Any idea why I'm still being denied for an AMEX Gold?

[kirr44]

Best to hold off on both until a few months of PIF goes by?

 

Also, yeah probably won't go for the Platinum. Will just stick to the Gold. 

 

 

[cv91915]

11 hours ago, kirr44 said:

Best to hold off on both until a few months of PIF goes by?

 

Also, yeah probably won't go for the Platinum. Will just stick to the Gold. 

 

That's what I would do.  May or may not matter, but after 3 or 4 cycles of PIF they may acknowledge that as your new behavior. 

 

On the other hand, if you ask and they say no, you can always try again a couple of cycles later.

 

Ask for 3X your current limit.

[kirr44]

3 hours ago, cv91915 said:

That's what I would do.  May or may not matter, but after 3 or 4 cycles of PIF they may acknowledge that as your new behavior. 

 

On the other hand, if you ask and they say no, you can always try again a couple of cycles later.

 

Ask for 3X your current limit.

Ask for 3x now or after the 3 or 4 cycles of PIF?

[cv91915]

32 minutes ago, kirr44 said:

Ask for 3x now or after the 3 or 4 cycles of PIF?

 

32 minutes ago, kirr44 said:

May or may not matter, but after 3 or 4 cycles of PIF they may acknowledge that as your new behavior. 

 

On the other hand, if you ask and they say no, you can always try again a couple of cycles later.

 

 

 

Edited July 11, 2020 by cv91915

[kirr44]

Got it. I assumed the 3 or 4 cycles comment was in regards to applying for the AMEX Gold

[cv91915]

37 minutes ago, kirr44 said:

Got it. I assumed the 3 or 4 cycles comment was in regards to applying for the AMEX Gold

I can see how you might have read it that way.

[kirr44]

29 minutes ago, cv91915 said:

I can see how you might have read it that way.

There's so much going on in this thread that I connected it to the wrong issue lol.

 

Just submitted the CLI request. It says 7-10 days. Will keep you updated. Thanks!

[kirr44]

So just an update. 

 

Tried the CLI 2-3 times with no luck(Delta Skymiles Gold). Credit limit stayed the same.

 

Randomly decided to just try to apply for the Platinum card since until this point, I've always been rejected for the Gold.(I wish I had started with the AMEX Gold first) and was approved. Then decided to go for the Gold as well since I heard if you apply for multiple cards, it only gets counted once. Also approved!

 

 

I guess that PIF theory really works! Haha

 

Any ideas how to make the most of the Platinum? From what I understand, Platinum is more for travelers. Since not much of that is happening, I'd be curious to know how to get full value out of it. Any Platinum owners have any ideas?

[cv91915]

 

On 7/9/2020 at 7:19 AM, cv91915 said:

How much beyond the $800 in combined annual fees will you be able to recoup?

 

These two cards plus the Chase Sapphire Reserve have successfully relabeled getting your own money back as "credit card benefits."  

 

Take the $120 in dining credits on the Gold. 

 

You pay that money to Amex as part of your AF.  This is money you could have spent on anything -- rubber bands, Halloween costumes for your pets, another 6 months in the Yarn of the Month Club -- but if you hand it over to Amex you have to claw it back at the rate of $10 a month.  Plus you can only get your money back when you spend it with specific food merchants within a specific timeframe.  Makes zero sense to call that a benefit.  

 

It's very possible to get actual value from these cards, but it takes a lot of effort, a lot of spending, and/or a lot of knowledge of other loyalty programs (airlines, hotels).  Is that really something you want to volunteer for?  

 

4 hours ago, kirr44 said:

Any ideas how to make the most of the Platinum?

Yes, don't get one if you aren't a frequent traveler and won't spend a ton of money on it.

 

How many MRs did you get for the SUBs for each card?  That may be your only saving grace.

 

fwiw, here's how I maximized the value from the Platinum a few years ago.  It takes a lot of organization, planning and effort.  

 

 

[DPB]

You almost certainly would’ve been approved for the gold without going for the platinum. I hope you got at least the 100k SUB that’s available. There’s even a $125k, although that’s a bit more rare. 
$550 per year is quite a bit to spend on a travel card if you’re not traveling. 
Use it to pay your cell phone bill and get the $20/month credit through the end of the year. Same goes for the $20/month streaming credit. That’ll get you $200 back ($240 if you were able to get an instant card number issued and use those credits today for credit for July). 
If you use Uber or Uber Eats at all, use the $15/month credit there too. 
Might as well get the global entry credit as well. 
Hit MSR to get the SUB, then close the card on day 366 so the SUB isn’t clawed back. 
 

Or do none of that and downgrade to a green and have the AF prorated and save yourself a bunch of money. 

[kirr44]

YeahI know the Gold would've been easier. But being denied several times for the Gold, I thought I'd just hail mary and see what applying for the platinum would do. I was 1000% sure it would have declined. But anyways, I figure building up points and miles from now would be a nice idea seeing as how I probably won't be traveling for another year. That would be a year of saving up points.

 

I could definitely use a lot of the features I was reading about. Would there be any benefits of holding onto the Platinum card long term? Or would it be the same benefit as holding any other card long term?

[kirr44]

Random question I just thought of.

 

I was under the impression that the charge cards don't have a preset credit limit. My account says "No preset spending limit"

 

However, I just watched a youtuber who mentioned one of his friends platinum charge card has a 1,000 USD spending limit. I'm assuming if there was a spending limit, it would mention it for me right? I'd hate to go and want to buy a TV or something thinking its ok, then later get declined 

 

I guess I'm saying, if it says "No preset spending limit" then it literally means that. And if there was a limit, it wouldn't say "No preset spending limit". Sorry, just new to the charge card thing and trying to understand it.

[smartlypretty]

1 hour ago, kirr44 said:

Random question I just thought of.

 

I was under the impression that the charge cards don't have a preset credit limit. My account says "No preset spending limit"

 

However, I just watched a youtuber who mentioned one of his friends platinum charge card has a 1,000 USD spending limit. I'm assuming if there was a spending limit, it would mention it for me right? I'd hate to go and want to buy a TV or something thinking its ok, then later get declined 

 

I guess I'm saying, if it says "No preset spending limit" then it literally means that. And if there was a limit, it wouldn't say "No preset spending limit". Sorry, just new to the charge card thing and trying to understand it.

Gold is my first charge card and I've had it for just over one billing cycle.

 

When you log in, it says NPSL. But I have been using it as a daily driver, and as I got near $2K, Amex emailed me and said I had to make a payment, so I did. When it got near $2K again, it did it again. 

 

From what I understand, possibly, Amex in the first few cycles tries to understand your charging patterns to set the NPSL, because you can't run around putting houses on your card. So there's a limit, but there's not a limit. 

 

I haven't had it long enough to see if it will always be $2K, or if I can put $5K on it a month without having to monitor the amount and push payments. 

 

In both cases, I luckily noticed it, because I was working on a SUB and because I could theoretically have just gone out with my card and hit the limit without noticing. 

 

But it does not literally mean no limit, it means they don't tell you what it is and that that might change based on your habits? 

[kirr44]

42 minutes ago, smartlypretty said:

Gold is my first charge card and I've had it for just over one billing cycle.

 

When you log in, it says NPSL. But I have been using it as a daily driver, and as I got near $2K, Amex emailed me and said I had to make a payment, so I did. When it got near $2K again, it did it again. 

 

From what I understand, possibly, Amex in the first few cycles tries to understand your charging patterns to set the NPSL, because you can't run around putting houses on your card. So there's a limit, but there's not a limit. 

 

I haven't had it long enough to see if it will always be $2K, or if I can put $5K on it a month without having to monitor the amount and push payments. 

 

In both cases, I luckily noticed it, because I was working on a SUB and because I could theoretically have just gone out with my card and hit the limit without noticing. 

 

But it does not literally mean no limit, it means they don't tell you what it is and that that might change based on your habits? 

That's my concern. I'm completely ok with them seeing my charging patters for obvious reasons. I guess I just hate having to worry every time I want to use my card. Like "Uh oh, will it go through this time?" But I would have that feeling EVERY TIME.

[centex]

Charge cards like AXP don't use traditional limits.  They WILL have EXPOSURE limits that vary based upon a number of factors, including income and history with the bank.  This is why you will see some with Platinum cards that can make a $100K purchase (or more) without flinching. 

 

At least with AXP, you can sort of gauge your spending limit through their feature that lets you key in an amount and see, generally, if it would be approved. 

[centex]

17 hours ago, smartlypretty said:

From what I understand, possibly, Amex in the first few cycles tries to understand your charging patterns to set the NPSL, because you can't run around putting houses on your card. So there's a limit, but there's not a limit.

Just as an aside...that is not entirely correct.  If the seller's bank will allow it, one absolutely could place a vehicle or a house on the card if one's exposure with AXP is great enough.  There are plenty of people that could pay cash for such a purchase but like the rewards. 

[kirr44]

So is this essentially something that over time my "spending ability" would increase over time? What could help that?

 

And as smartlypretty mentioned, would they send me a notification before they begin declining purchases? In a sense, I wouldln't have to worry if every transaction is about to get declined.

Edited July 31, 2020 by kirr44

[centex]

55 minutes ago, kirr44 said:

So is this essentially something that over time my "spending ability" would increase over time? What could help that?

 

And as smartlypretty mentioned, would they send me a notification before they begin declining purchases? In a sense, I wouldln't have to worry if every transaction is about to get declined.

Easiest way to increase it is use....lots and lots of use.  And payment in full each month even if they offer the pay-over-time feature. 

 

When I put a back procedure on the card that was roughly $10K, the exposure limit really shot up.  That was after I had held the account for something like nine years.

 

I don't know about notices or if there is a trigger that you can set in the notifications page...never looked that close and have never had anything that was declined. 

[smartlypretty]

19 hours ago, kirr44 said:

That's my concern. I'm completely ok with them seeing my charging patters for obvious reasons. I guess I just hate having to worry every time I want to use my card. Like "Uh oh, will it go through this time?" But I would have that feeling EVERY TIME.

After I got my first email, I interpreted the soft initial limit to be $2K (which was my guess), because at the time I was like at $1897. I'd just keep an eye out at $1.5-2K for emails, and push payments after the email gets there. 

2 hours ago, centex said:

Just as an aside...that is not entirely correct.  If the seller's bank will allow it, one absolutely could place a vehicle or a house on the card if one's exposure with AXP is great enough.  There are plenty of people that could pay cash for such a purchase but like the rewards. 

Sorry, what I mean is that if Amex doesn't have a picture of your spending yet, you can't put a house on a charge, but I know it can happen with seasoned accounts.

 

Like the thing everyone knows about Centurion is the invite is triggered by $250-350K Platinum spending in a year, so those Platinum holders could buy a house  

2 hours ago, kirr44 said:

So is this essentially something that over time my "spending ability" would increase over time? What could help that?

 

And as smartlypretty mentioned, would they send me a notification before they begin declining purchases? In a sense, I wouldln't have to worry if every transaction is about to get declined.

There's a "check spending power" tool on the website, and a very very very common rumor (unverified) that using it too much can trigger FR. I've never used it, and I correctly guessed $2K was my soft limit.

[hegemony]

1 hour ago, smartlypretty said:

 

There's a "check spending power" tool on the website, and a very very very common rumor (unverified) that using it too much can trigger FR. I've never used it, and I correctly guessed $2K was my soft limit.

I use that tool every week or so and can only DREAM they would give me a FR. I would love to have a real human review my 4506-t