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$^&&!@@! American Express!!!

M

Music_Producer

macrumors 68000
Original poster
Sep 25, 2004
1,633
18
I have to rant about AMEX, stupid a$$ idiots.. ok let me lay it out:

I usually spend $25,000-$35,000 per month on studio gear related purchases, and I use Citibank cards and the Starwood AMEX cards for these purchases. I've been accumulating miles on my american airlines account via these cards.

So I have 222,000 miles and I need 40,000 more miles to get 2 business class tickets.. and 2 days before my statement is due (AMEX).. they put me under a 'financial review'!! All my Starwood cards are blocked.. I can't use them. Fine, I don't care.. I don't want to use them anymore.. they did a similar 'financial review' 6 months ago.. it was a painful process which lasted for a month ..where I had to fax 3 months bank statements (25-35 pages), tax returns, etc etc.

The moron in charge then, asked me to fax the statements again because 'the font size was too small'.. and these are statements that are mailed by Bank of America!!

Anyway, I remember that my points were not transferred during that review, about 15,000 points.

So my biggest concern is, I have reserved the tickets, and I need these starwood points.. and they put a frikkin review again! Has anyone out here been through this? Oh, and get this.. the idiots raised my credit limit by $12,000 on all the cards. WTF???

If I don't get my points I'm gonna sue their bloody pants off.. and i'm gonna stick with Citibank.. they never do a financial review or even ask me for anything! I fell for the stupid starwood promotion (every 20,000 points u transfer to an airline.. you get a 5,000 point bonus)

Deplorable.
 
so i'm confused...they don't think you'll be able to pay off the balance, and have therefore put this financial review thing on your account?

it's their fault for giving you the credit limit they did :rolleyes: this is why i don't have credit cards, they're all pure scum.
 
evoluzione said:
this is why i don't have credit cards, they're all pure scum.
Click to expand...

Credit cards are not scams if you know how to use them.

In fact, most "experts" recommend you make major purchases on them (electronics, airline tickets, online purchases, etc) because they offer protections that debit cards and cash don't offer.

So, if you buy an airline ticket with a credit card and the airline goes bankrupt...you can get your money back.
Or, if you buy a product and it doesn't work like you thought it would (and the store won't take it back), you can get your money back.

That is reason enough to use credit cards...if you pay them off in full each month.
 
why did they put you under a financial review in the first place? i mean you paid your bills and you are a good customer. so what the heck? i would be mightily pissed if they put me under a review and i spend much less per month on my amex.
 
MasterCard did the same thing to my dad not to far back. He puts most everything on the GM Mastercard because it gives him money towards a GM vehicle. My dad put a lot (but nearly as much as you) on one or two months in a row and the mastercard got 'suspicious' for some reason, even though my dad pays of the bill every month so he does not have to pay interest.

If your paying off the bill every month then i dont understand why they are doing the reviews. Just stupid.
 
andiwm2003 said:
why did they put you under a financial review in the first place? i mean you paid your bills and you are a good customer. so what the heck? i would be mightily pissed if they put me under a review and i spend much less per month on my amex.
Click to expand...

Yeah... this doesn't make any business sense for them. What is the concern? Tax-exempt type considerations? Or failure to pay? Or something else? Why would any bank in their right mind do this to you twice? If your account is inactive for 2 months and you spent $30k/month, and AMEX gets a 5% commission on sales, they spend $3000 just in lost revenue, plus the investigation costs, to do this. And then, twice? :eek: It doesn't make any sense. :(
 
I think the fact that he puts that much on his credit card and pays it off every month is deemed suspicious when they look at their average customer. I mean, maybe they're looking at these tax forms and such because they're forced to do so when they can't see how you had enough money to pay it all off to begin with, especially when you pay $40000 off every month.

I know its a bad reason to check you, but maybe they're afraid that you're doing something illegal, like buying blow or something with a credit card. :confused:
 
Abstract said:
I think the fact that he puts that much on his credit card and pays it off every month is deemed suspicious when they look at their average customer.
Click to expand...

Hmmm...for a consumer Visa, yes, but for AmEx, I don't think this is that far from the modus operandi, is it?
 
I have never had a late payment issue at all.. with AMEX or Citibank, in fact, I pay off all my cards about 2 weeks before the due date.

I understand the 'concern' about where I am getting the money from, to pay off these charges.. and, as one credit review specialist put it (the first time they did a financial review) "We want to make sure that you are paying off these cards from your bank account" WTF??? Of course I'm paying it off from my bank account!! When I faxed those bank statements to them, I underlined the "AMEX 000594 etc etc TRANSFER" msgs with a marker.. to show the ninnies that yes, I did pay off the cards from my account.

Anyway, this happened 5 months ago.. now its happened again. The point is, Citibank never subjected me to this crap.. as long as I was a good customer, and paid off my balance.. they were happy. In fact, once in a while they used to send me some sort of rebate checks .. I never cashed them but it was a good business move on their part.

The weird thing is that AMEX increased my credit limit, while at the same time blocking my cards.. how stupid is that? And as for the member who suggested that AMEX probably thinks I buy suspicious stuff with the cards (drugs, dope, whatever).. my credit card statement clearly shows the purchases from music stores like SamAsh or Guitar Center, etc. The only reason I stuck with AMEX was because of the starwood points..hell, its not worth it!
 
Abstract said:
I know its a bad reason to check you, but maybe they're afraid that you're doing something illegal, like buying blow or something with a credit card. :confused:
Click to expand...
Laundering the cash from selling the blow is more like it. :p

One of the problems with the '"know your customer rules"
 
American Express is a company of liars and thieves. My merchant account (credit card machine) has been plagued by false charges and fees since day one. I could go on and on. The last 10 months have been hell.

If you are planning to open a small business, for the love of God and all that is holy, DO NOT TAKE AMERICAN EXPRESS! They will lie and steal from you, and then deny it. They have told me for 10 months my account was closed, and for 10 months I have gotten a list of new fees in the mail. Then you have to wait on hold for 40 minutes so they can lie to you some more.

I actually made the customer service lady swear to me the account was closed and there would be no more charges. She swore it was closed and there would absolutely be no more charges. That was four months ago and the charges still keep coming. I have never once scanned an american express card on my machine, ever.

Each time I call, it's the same routine with the bubble gum chewing dim-wit, conveniently clueless with a list of canned answers. I hate them so much.
 
mcarnes said:
American Express is a company of liars and thieves. My merchant account (credit card machine) has been plagued by false charges and fees since day one. I could go on and on. The last 10 months have been hell.

If you are planning to open a small business, for the love of God and all that is holy, DO NOT TAKE AMERICAN EXPRESS! They will lie and steal from you, and then deny it. They have told me for 10 months my account was closed, and for 10 months I have gotten a list of new fees in the mail. Then you have to wait on hold for 40 minutes so they can lie to you some more.

I actually made the customer service lady swear to me the account was closed and there would be no more charges. She swore it was closed and there would absolutely be no more charges. That was four months ago and the charges still keep coming. I have never once scanned an american express card on my machine, ever.

Each time I call, it's the same routine with the bubble gum chewing dim-wit, conveniently clueless with a list of canned answers. I hate them so much.
Click to expand...


Yup, thats the same customer support I encounter as well. The credit review 'specialists' are rude and talk to you as though they're doing you a favor. Is it possible to sue them? Now I know why most stores don't accept AMEX (small time stores atleast) :mad:
 
Music_Producer said:
Yup, thats the same customer support I encounter as well. The credit review 'specialists' are rude and talk to you as though they're doing you a favor. Is it possible to sue them? Now I know why most stores don't accept AMEX (small time stores atleast) :mad:
Click to expand...

I would sure like to sue them. I'm going to write a letter to the BBB if I get another bill next month. It's really a great injustice that they can get away with doing this to people. They know I have better things to do than pursue this small bill, and hope I'll just forget about it and let it continue. That's why it's so hard to reach anyone meaningful in custom service.

There was a good show on PBS last month, exposing some of the scams that credit card companies intentionally inflict on consumers. One was when Providian was charging a late fee to all members, regardless of when the payment was sent in. Some people sent the bill in as soon as they got it, and would still get charged the $40 late fee. This went on for a long time and the feds finally put a stop to it, but Providian only got a slap on the wrist and made many millions in the process.

I suspect something similar may be going on with AMEX. What they are doing is clearly wrong. It's just a matter of them doing it to enough people that will report it. Credit card companies get away with murder before the feds step in.
 
If it's a small business card, Amex may be worried that your company may declare bankruptcy and leave them holding the bag for large charges. (Not referring to you at all, but I know of some people who have made major purchases in preparation for declaring personal bankruptcy.) Also, AFAIK, if you're incorporated you are not personally liable for the charges.

Good luck.
 
I don't have a small business card.. I have 2 starwood personal, and one delta skymiles personal card. In fact, during the first review, the reviewer suggested that I get a business card, and I told him that I did apply for it, but was never approved.
 
Music_Producer said:
I don't have a small business card.. I have 2 starwood personal, and one delta skymiles personal card. In fact, during the first review, the reviewer suggested that I get a business card, and I told him that I did apply for it, but was never approved.
Click to expand...

Ahhh, so you're spending $30k-40k a month on professional gear on a personal credit card?
 
mkrishnan said:
Ahhh, so you're spending $30k-40k a month on professional gear on a personal credit card?
Click to expand...

Yup, thats correct. Is that somehow connected to this? The $30-$40k a month includes all purchases..studio gear, dining, groceries, gas, etc etc. As I mentioned before, never had a problem with Citicards, only AMEX. Perfect timing btw.. right before thanksgiving they block my cards.
 
Abstract said:
And the po'lease. Don't fo'git the po'lease.
Click to expand...

Five-Oh, man, Five-Oh! :)

I think... hmmm... I don't know if the personal card thing is connected. I suspect it might be. I know that AmEx has very liberal policies on paper with personal cards, but I've also heard lots of stories about people suddenly spending heavily on personal cards and then being unable to repay.... Not that those anecdotal stories have any relation to you. Perhaps it's also somehow connected to last month's change in Chapter 13 rules?

I'm sorry...I don't mean to say you deserve it. It sounds as if you've just grabbed the attention of some individual at AmEx who is, for some reason, making your life miserable. :( And that's not right.
 
Abstract said:
Why do you replace your gear so often?



And the po'lease. Don't fo'git the po'lease.
Click to expand...

I don't replace my gear.. I work with a vast network of studios and we buy gear all the time. What mkrishnan said about AMEX suspecting my inability to pay the money back may be true.. but my spending pattern is the same since the last 6 months, and I pay it back every time.. in full.. 2 weeks before the due date. If they thought I was unable to pay, why would they raise my credit limit again? Its just inept people working at AMEx.. nothing else. Check this out:

Last time I faxed the bank statements.. the officer couldnt figure out my average daily balance! The person in charge of the credit review department can't do math..or is too lazy to do so. So I called my bank and they mailed a letter showing my daily average balance..and I had to mail AMEX that letter!
:eek: It was just one excuse after the other
 
Wow, I have never run into any touble with American Express since becoming a member last year. I only charge about $300 per month on my Blue card, and I just go the One card. Lately, it seems to be taking awhile for me to be able to pay my balance online.

I like Amex because of the benefits, the nice card designs, the easy to use online interface, and the extremely friendly customer service that I have dealt with.
 
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