American Express (yay or nay?)
4YearGraduate
2,945 Posts
I recently got a Blue for business card. When I applied for an increase in my line of credit they got all weird with me because the account was just opened. I explained to them that the current line they extended does nothing for me and that it needs to be increased to proper baller status. I was transferred like 5 times finally to a dude who treated me with unreserved suspicion. He had mad questions for me and wanted to know my intents with the card, etc, culminating with me having to submit my last two years federal tax returns and my corporate returns for the last two years plus k1 schedules. I know this is fair game but damn, I wasn't asking for a million dollars and dude was talking down to me the whole time.Got them all the paperwork and they only increased the line moderately because "the account is new". Should have let me know that in the first place and I wouldn't have bothered or could it be something else? hmmmm. AMEX. yay or nay?
Comments
I have one I use on Business trips and for supplies and I have never had any trouble using it.
I can't really speak on the business side though.
Hip Hop makes for bad business.
I wouldn't sweat that. I got as good a credit score as you can possibly get, have been a mastercard member since '94 and a Amex member since '00 and got grilled from both this year when I tried to raise my credit lines with both of them. They wound up raising them but also by an amount less than I asked.
Both companies have great customer service and have had my back whenever I had a problem, so I didn't mind.
AMEX...yay.
I think any credit co will grill you when you try to bump your limit right after you get a new card.
Word..Sween good lookin'.
This was exactly the sort of info I was looking for when I threaded this. thanks man, i was seriously starting to think the underwriter was being unfair...
thanks
I think this is pretty standard for a lot of cards. AMEX might be moreso due to the awesome perks they give their customers (which is also why a lot of stores hate AMEX; they charge Barry White'esque percentages to the vendors on purchses).
In an effort to make as much money as they can while offering their card holders the best rewards available; they are hella' skeptical and suspicious about new card holders upping their limits (as you have witnessed first hand).
End of the day; don't take it personal. Keep the card. Use it all the time (whenever you can) and eventually your limits will increase. Within a year of timely payment, you should be able to get much closer to whatever amount you were hoping for.
Even w-2's or business statements that backup what you are asking for are considered suspect unless the casflow is solid as fuck and has been so for 5+ years.
Keep the card...because all credit card companies are villains...AMEX will hook you up in the long run, though.
No fees, no paper trail, no taxes. That's my plan to stick it to the man.
AMEX was no end of trouble. I've had corporate and personal Amex cards and got totally sick of extra charges and getting my card refused since so many businesses will not deal with Amex due to their charges. They were also a pain when it came to sorting out some minor fraud against my card. Now I use Visa and have never had an issue. Plus I can use my card in ATMs globally.
Amex = Yay AND NAY (more Nay as of late than Yay)
My father and I have a business. He has an Amex Platinum Business and an Amex Blue Business. We've had issues in the past using the Platinum ones. The issue with vendors is that Amex charges them 3% versus 1.5% for Visa or Mastercard. So, my dad has run up to 10K a month on the Platinum with no issue. Then just this past month we go to buy $400.00 worth of supplies and then they decline it. The Platinum has no limit on it and my dad keeps a semi-sizable balance on it. They send him an email saying that his purchases have been more than lately (after only 4K in purchases), so they're freezing his account. The issue is, the Blue has a limit on it and there's money available, but since they're both in the business name, Amex froze them BOTH which is Anytime you MIGHT go to make a large purchase, you have to call them first and get them to authorize it. Needless to say, we drop close to 100K on Amex a YEAR and we will no longer be using them. My dad's going to tell them he'll pay them X amount on both a month until the cards are payed off and then he's never going to use them again. It's embarrassing when I go to put gas in my car and the cards are declined BEFORE the billing cycle is up.
after doing that for about a year, i vowed to never work for them again as well as never carry an amex.
im not sure if its the case now, but membership fees were charged and the benefits you were paying for rarely were usable.
i had so many people upset that they were trying to make large purchases and even after calling the purchase in beforehand, they would get denied.
personally i have a mastercard. it has a weekend baller credit limit and ive never been denied on a purchase no matter how large.
i may get a phone call if im travelling around a lot and they see that im spendin money in say new york and then a couple days later detroit.