that I am not alone.

I, too, was the newest victim of Amex. I have been a member since
1997. While my credit is in the upper 600's, I have an office card, a
home card and a blue with Amex and always valued Amex as a tool for
both business and home use. Except when my sister passed away this
summer, I always pay my credit with them and while I carry a balance
(with significant interest) it gets paid back regularly. 2 months ago,
Amex cut my gold card line. Last month they cut my blue line and again
this month cut my blue line. Meanwhile, companies like Discover and
Citi are offering me additional credit. I find Amexs' actions to be
reprehensible. They do not reflect banking foresight but rather an
increase in fear regarding the markets, which than affects people who
use Amex for multiple purposes. Moreover, while they are lowering
credit availability, they are also summarily ruining credit, the same
credit upon which they claim to rely when making these decisions. It
is simply like playing a game of lining up the dominoes. I will not
continue to use my amex card and am looking for alternative means of
credit. I also plan to write to Costco.

I know it's a broken record because all of us have apparently been a
victim of AMEX and their games! I thought I was all alone when I
received an email telling me my credit line had gone from $8500.00 to
$2600.00 based on a "review" of my profile. I have excellent credit
(750+) NEVER been late or even close to my limit, always paid either
entire balance or 2-3 times the minimum several days in advance. This
is how AMEX pays us back. I swear I WILL NEVER give this miserable
credit card company A PENNY of my money in interest EVER!

Same here. I called to request a pin to access cash while out of town
and the next day my credit limit went from 15000 to 500. they said it
was due to a review of my credit and that certain conditions in my
profile had changed. NOTHING CHANGED. my fico score is 730-how could I
be a risk. They are running my score down by lowering my credit
limits-debt/credit ratio. now it looks as if my cards are maxed out.
Amex will never get my business again!

I have an AE card because of Costco. We always pay more than the
minimum. On Black Friday my card was denied. I was humiliated! I
called them and they told me it was because of my "profile" and to
check with Experian. My line of credit went from $25,000 to $8,400.
I think it's because they are trying to become a bank to cash in on
the bailout. What a crock!

Ditto to all of the past letters. I am as of today the newest casualty
of AMEX. They gave me the Experion song and dance 1 DAY AFTER I paid
$34,000.00 on my card, they dropped my line to $1600.00!!!!!!

It was my life line for my business in this economy. I have never been
late on a payment... I paid 2 somtimes 3 times more than the minimum
payment and in some cases I would pay the entire balance as I did
yesterday.

AMEX is not to be trusted!!!They told me that they did not take
customer relationships into consideration...that it was all on
Expirian, but Experian has no problems with me....!!!????

AS of today I will no longer accept AMEX at my business (for as long
as it lasts at this point) and I will let my customers know why as
well.

You may want to write a letter to COSTCO regaurding this as well (if
you are a member with a card thru them) and express your
dis-satisfaction with what's going on as they probably pay huge
amounts to AMEX for card services and let them know it will impact
their business as well, as now customers spending has been decided by
AMEX.

I hope AMEX TANKS and opens the door for a newer better establishment
that cares about their customers to be born.

I'm glad I googled my Amex problem and found this site!!!! I went into
my email this morning and found an email from Amex telling me that
"after a thorough review of my credit profile they have lowered my
credit limit. They lowered my credit limit from $10,800 all the way
down to $1,200!!!!! As for the cash advance they lowered that from
$2,200 down to $200!!!
I have EXCELLENT credit, I never carry high balances AND I check my
credit report every year. This year I checked it with ALL 3 credit
reporting agencies and my credit as I thought is perfect. So whatever
BS they're selling is exactly that.......BS !!!! I will not use this
card anymore either, but I think there should be something more we all
can do. This makes us look bad that our credit limits have been
dropped this much!!!

Same here - member since 1981. AMX Blue credit line cut in half with
email letter. Costco AMX drastically reduced - no letter, just
noticed this online. Looks like AMX is expecting the dust bowl and
great depression again. The first time that ANY credit card company
has cut my credit. If it were not for Costco I would cancel all AMX,
and I won't forget this, nor will the countless others you have done
this to, AMX.

I just got an email from AMEX saying that they are lowering my limit
by almost half!!
I have very good credit, 770, never late on my bills with any card or
any thing else.
I called and the lady said that the lowering is due to my report on
Experian, I just pulled it up to check it out and its better than it
used to be.
WTH!

I just went on line to pay my bill and see that my credit line dropped
$6000. I immediately called AMEX and they told me the experian line.
So I panic, thinking identity theft, go on to experian to buy my
credit report. No delinquenices, no late payments, credit score of
730. This is all BS. I am devising a plan to pay this thing off in the
next 3-4 months and then dumping it. I also have a gold card which
I've never used, which I am closing out now. This financial crisis
has definitely hit home. It is getting scary.

DITTO, DITTO, DITTO, DITTO ... I have been an AMEX gold card holder
for 24+ years and have used it as a business tool as well as for
personal use. I have always paid my balances off in full each month
(as they require) and I have a perfect credit score with absolutely no
late payments for any credit accounts I have ever had. I received a
second limit reduction notice yesterday, called AMEX, was on hold for
30 minutes and was given the same bs as everyone else who has written
on this post. Unbelievable. As a side note, before closing your
account be sure to redeem your reward points because once you close
your account the points are gone. I'm at a crossroads now -- do I
close my gold account or just let it sit??? Will it matter, especially
if they continue to reduce my limit? I want to make a decision that
would be best for my credit score. Initially, I thought I'd keep it
open and not use it. However, they'll probably just continue to
reduce it so which is worse? Finally, isn't there a class action
lawsuit brewing somewhere??? Good luck to all!

I just recently received an email from AMEX. It advises me that after
review of my history they are reducing my credit limit. Seems they
have decided to take me from the high side down to six grand (6000.00)
I did exactly what all should do. I advised Amex that I will await
their writter letter with explanation which they tell me is
forthcoming. At said time this letter arrives I will the do my own
review. Should I find that Amex is using card holders as cover for
their own internal failure I will the return the card ,balance in full
and will never again utilize their services. As I am sure many are
aware, AMEX is at this time facing a very high amount of card holder
defaults. This in turn has caused most if not all financial experts to
call for a dump of AMEX stock,citing them as a sinking ship. Sadly it
now appears that AMEX in an effort to save face has decided to use
their card holders as scape goats so to speak. I suggest that all
consider Discover Card for their needs. I have found no issues there
and I have been with them as long as AMEX. By the way to all I say
,don't feel bad. I am a self employed Federal Gov. Contractor, 5 star
top of the line D&B rating, and far more than enough in liquid to
cover more than Amex has ever extended to me .
Hopefully we'll have a class action coming on against AMEX , one we
can all take part in.

I am so happy and relieved to find this site. I have absolutely
perfect credit in this economy and went to use my card for a vacation
only to be denied. I called amex and they made it seem like someone
stole my credit which was the reason they dropped my 45000 credit line
to 500. She stated I had serious deliquencies on my account (I have
never been late!).

I received my Experian credit report today and it is still perfect.
Nothing on there at all. I of course call AMEX back and I have to talk
to a dept that isn't open. Dealing with this for a week thinking
someone got ahold of my credit.

to be continued...

I was upset with American Express because they had lowered my limit by
75% over the past 3 months and had flat out lied to me trying to
justify their actions. As a small business I have used American
Express as my working capital over the past 10 years, so their
reduction in my working capital was a real slap in the face and hurt.
At first I took it real personal and thought they were picking on me
but have since learned that they are doing this to most of their
customers. In September alone they lowered the credit limits of 20% of
their card holders and day by day they are doing it to more and more.
If you have some extra time and want to stunned, Google "American
Express credit limit" and you too will be able to read horror story
after horror story.

Just last night my sister went to use her AMX card at CostCo and it
was denied. She got home and called American Express (1/2 hour on
hold) to find out that her cards limit was dropped to $600 (just above
her balance) from $16,200. This girl has impeccable credit and they
did this to her. The customer service rep told her that it was lowered
because of a "Public Record" input on her credit report. She
immediately pulled her credit reports and found no such entry on any
of the credit reports. Funny thing is that an American Express
customer service rep tried that line on me too yesterday morning and I
too immediately pulled my credit reports. Not finding this "Public
Record" entry on any of my credit reports, I called American Express
back and ask them what they were talking about and of course the
representative tells me he has no idea why the last representative
told me this as he sees nothing in my file like that.

So be prepared to have your credit limited dropped drastically for no
reason or to have it chase down your balance with no warning. When
you do call them to find out why, be prepared for a long hold time and
have your credit reports in hand so that you can call them on their
mistruths. It is a very sad day when the employees of an icon like
American Express have to tell you flat out mistruths to try to justify
their higher-ups actions. But they are only trying to get you off the
phone so that they can answer the next call in the very long queue of
callers wanting to know why their limits were reduced too.

Sorry for the very long rant but maybe this will save you some
embarrassment while trying to use your card. It is no wonder that
American Express announced yesterday that they will be laying off
7,000 employees (10% of their workforce) as they don't want us using
our cards.

I am so glad I found this site!!!!! I have incredible credit, over $1
million worth of real estate, a high-paying secure government job, and
years of good history with American Express. Regardless, those
bastards did the same thing to me.

Since American Express doesn't care to respond to my inquiries, I've
taken it to Costco corporate offices and sent them notice that I'm
about the cancel my membership since my COSTCO American Express has
become virtually useless in their warehouse. Amex doesn't care about
us little people, but I thing they might think twice if Costco speaks
up. I urge everybody to rally the corporations who American Express
relies on for huge fees!!!

I'm going to cancel my card and send a formal complaint to the
Department of Commerce, too.

Ditto. I had 27% used on my card, then they reduced my limit to $150
over my balance. Thus making the usage on the card at 97% and
effectivly hurting my credit score.

Funny thing, one of the reasons they provided was that the
"proportions of balances to credit limits" was too high, while they
actually create that situation.

Here is the biggest problem. On the letter listing the reasons why
the decrease they state "Our credit experience with customers who have
made purchases at establishments where you have recently used your
card."

Basically, I used my Amex card at some establishment where someone
else had used their Amex card and didn't pay their bill! Therefore,
its ok to shop at Cosco, but don't use your Amex card at K-Mart
because more "deadbeats" shop there? I should have been notified of
this fact by the retailer or Amex. I received negative action because
I shopped there!

Since when do other shoppers have anything to do with my credit report
and ability to pay. Second, are the retailers who accept American
Express aware that their customers are being punished for using their
Amex card when shopping there. That surely creates unfair
competition and discrimination. I've asked Amex for a complete copy
of their so called "high-risk" merchants so that I may avoid shopping
there again. I suggest that everyone who received the same letter to
request a copy as well.

They have done the same thing to me twice now. Its crazy unfair, and
probably illegal.

We had a similar thing happen. I was told earlier in the year that
they use your past 6 months spending history to determine your how
much you can spend. They will never admit to putting a "limit" on your
account, however they will tell you that when they receive a payment
they will reactivate your card, which they didn't do when I made our
last payment. I also explained to them that we are a seasonal business
(house painting) so the past six months spending for us from June back
is not realistic. I also point out that they control your spend
history by cutting off your card when they want to, thus skewing the
amount you spend and making your spending history lower. We have
decided to stop using Amex going forward and use cards with spending
limits so that we are prepared for hitting limits rather than going
into a store to make a purchase and having it delcined without notice.

I had the same experience have 4 cards my average spending was about
25000k most of it on auto bill pay and traveling expences pay my dues
in full every month ,all of sudden my spending limit is 2500$ most of
my bill pay bounced and i had to rearrange all of them to my bank
account , lost my millage I ve been getting ,that was upsetting I
closed all accounts except one (just for costco use) and they lost me
as a good client

Amex just did the same thing to me. I've had the account for 5 years,
good history, not close to the limit and boom. Reduced my limit to 2K
from 5K. I had a 1800 balance so that made my usage go up big time
and my score drop. I plan to pay them off and send them their card
back cut up. I dont need a financial institution like that.

I am a 12 year customer of the gold card. I have a perfect payment
history and have ever had a problem.... until this year. AMEX has
started a new policy of averaging your usage for the last 3 months and
evaluating your credit score on a monthly basis (a score by the way
you cannot obtain without a fee). By doing this, they limit their
exposure to risk in the declining economy (in their opinion), however
they also alienate perfectly good customers that have been only
sporadically using the card and may have recently incurred more debt
(like anew car or new house). This is a ridiculous policy and the
idiot that came up with it should be fired. Not to mention, I hope
someone in the Govt realizes the unfair practice of using a score to
decline credit, a score which the consumer has to pay to see. I have
seen my "no limits" spending feature dropped from "unlimited" to $21K,
to $8K. This is because when they pissed me off the first time by
changing from "no-limit" to a $21K limit, I stopped using the card for
business travel. Then, as I did use it sporadically, they lowered the
limit again because my "average" usage was low. How stupid is that? My
recommendation, pass the word along and have everyone you speak to
complain. Call them and complain, write them and complain, email them
and complain...and...stop using the card! If their usage drops and
their complaints rise....someone in AMEX Corporate will get wind of it
and hopefully fire the idiot that stated the new policy.

Hello everyone!
Here's what to do. I have had a perfect history with AMEX, 13 cards,
impeccably handled. Out of no here, for no reason, all credit limits
have been reduced and putting me at 95% ratio (previously 20%)
STOP PAYMENTS ON YOUR AMEX CARDS. I know what your thinking, my
credit, FICO, law suits etc..,. Not the case.
The reps in the credit department at AMEX are providing the cardholder
with false information and blaming Experian for their decisions.
AMEX is suffering financially and by paying them monthly or in large
payments, in return, you are only being punished. Even worse, your
credit scores are dropping because of the limit decreases.
It will take years before they can recoup the money their cardholders
owe them if monthly payments stop. In addition, the cost of legal
proceedings is the last thing AMEX wants at the moment. By that time,
the FTC will hopefully have already investigated AMEX
By not paying, it actually puts the power in YOUR HANDS. When AMEX is
hunting you down for their money, negotiations take place. If you owe
$10,000, they will most likely take much much less just to settle the
case.
They feel WE are a risk? A cardholder like myself and all of you who
are responsible and pay on time for years at a time. Okay AMEX, your
are correct, I am a risk, which is why I'm not paying you anymore.
I recently paid my annual $450.00 application fee for the platinum
card I've had for 10 years. One month later, they placed a credit
limit of $1500 on the card. I demanded I be refunded the application
fee due to the change of agreement they implemented on their own
accord (and for no reason). I suspect (in fact, I know) they "waited"
until the annual fee was due before placing the limit, otherwis, I
would not have renewed it. AMEX agreed to "place the card under
investigation". Bottom line, cardholders pay the fee BECAUSE their is
no pre-set spending limit. Since there is now, I am entitled to a
refund. If not, it is considered fraud.
I'll repeat myself to everyone who has been affected by AMEX. DO NOT
MAKE YOUR MONTHLY PAYMENTS. The credit bureaus are aware of AMEX
situation and their unfair practices.

I have been an American Express member since 2004. I regret having
to carry a balance with any lender, but as a necessity, I figured
American Express would be the most credible creditor (pun intended.)
I made a ~$6000 payment in May 2008, and American Express promptly
'rewarded' me by locking my account and dropping my credit limit so
that I only had ~$150 available credit! I thought I'd be doing my
credit score a favor by making a payment, but in reality, I was now at
95% credit utilization!

Remembering my very positive experiences with American Express in
the past, I figured that someone would easily be able to explain and
fix the problem. What I got instead was a different story. I was
never notified that my account was 'locked'. I only found out that my
account was locked when transactions started failing. Nowhere on the
AMEX website showed that my account was locked. Customer Service
confirmed that it was 'under review' and would be cleared up 'within
24-48 hours'. After 50 hours, my account was unlocked and my credit
limit was dropped.

I used the Consumerist.com Executive Customer Service phone
number, and spoke to 'Holly', who told me that "It is policy NOT to
notify customers. You see, we used to tell customers ahead of time,
but they charged all the way up to their limit once we notified them.
So now, we don't notify customers anymore." I emailed Ken Chenault
(CEO of American Express) to rectify the situation.

I asked for 3 things:
(1) Reverse the 'payment punishment' and put my limit where it was (or
at least 70% above my balance.) In addition, fix your 'automated'
computer system from triggering a "hard review" when a customer makes
a large payment, especially for those who have had good payment
history.

(2) Notify me on any change (via email/phone) in any case where my
account is locked, under review, or credit limit is adjusted.

(3) Make it an option for ALL customers to be notified (via
email/phone/post.) I don't want anyone else to go through unexpected
surprises. I cant imagine someone traveling and finding their card is
unusable.

I got an emailed response on June 4th, 2008, but it came from 'Holly'
whom I had spoken to earlier on the phone. She said she would not be
putting my limit back where it was, and that "Our Account Services
Division is not required to send prior notification when an account is
under review for a line of credit decrease and when charging
privileges have been suspended."

I am holding out hope for a kind soul at American Express to do the
right thing and fix my limit and . Otherwise, I am closing my account
and never returning!

Yeah a similar incident happened to me. I hate friggin AMEX now. I had
a credit limit of 6000 and I paid my balance down to 3400. Not to
mention, I've always paid on time and above min. payment. Next thing I
know, they lowered my credit limit to 3500 without notice!!! I called
amex and demanded an answer, the rep said "we review our customer's
credit report every 3-6 months....we will lower the credit
availability to the amount we're comfortable with" So i asked "well
gee why didn't you lower it to $3000 or to $0 while you were at it"
and he replied "we can't lower the credit limit below your balance"
Grrrrr friggin A!! Oh and to top it all off...they do not
automatically offer you a credit increase, you have to call them and
submit a request that requires a hard pull against your credit report.
Talk about hypocrites. Thanks to them, my FICO score dropped which
prolly means they'll be lowering my limit once I pay it down. If you
ask me, I think this is their way of slowly trying to get rid of
you...once I pay off my remaining balance...which is pretty soon...I
wouldn't be suprised to have my card denied and to only find out AMEX
automatically reduced my limit to zero. Mean while...I have a citicard
that automatically raises my credit limit every 6 months without
asking. Some ppl might not like that but I love Citi for doing
that...proves they care about us..or our money for that matter haha!

You started with a 0 balance, and then you got into a postion where
you started carrying a balance from month to month. Big mistake with
a credit card. One of the worst kinds of "loans" you could have.

At the risk of sounding like the "snake bite" tape loop, my advice
would be pay off your card - especially in this evironment where cash
makes only 2-3% if you put it in a money market account. It is insane
to borrow money at 7%, 9%, etc.

Your end of the bargain includes paying off your balance. I have
always paid my card on time and in full; my credit limit does nothing
but go up.

How can you lose access to *your* cash by having your limit reduced?
You are losing access to AMEX's cash, not yours.

Mike S.,

I hope your letter gets you the answer and action you desire.

Am I assuming correctly that you ramped your call up to a supervisor
when you called AmEX?

As an AmEX holder since '75 I've never had a problem getting an
answer.

Stop back and let us know how this plays out.

BillR.

Amex did the same thing to me. It seems to be something that they do
often. I would be interested to know what their response is to you as
they never responded to me when I complained.