No reason for ridiculously low credit limit

If you are that worried about exceeding your credit limit, maybe you
should lay off the cards and live within your means? Theres debit or
cash.

I know its easier to use credit sometimes but wow, now this game is
getting crazy. This card isn't high enough, so you cancel this other
card so you can get the limit increased on this one but that doesn't
work out and now you NEED and increase?

Don't become a slave to these things.

We liked the cash back benefits of the BLUE cash card. 5% cash back on
gas/groceries and 1.5% on everything else. I know Discover has a
comparable card but please let me know if anyone knows of comparable
cash back with Visa or MasterCard. My current VISA just gives 1% back
on all purchases. I've accumulated too many airline miles so I try not
to use those cards anymore.

It doesn't make sense to give me $40K in combined credit on my other
AMEX cards but then only issue $2K on the new card. The original $40K
of credit issuance is clearly hard evidence of the company's
irresponsible lending. I don't need $40K worth of credit but $8K on
this card would be reasonable and in line with what they have
previously provided. My wife and I put everything on our credit card
and I travel frequently and accumulate big expenses for work on
airfare and hotels. It doesn't make sense that they are unwilling to
transfer credit lines. After all, if they are willing to "loan" me the
money, what difference does it make what piece of plastic I use to
acquire it? If they have done their research, they can clearly see
that I pay off my balance every month and that I am a low risk
customer. I can only think AMEX gave me a low credit limit because
they don't want me to take advantage of their BLUE cash back program.
If that's the case, they should discontinue the card instead of
playing games with people.

Perhaps you should have made the Delta Gold card the primary account
for both you and your wife instead of cancelling it?

I personally don't understand why anyone even bothers with AmEx, since
so many merchants still don't accept it. The perks offered by them are
matched by other issuers of Visa & MasterCard accounts.

And allowing you to simply transfer your credit line from one to
another seems like a good customer service no-brainer! You're not the
only good customer we've read about them pushing away.

You've given me/us another reason not to bother with American
Express.

Best Wishes!

You said, "I canceled my Delta Gold ($25K limit) card (which I applied
for just 2 months earlier!)..."

Based on the information contained in your post, you were approved for
$2,000 because they had already approved you for $25,000 two months
earlier. Closing the previous account does not automatically qualify
you for an increase.

Creditors look at the credit reports of applicants and recently
approved lines of credit and/or a high number of credit inquiries are
factors that usually factor in establishing lower credit lines.

The only possible solution would have been to have seen if they could
have combined the two accounts, retaining the terms of the newer
account. But I do not know if AmEx accepts requests like that.

You consider $2000 a low limit? A few years back, i applied for a
discover card, they approved me for $75, yes seventy five dollars.

But, with the credit card reform bill making its way to the presidents
desk, banks are tightening their belts, perhaps you should take your
business elsewhere and send a message to amex.

AMEX is the one loaning you money, not the other way around. So they
are calling the shots. If the limit is unacceptable, you do have the
option of going elsewhere.

You call AMEX's policies "ill-conceived," and point to other
customer's comments to support your position. But have you done
research on AMEX's balance sheet, and the amount of charge-off's and
delinquencies in the past year? The fact that unemployment is
hovering around 10% and the economy is so poor has anything and
everything to do with AMEX tightening up the issuance of credit.

If you search the web, you should find ample evidence that AMEX's
actions are due to their exposure to bad credit risks. If they go
belly up, they won't be there to loan you any money, right?

Finally, did you *check* with AMEX to find out if they would give you
the Delta Gold limit before going and cancelling the card? If they
wouldn't transfer the limit when the card was open, it stands to
reason they wouldn't increase your limit simply because you closed the
card. When you closed that card, consider that what it did was take
another $25K of exposure away from AMEX - look at it from a nervous
bank's point of view. In this troubled environment, that plays right
into their risk-reduction plan.