AMEX rejection

[Weasel]

Just received a letter in the mail for rejection for the Amex Velocity platinum after applying on 12 Feb. I agree with the general consensus that they are clamping down on churners.

 

[N0mad]

Just received a letter in the mail for rejection for the Amex Velocity platinum after applying on 12 Feb. I agree with the general consensus that they are clamping down on churners.

i called after my rejection and was told this by the customer service guy as most likely the reason.

 

[kpc]

+1 got the Amex Velocity Plat approved 2.5 years after closing the previous one which she held for just under a year.....just a data point.

 

[N0mad]

+1 got the Amex Velocity Plat approved 2.5 years after closing the previous one which she held for just under a year.....just a data point.

out of curiosity was she a churner? i was a little over 2 years since last application.

 

[kpc]

out of curiosity was she a churner? i was a little over 2 years since last application.

Yes but only 1 or 2 cards every 2 years or so

 

[MooTime]

I received the AMEX plat velocity few months ago after closing last Amex some 18+ months ago. I do churn 3 - 5 cards a year.

Just got approved for another visa card.
Had some issues of proving past cards are actually closed, not showing as closed on 1 credit reporting agency which caused confusion / issues.

The closing letters I've noticed are as little ambiguous of late. As in, Closed but you must redirect any recurring charges etc etc, if its closed it closed for goodness sake, ha.
Even final statements aren't as clear as they should / could be.

 

[jetset]

I received a letter in mail saying I was rejected citing my credit check. I did my own credit history check and it is excellent. My last Amex was about two years ago and I think I've only had two Amex cards in my whole life.

It's pretty clear what's happening hear. Amex are clamping down on people they consider churners. It's just a bit frustrating that they tell me its because of my credit history which implies I have bad credit, when in reality it's purely a business decision.

 

[andye]

I received a letter in mail saying I was rejected citing my credit check. I did my own credit history check and it is excellent. My last Amex was about two years ago and I think I've only had two Amex cards in my whole life.

It's pretty clear what's happening hear. Amex are clamping down on people they consider churners. It's just a bit frustrating that they tell me its because of my credit history which implies I have bad credit, when in reality it's purely a business decision.

Did you check all 3 agencies?

 

[MooTime]

I received a letter in mail saying I was rejected citing my credit check. I did my own credit history check and it is excellent. My last Amex was about two years ago and I think I've only had two Amex cards in my whole life.

It's pretty clear what's happening hear. Amex are clamping down on people they consider churners. It's just a bit frustrating that they tell me its because of my credit history which implies I have bad credit, when in reality it's purely a business decision.

To be fair all Amex told you, you were rejected cos of their credit check of your file.

Simple as that, they checked your file and it didn't pass their requirements.

Didn't imply bad credit history, just not what they require to give credit out.

Not sure if Amex check a potential customer's visa and MasterCard history, Shirley they do.
I consider myself a churner and was approved for the plat Amex and ANZ black card recently. Both higher end cards, I'd put my money on being declined for 1 of them at least, but got lucky how I see it.

Who really knows what they look for / at

Like your posted, it's a business decision.

 

[DC3]

Some AFFers clearly aren’t a good fit for what Amex is currently seeking. And who knows what they are seeking.

 

[N0mad]

Did you check all 3 agencies?

no need, as they specify it was due to veda check and give you a link to check your file with them.

 

[grandir]

I received a letter in mail saying I was rejected citing my credit check. I did my own credit history check and it is excellent. My last Amex was about two years ago and I think I've only had two Amex cards in my whole life.

It's pretty clear what's happening hear. Amex are clamping down on people they consider churners. It's just a bit frustrating that they tell me its because of my credit history which implies I have bad credit, when in reality it's purely a business decision.

Did they say that your application was rejected because of the credit check or just something along the lines of "having completed our credit check" etc etc. It may seem like a meaningless difference but credit lenders and banks are very careful with the wording they use in their correspondences, to avoid litigation and complaints etc.

In my experience, lenders typically lend to two kinds of people: (1) the people for whom money isnt a struggle, but if enticed enough, will spend just over what they can afford but be disciplined enough to stay afloat while being able to afford monthly repayments i.e. the interest payers, or (2) the people for whom money literally is not a problem and will spend cash without even thinking because cashflow to them is not a concern i.e. the card transaction fee revenue stream. If, by their opaque criteria you do not fit the profile of either of these two types of customers, then they will likely reject you.

So disciplined individuals who are frugal enough to pay off 100% of their CC balance every month but who also wont go on massive spending sprees on a monthly basis are the worst kind of customers for lenders because they wont make the bank any money.

 

[andyrb]

So disciplined individuals who are frugal enough to pay off 100% of their CC balance every month but who also wont go on massive spending sprees on a monthly basis are the worst kind of customers for lenders because they wont make the bank any money.

This is me.

The Amex gets paid off immediately, and I've never carried a balance on it. The Visa I've had for many years and have sometimes carried a balance (when I got into a bit of financial cough) but is generally paid off on time. Rarely use the Visa though.

However.. Amex et al would be collecting a HUGE amount of data from customers, which is extremely valuable in itself. Spending patterns, habits, all of that.

 

[jetset]

Did they say that your application was rejected because of the credit check or just something along the lines of "having completed our credit check" etc etc. It may seem like a meaningless difference but credit lenders and banks are very careful with the wording they use in their correspondences, to avoid litigation and complaints etc.

Can't remember (threw it out) but I was immediately approved for a card with another lender so it wasn't serviceability.

So disciplined individuals who are frugal enough to pay off 100% of their CC balance every month but who also wont go on massive spending sprees on a monthly basis are the worst kind of customers for lenders because they wont make the bank any money.

This is me. These card companies want problem spenders to make money off. But us frequent flyers are much too organised.

 

[nthd_nthd]

no need, as they specify it was due to veda check and give you a link to check your file with them.

You can try applying for different Amex product. I had the same rejection and pointing to Veda. In the end I applied for something else and got approved.

 

[neeyuese]

You can try applying for different Amex product. I had the same rejection and pointing to Veda. In the end I applied for something else and got approved.

What you are saying I think is true, I had all my cards (platinum charge and Edge ) closed by Amex on MAR 23, I tried to reapply for the platinum charge in July and November '23 but both failed, I noticed that there wasn't any HARD PULL on my credit files history, and in December I still received my New Accor Plus card (a benefit that comes with the Amex Platinum charge), so I think that maybe my previously canceled Amex card is still hidden somewhere in their system. because one person can't have the same Amex card in the same time, so each time I applied platinum charge was simply rejected by the system. I should try reapply after 2 years.

 

[N0mad]

You can try applying for different Amex product. I had the same rejection and pointing to Veda. In the end I applied for something else and got approved.

That's interesting, awaiting approval for home and investment loan refinance and looking for another investment which is why i liked the charge card as the credit limit is like $0 or $1. May think about and apply after that's all sorted

 

[doctord]

I'm curious to hear about what income / spending people who have been approved (or even the people rejected) are listing on their applications?

 

[Cynicor]

I'm curious to hear about what income / spending people who have been approved (or even the people rejected) are listing on their applications?

It’s irrelevant. It’s the CC churn history that is getting declined.

 

[doctord]

It’s irrelevant. It’s the CC churn history that is getting declined.

I don't think this is entirely true. I'm not a CC churner at all and got rejected.