Amex is overrated, IMO

[Tyra]

For the average joe (Student/full time worker), and someone who doesn't travel, can anyone explain to me why it is worth me even having this card?

Every bank has threads from people that have had bad experiences. It happens. It sounds like your major complaint is that you didn't like the 2k limit you got. Your 2k card could be 20k two years from now. Depends how you use it. They like to build up a history with you. You can also combine credit limits with AMEX cards so you can build a bigger card that way too.

 

And as others have mentioned, you will feel pretty good about AMEX 20 years from now.

Edited August 3, 2012 by Tyra

[Tyra]

the only time in the past 5 years I was somewhere that amex was not accepted was at a small B&B in Europe. who are these merchants you claim don't take amex?

My experience has been similar, I only know two places that don't take AMEX and it is because they don't take any cards.

[Link2k]

#1. Customer service is A+ for me. They have instantly taken my side in the 3 disputes I've had to open in the last 3 years. Answered my questions and helped me any time I asked.

 

#2 Their car rental coverage (Not the automatic kind you get with most CC's) is only $24.95 per rental period. I read through the terms and agreements and it's pretty solid. I rent cars in Las Vegas (Death Race anyone?) three times a year and I refuse to let my own car insurance take a hit if there is an accident.

 

#3. The APR sucks on the card but they were the first company to issue me a card over $5,000 unsecured.

 

My opinion is based on experiences. Yours will differ naturally.

 

Just fyi your insurance will still go up if you have an accident regardless of who pays out. Insurance rates for risk not to recoup losses.

 

While there are benefits to having the waiver CCs provide its not keeping your rates low if there is an accident.

 

 

Someone needs to read the interstate insurance compact. My insurance isn't touched under the Amex insurance policy and my insurance company is not notified across country.

 

Example: I had three accidents in a few years in Mass under a North Carolina drivers license/car. None of my accidents or the two tickets I received in that time were forwarded out of state.

 

I don't think the interstate insurance compact would have much to say about this situation as it deals with life insurance and annuities.

 

I'm not sure what happened in your exact situation so I can't say but according to the Driver's license compact and the Non resident violator compact you should have had an increase in insurance premium when this information was shared.

 

Something else is causing it not to show up, possibly having multiple licenses not connected to each other, as evidenced by the fact your tickets didn't show up either. Amex doesn't give you ticket protection too.

 

I stand by my assertion, while the Amex waiver may be useful it will not prevent your insurance from increasing.

[road2freedom]

I can't believe no one has mentioned the 4th puller.

[BobWang]

[road2freedom]

Not yet.

 

I'm not even having my wife apply for it any time soon since I don't want to deal with the potential for FRs as we shift balances around for interest promos.

[matty8199]

How'd you get them to lower the APR?

 

i'd like to know this too...

 

also, for those of you getting CLIs at day 61, how? are you asking or are they auto? hard or soft pull?

 

i've had the card since april and haven't gotten one...i've run about $2500 through it a month and always PIF. i'm afraid to ask them for one though since i just had a 4-app spree last month...

[melikey]

Ok, warning, rant below.

 

Ever since building my credit, I have been striving for Amex, and finally got one in September of last year, a BCE, 2000 limit, 22.24% APR now knocked down to 10.24%. Great. In January, I opened a Blue regular (was denied for a CLI), but opted to close it after getting a $2,000 card I wouldn't ever use. Fast forward to May, denied a CLI. How can I get another $2k on a new card, but NOT on a CLI. I called the executive office today and they transfer me to a stock, script-reader that tells me the criteria for a CLI is different than a new card... Blah, BLAH BLAH...

 

This line is anemic to my other cards, and while I do have student loan debt, other lenders aren't afraid to give me the modest $5k I'm asking for to be happy. The service is rude, outsourced, and pretty bad. It takes an extra statement for rewards to post, and after the payment clears (statement + 5 or so days, and I always PIF). Chase and Discover post rewards immediately. I bought an engagement ring for 4k on my BofA, while I wanted to give the business to Amex, the anemic line prevented that from happening.

 

Discover has tons of gotchas and catches to screw you out of rewards and be sub-prime for so many other reasons. And now, while Amex has pretty decent rewards and such, the service is lackluster and nothing special, and it makes me wonder whether or not it is worth it to put up with the lepper-like acceptance of this card for really no extra benefits over my World MasterCard and Visa Signature products... I see Discover is accepted a LOT more than Amex here (almost on par with Visa/MC).

 

For the average joe (Student/full time worker), and someone who doesn't travel, can anyone explain to me why it is worth me even having this card?

You haven't been with them very long, you basically just got your foot in the door... give them more time.

[instableoxymoron]

speaking as an insurance underwriter accidents will show up on CLUE reports unless you have insurance with a very rural carrier. these reports show info on you, vehicle history and address history. weight is given to your personal data but the other data is reviewed especially to see if there are potential other drivers.

 

However, MVR data does not always cross state lines.

 

Sent from my SGH-T989 using Tapatalk 2

[tifozi]

How'd you get them to lower the APR?

 

i'd like to know this too...

 

also, for those of you getting CLIs at day 61, how? are you asking or are they auto? hard or soft pull?

 

i've had the card since april and haven't gotten one...i've run about $2500 through it a month and always PIF. i'm afraid to ask them for one though since i just had a 4-app spree last month...

 

Backdoor EX to see when they last softed you. Request a Credit Limit = 25k (with no risk of FR), if you know that your overall utilization was low at that snapshot, current util on the BCE low as well, by calling the number on the back of the card (Option 3 or 4). Was $13.7k your limit on approval (if so wow!)?

[virtualtreasure]

How'd you get them to lower the APR?

 

i'd like to know this too...

 

also, for those of you getting CLIs at day 61, how? are you asking or are they auto? hard or soft pull?

 

i've had the card since april and haven't gotten one...i've run about $2500 through it a month and always PIF. i'm afraid to ask them for one though since i just had a 4-app spree last month...

 

Backdoor EX to see when they last softed you. Request a Credit Limit = 25k (with no risk of FR), if you know that your overall utilization was low at that snapshot, current util on the BCE low as well, by calling the number on the back of the card (Option 3 or 4). Was $13.7k your limit on approval (if so wow!)?

[hegemony]

the only time in the past 5 years I was somewhere that amex was not accepted was at a small B&B in Europe. who are these merchants you claim don't take amex?

[BobWang]

Olympics, Sam's Club.

[hegemony]

Olympics, Sam's Club.

[Rorer_714]

They have the highest cash back card, you can easily churn their cards for big sign up bonuses and the cards are backdated. Why would anyone ever want to deal with them?

[gogogophers]

I never thought Amex was anything special when I had their card. It was a blue cash card and the only thing I liked about it was the fact that the card itself was kind of cool looking. Back then I had an 800+ FICO, 6 fig income, faithful PIF, and several other credit cards with 5 fig limits. Amex remained wedged at a tiny little $3.5k limit with no auto CLIs. I didn't bother asking for CLIs so the lack of momentum might have been my fault. But still. Ho Hum.

 

I'm hardly into the jet-setter life so it is more important to me to support my local merchants than to worry about which plastic I use for fine dining or looking upper-crusty for a bunch of people whose opinions mean squat to me. Nearly every one of my well-frequented local merchants turns pale at the idea of accepting Amex because it is so costly for them. I'd much rather use a card that helps merchants keep their overhead costs down. Just my personal preference.

[matty8199]

How'd you get them to lower the APR?

 

i'd like to know this too...

 

also, for those of you getting CLIs at day 61, how? are you asking or are they auto? hard or soft pull?

 

i've had the card since april and haven't gotten one...i've run about $2500 through it a month and always PIF. i'm afraid to ask them for one though since i just had a 4-app spree last month...

 

Backdoor EX to see when they last softed you. Request a Credit Limit = 25k (with no risk of FR), if you know that your overall utilization was low at that snapshot, current util on the BCE low as well, by calling the number on the back of the card (Option 3 or 4). Was $13.7k your limit on approval (if so wow!)?

 

yep, 13.7k on approval, instant approval. my EX fico at the time (via their approval letter) was 724 i believe (last PSECU update in july was 726). util was right around 9%, with the new cards i've added in the past month it's down around 6%. i don't carry a balance on any of my cards except for $3k i've got on my navy platinum that i'm paying off over 12 months (0% BT offer).

 

can someone elaborate on the EX backdoor? i knew about EQ and TU, didn't know EX had one...

[tifozi]

That is a high CL for a 724 FICO I think but there are so many other variables on a case by case basis. How many INQs did you have at the time of app? I think my BCP CL was lowish because of two apps on same day otherwise my FICO scores and other variables were generally on the very good side.

 

EX backdoor - If you have a report from EX within the last 90 days, you can use the same report number to view an updated report(Click on "View Report Again" in the Experian main web page)

Edited August 4, 2012 by tifozi

[smc733]

So for the APR reduction. I was reading on the "other" forum about someone who had luck with a reduction, so I found out the lowest they currently offer is prime + 6.99 (10.24). I called the general number on the back of the card and asked to have the APR lowered to the "lowest you currently have, I believe 10.24". Call center was definitely foreign, but she knew what I meant and did it. Very, very simple.

 

As far as acceptance, there's tons of places here (mostly small businesses, not chains), restaurants, some clothing/shop type stores, bars, auto places, gas stations, doctors/dentists, etc... I can't tell you how many places I see that have Vista/MC/Discover stickers who won't take Amex. Discover is ALMOST accepted on par with Visa/MC here in the Boston area, but Amex definitely lags behind. (There have been a few places that do take Amex and not Discover, but they're definitely the exception (one small restaurant and a Showcase cinema)).

[matty8199]

That is a high CL for a 724 FICO I think but there are so many other variables on a case by case basis. How many INQs did you have at the time of app? I think my BCP CL was lowish because of two apps on same day otherwise my FICO scores and other variables were generally on the very good side.

 

EX backdoor - If you have a report from EX within the last 90 days, you can use the same report number to view an updated report(Click on "View Report Again" in the Experian main web page)

 

honestly i don't remember how many inq, but i think it was for all intents and purposes 1. the only pulls i had were for my car loan last august...and thats the only new account i had opened in 24 months prior.

[matty8199]

So for the APR reduction. I was reading on the "other" forum about someone who had luck with a reduction, so I found out the lowest they currently offer is prime + 6.99 (10.24). I called the general number on the back of the card and asked to have the APR lowered to the "lowest you currently have, I believe 10.24". Call center was definitely foreign, but she knew what I meant and did it. Very, very simple.

 

As far as acceptance, there's tons of places here (mostly small businesses, not chains), restaurants, some clothing/shop type stores, bars, auto places, gas stations, doctors/dentists, etc... I can't tell you how many places I see that have Vista/MC/Discover stickers who won't take Amex. Discover is ALMOST accepted on par with Visa/MC here in the Boston area, but Amex definitely lags behind. (There have been a few places that do take Amex and not Discover, but they're definitely the exception (one small restaurant and a Showcase cinema)).

 

really, no hard pull?

[smc733]

really, no hard pull?

 

For the APR reduction? Nope, she did it so fast, I don't even know if they looked at the most recent soft.

[sidecontrol]

Nearly every one of my well-frequented local merchants turns pale at the idea of accepting Amex because it is so costly for them. I'd much rather use a card that helps merchants keep their overhead costs down. Just my personal preference.

If you want to keep costs down for local merchants, pay in cash or write them a check. Credit cards cost at least 2-3% to accept, if not more. For my business, I do transactions in the high $xxx's so I don't even accept credit cards unless the person has no other option. The $20-30 I save is worth the hassle of asking them to bring a check.

 

I've had people ask to bring in rewards cards, because they will get cash back or whatever. I tell them that if they want to use a credit card I charge a 3% fee, do they still want to use it. They will say no.

 

BTW I found this thread because I was searching for AMEX backdating... I found my Amex optima card had been backdated 4 years, and shows on my CR as the same account number as the previous card. It just says "AMEX" that's it. Cool!

[qwerty4]

They have the highest cash back card, you can easily churn their cards for big sign up bonuses and the cards are backdated. Why would anyone ever want to deal with them?

In addition to the incredible consumer protections, ease of extended warranty claims, and backdating, AMEX is a gold mine.

[qwerty4]

They have the highest cash back card, you can easily churn their cards for big sign up bonuses and the cards are backdated. Why would anyone ever want to deal with them?

In addition to the incredible consumer protections, ease of extended warranty claims, and backdating, AMEX is a gold mine.