Thread: American Express

I hear a lot of complants and bad press about American Express here on the forum. Such as them just "cutting you off" at the drop of a hat which isnt cool at all. I had a green card back in 1991 when I got out of the Airforce and through my own stupidity, I lost it. Back then you didnt have the pay the balance in full or pay overtime option. Here recently, i just got a green card again. It took me almost 20 years to get back into good standing enought to get the card again. I have to say that with all the negativeity that American Express gets here, Its kinda scary now that i got the card again. But having said that, there are still lots of people that flock to "the card" in droves. So far, i havent had any problems with my new green card and customer service has been more thatn friendly and helpful when i could then to set up the account. My only advice i can give and i know that it's been said before is to:

Keep a good standing with them and pay your bill in full when it is due. Even go the length of paying above and beyond what you may owe if you know that you are going to make a purchase soon. Since i know they have waved the $95 annual fee for me this year, I was thinking of going ahead and paying the fee now.

I don't know, I've had an AMEX gold card since December and have recently been ratcheting up my use for various reasons. I've had no problem. My monthly spending has been about $5000 a month on average and my balance at any given time has been as high as $9000. Ive had no issues with financial review or anything else. I also pay my bill at the las possible moment just because I can.

I agree that it has been a little scary handing it over for a large purchase after hearing teh horror stories but so far everything has gone without issue.

I'm guessing that AMEX would tend to be a little more lenient with how much they let their charge card customers spend relative to those with a line of credit. Since credit cards offer flexibility in terms of payment over time, it'd be far easier to accumulate debt that might not be readily repayable, and I would bet that AMEX would keep a closer eye on credit cards users for this reason.


Again, just guessing, but it seems reasonable to me.

I have to wonder when I read negative reviews about CCCs whether we're hearing the whole story, and whether the conclusions that the writer reaches are accurate. It's not that ppl are not being truthful or candid, it's just that there are other variables in play we are not always mindful of. Nor is it fair to blame CCCs for cutting their lines of credit because the credit offered is theirs and not the consumer's. So far (last fifteen years) I have had a few problems but the benefits I have received far outweigh the headaches.

Originally Posted by gangof4

I have to wonder when I read negative reviews about CCCs whether we're hearing the whole story, and whether the conclusions that the writer reaches are accurate.

Gangof4. I think you are right about that.