American Express Platinum Card Reviews

American Express sent me an email one morning stating that they were cancelling my cards. I called to find out what was going on and as stated above made sure all payments were made. I asked that the accounts remain open and they stated no due to my not having the money to pay the account. No discussion was entertained. They acknowledged that neither payment from the automatic withdrawal was late because it comes out of the account on the first day of the bill and they acknowledged that I don't even get an email or hard copy of the bill or the amount. They acknowledged that I'd never paid late. Yet, they said my credit report and payment history caused the closing.

I told them I assumed they didn't want my business and they might as well not accept my $495 as a platinum member. The operator, to my surprise, said that she would refund my platinum card fee and close the account, then she asked is there anything else. Shocked, I said I'll call back and hung up the phone. I called back that day and asked for a supervisor.

Basically I was given the runaround. I told them I didn't want the Platinum Card cancelled because I had some recurring payments, utilized the Regus office deal and had over 170,000 membership miles. They said that they had closed the account and there was nothing they could do. I checked my credit report and it was excellent and I have a high credit score.

On 05/18/2010, after we used both accounts for a purchase, now we get a email stating that our accounts are closed. Here we go again. We do not understand how we can make a purchase at 6 pm then at 6:05 pm our accounts are closed for no reason. We always pay about 600% over the monthly payment because we use cards all the time. American Express customer service is by far the worst. I was told on 05/18/2010 by an American Express agent that she can not see why the account is closed and was going to have a manager call us on 05/18/2010. I am still waiting.

So in summary, I would not recommend to use American Express for either business or personal. We will be sticking with our Visa and MasterCard accounts for we have not had one ounce of problems with them. They do not just close our accounts for no reason.

When I called to ask why they say it's because I carried the balance from the 2nd to the 5th, except it was all paid off by the time that billing period ended. On the agreement, it says you avoid FC if paid before next billing period starts and I did that and they still charge me. I'm so angry I can't believe it. I thought they don't play these games. Even if its just $11, it's so wrong to just lie and deceive consumers. I have been recommending AmEx to friends and family, those days are over. I will be sure to tell them that AmEx is just as dodgy as any other credit company.

I have had AMEX accounts for two businesses, three personal accounts and approximately 25 cards. Our monthly bills with AMEX were approximately $25,000 per month and not a payment was missed since we began using AMEX in 1995. Our business credit line, which was unlimited was reduced to less than $5,000 on one company, $1,000 on the second company and $5,000 on our personal card. Repeated calls to AMEX has resulted in the same story, there is nothing I can do and there is nothing that AMEX will do. Personal history, company history, years of relationships and gross income are not important, only line 22 matters. As a result, we have had to restructure our travel and procurement policies, move our credit cards to another vendor and be treated as a deadbeat rather than a valued client.

About a month later, I received a statement, showing they received my payment. But they charged me a $38 late fee, a $193.12 finance fee, and a $150 membership renewal fee. The same day, I received a separate letter from AmEx indicating they were cancelling my account. I called AmEx immediately to dispute the finance and late charge, and most of all the ridiculous slap-in-the-face membership renewal fee, for an account they cancelled (!). I didn't get anywhere on the phone, and I followed up with a letter. And then several months later, I sent another letter to their collections company, as well as to all 3 credit bureaus.

Unfortunately, this is not resolved, and is showing up as a "charge off" on my credit report. I recently received a settlement offer from AmEx. I called them. I told them I refuse to pay anything unless they remove all negative reports off my credit report. If they were willing to do so, I may be willing to pay something. They claim that this is impossible to do, even though this was an administrative error on AmEx's part.

I have all the documentation to show I paid the balance off in full, and have been in contact with AmEx, and they have been unwilling to correct this error. I would like to sue AmEx to get the error corrected on my credit report, and perhaps for my time involved with dealing with this. This has caused 15 points off my credit score and about 20 hours of time thus far, and higher interest rates on other loans as a result.

I called today, April 19,2010, and one representative told me they received the fax on April 12, 2010, but that didn't matter because I would have to re-apply for the card again and I failed to send copies of the corrected credit report from the bureaus to Amex. This is inconsistent with what the other representative told me and all I got was an ambiguous run around, I never used the card once. Not to mention, I received a letter trying to console me, blaming it on the economy. My credit score suffered a loss as a result of them canceling my card and emotionally, it hurt me because I was so happy when I got it, only for them to cancel it a month later and when I tried to fix it, they didn't care.

On April 8, 2010, I applied for a credit increase on the Amex website. I received an email stating that American Express had completed the processing of my application and provided a website link to view the details. The website link had an error message stating that Amex was sorry, but the site was undergoing maintenance. I tried 3 or 4 times over the following week to view my application status.Today, April 14, 2010 once again I was unable to view the status and instead called the telephone number provided on the website, and I spoke with Linda.

Linda said that April 8th was too early to apply for an increase because it was not 60 days or more from February 8th until April 8th. She offered to submit a new credit increase request and I agreed. After being placed on hold, Linda came back and stated that I would have to provide further documentation because my total credit line from both the Delta and the Costco card exceeded approximately $31,000. I could not convince her that the Delta card had been canceled in February and eventually asked that she cancel all American Express cards. She transferred me to Abby in customer service stating that she cannot cancel accounts. Note that I also received an email reference again, stating that the processing of my application was complete.

David stated that the department responsible for processing credit increase requests cannot see that my Delta card had been canceled 2 months ago. More surprisingly, he said that he could find no requests for credit increases at all! Ultimately I screamed and insisted that he cancel any and all cards, and hopefully he did so.

I keep calling weeks go by and no answer and finally they come back and said they gave me a partial credit. If that was the amount I was told I would be getting then I book a trip for that amount but I was told $2,300 so I booked a trip closer to $2,300. If I’m a minute late or 1 day or 15 days, they charge me the full late fee. I can’t go back and say I was only 1 day late so I’m only giving you partial late fee. Not professional or ethical. Another example of greedy America getting all they can and not caring about anyone else and any mistakes they make but when we make mistakes, they stick it to us hard.

The customer continued to appeal and even though his complaint was not logical, Amex took the money back out of our account and ultimately sided with the customer on a technicality which was completely impertinent to the case. We had to sue for payment of the material. He changed his story when we filed a lawsuit, stating that the pool contractor was supposed to be responsible for the topsoil. The pool builder presented his contract showing that the topsoil was not included in his fees. We ended up settling in the courtroom for $15,000, minutes before going to trial, with witnesses stating that they heard the customer make the calls, order the topsoil, and give his credit card number.

Apparently, this person had failed to pay other contractors as well. The technicality was that we had not obtained the 3 digit security code on the card--completely unrelated to the customer's dispute. Obviously the judge sided with our store, and ultimately, the customer paid us in 2 payments over 3 months. When we realized that Amex was taking the money out of our account, we stopped payment on the 2nd draft and, needless to say, stopped accepting Amex charges.

At this time, our lawyer continues to hold back the 2nd payment to Amex because they have black listed us. We are unable to obtain a merchant account for another separate business because Amex put us on some list that will prevent us from obtaining an account for a year, even if we pay the money to them! This all took place during the time that Amex was advertising how easy it is to not pay for something if you dispute the charges.

We received threatening calls from Amex stating that they were sending our account to third party collections and that this action would affect us personally; this was happening despite the fact that our lawyer had notified them that we had begun legal pursuit of the matter. The action Amex took is impeding our ability to do business in another location because our names on the merchant account have been blacklisted. We had to pay our lawyer $5000, the customer paid $2000 less than he owed, our monetary loss is $7,000 once we pay the last draft back to Amex. We have tried to reason with them, "we will pay you now if you take us off the list". They say we are on the list for a year, no negotiation. Our monetary losses will continue to mount if we are unable to obtain another merchant account for our other business. I am sure there are other merchants who have been treated unfairly in a similar manner. A class action suit sounds good to me!

Because of all this mess caused by them, they had the courage to tell me that I have to pay a balance of $2736 on the account that I never used since 2008 (supposedly is closed), and until that happens, I cannot use my current account. They even told me if I want to use my credit card, I have to pay the balance on my current account at that moment (the bill wasn't due for another 10 days).

Finally, on 03/24/10, I contacted Barbara, a manager at AmEx, and she told me that she will take care of everything and that I could use my card because I dint cause the situation. She transferred me to Tiffany, a specialist in these type of cases and she told that will take care of the mess. She later left me a voicemail (I kept it) saying that she took care of everything and that I could use my card without any problems. Later that evening, I tried to use my card at Costco and was declined.

I called the customer service to see if they could lower the rate and was advised that even though I am an excellent, long term customer (since 1985), there was a late payment received back in July (sorry the mail didn't get there in time), they could not change the rate and I would have to wait till the end of the year. One late payment and I have to pay this outrageous fee. Oh but they did mention I made double payments the following month in August. I have a credit card with Chase with a higher balance and my rate is 13%. I expressed my displeasure and Tish said there was nothing she could do. It looks like American Express is encouraging customers to drop them. I can't wait to finish this bill and cancel this card. I have to pay three times as much for the minimum payment in order to pay this bill each month.

They said that they would honor her payment plan. I asked for it in writing and I was told when paid off in October 31, 2009, I would get a paid off (I never got it), but I had to have this go through now or else! I was doing what was asked and AmEx had been the one that sent me there. They must trust them as well and it was going to them, so why not me trust who they sent me to. I was dead wrong. In November, after the last payment, I never got the letter. Then the collection calls started and wanted a payment. Every 30 days, I get a new place to start telling my story to again. I can't keep doing this right now. They want the rest of the payoff.

I had discussions with GC Services last week about my outstanding balance of $6,899.62. I explained to them that I had a stroke in July 2009, had to lay off my staff, and subsequently close my investment management business. I also explained to them that I had exhausted all of my financial resources and was in effect, "living off the good graces of my children and friends". I asked for a little more time for me to try and secure employment so I could pay off my bill. I was given until Friday 2:00pm to reply.

I was unsuccessful in my efforts to get money from friends to pay my bill. I found GC Services to be totally insensitive to anything I had to say on Friday. I warned them about their lack of professionalism and told them that I was going to inform American Express about their maltreatment. Their reply was to "include a check with the complaint letter". Is this how American Express treats customers undergoing financial hardships? I would have thought that my ten-year relationship with their company would have accorded me better treatment.

They notified me after hours on the 15th, and I have two business related accounts that are automatically scheduled to be deducted from the card on the 16th. I suspect there may also be other negative consequences as a result of the unannounced cancellation, but it is too early to determine the actual damage.

After the fact, I discovered that the same ticket was sold at another company for $680. I have no idea where this difference came from. I was not even offered the free upgrade that American Express platinum always is telling us as one of the benefits. I called the platinum concierge, and sent an e-mail requesting to contact me regarding this matter, but there was no reply from them at all. I know that they call back right away if this was general platinum service request for restaurant reservation, etc. I have no idea what the platinum service annual fee is for, and I don't know what I can do in this situation. I mean, $2,000 difference is a tremendous deal. And, not only the money, but also this Amex platinum ruined the memory of my grandfather's ceremony. Whenever I think of it, I get this very mixed feeling of loss and anger. This is totally a ripoff, and, very unethical. Please let me know if anyone could help me.

About 9 months ago, after about 5 years of no contact from Amex, I received a past due notice and a bill in the mail for $302. There was no information in the bill regarding what the bill was for or details of the charges. The next day, I received a letter in the mail from a collection agency asking for payment. After many phone calls, nobody can tell me what the charges are for. AmEx has told me that they can't give me a billing detail because the account is so old so I have refused to pay the bill. The first collection agency has given up and a new agency has sent me a letter asking for payment and a reminder that my credit score will be damaged if I don't pay them $302.

I don't think I am being unreasonable in refusing to pay a bill that I know nothing about. If someone can give me a detail of the charges and I agree with them, I will pay the bill. I don't want my good credit to be affected but I don't know how to fight this. Please help. Thanks.

The $30,000 was paid to Mr. Walter K A., Esq and he was to send it to the American Express, attorney Raymond M. & Sons, Esq. Bridgewater, NJ 08807. I'm denied credit. I do not care whether I get credit from American Express all I want to do is clear up this matter. This has been going on since July 2009. All I want is a Warrant of Satisfaction that which is to be executed through the county court in which it was not paid.

So every five days, I had no choice but to make a payment over the phone. It was extremely embarrassing having my card declined while dining out at 5-star restaurants. Having had an AmEx Platinum card for 35 years and having run several million dollars through this account and paying the entire bill always 100% in full, my card was canceled in early Jan of this year. When I inquired as to why, they first told me that I had cancelled it, which is false! Then they told me since it was already canceled, there was absolutely nothing they could do about it and I would have to re-apply for a brand new card and account.

When I tried to do this, they said unfortunately, your application has been denied due to a low credit score! I tried calling over a dozen times to speak to a supervisor and every time, I was given misleading and different answers to my questions about re-instating my account and having access to my reward points. Knowing this was going to become a major hurdle, I immediately wrote a letter requesting AmEx to release the points, as I was told to do by a membership rewards agent in charge.

She said I had 90 days from the date my card was canceled to get either a new card to transfer these points to or write a letter requesting them to release and give me access to the points. My hard earned and paid for membership reward points totaling 288,000. She assured me that I had nothing to worry about that this was routine and she sees this all the time. She said once I received the letter with a bar code on it, to fax it over to her department and the points would be available for me to do with whatever.

On March 2nd nearly a month later, I called back to see if the letter I wrote was received and they have no record of it. A three-way call was set up between AmEx card cervices and membership rewards. Both agents told me that since my account was closed, I have lost my reward points entirely and that the 90-day deadline did not apply! I feel like AmEx has given me the runaround for two months now. I am extremely disappointed and feel ripped off. Bottom line is I paid for and earned these points and do not feel AmEx has the right to steal them from me when I haven't done anything wrong. I have been loyal to them. It's one thing to not pay your bill but I have never neglected not to pay it. Canceling my card because they think they aren't going to get paid? For what? I never have a forwarding balance, it's always paid in full.

I called them immediately to get my huge interest rate hike back (17.9%) to my normal rate (9.9%) and they didn't budge. One week later, I received a notice that my card's credit limit was decreased again to an amount of $200 of what I owed them! Needless to say, that didn't help my monthly business spending expenses! Not only did they do this to my business account, they did it to my personal credit card account as well. My business suffered greatly in 2009 and I was late on another payment because of the weekend and my rate went to 29.9% on a 18,000 dollar balance.

I have nobody to blame for my business suffering in 2009 but myself, but they certainly had a huge role in my financial situation related to my business spending availability. Once AMEX lowered my personal card from 50k to 5k, my other two personal credit cards followed suit (2 Visas). American Express is not friendly to small businesses and the hundreds of people and the time spent over the phone with them was worthless. I paid off my two personal accounts with AmEx and closed those accounts. I will never do business with them again and wish there was some way to stop all their tactics they pull to make businesses and people suffer!

This humiliating treatment after 26 years of loyal service with every intent to settle my balance of $4,500 in full in a timely manner. I have a job now and in a position to handle, but AMEX has given me the boot anyway. This is outrageous customer service and deserves legal retribution if it was not so pathetic and ultimately petty by AMEX. I wish there would be a class-action lawsuit for failure to uphold the agreement made with customers to remain in good standing.

I applied for the card using the RSVP code provided in the letter and was immediately accepted. Since receiving the credit card, I have more than exceeded the criteria for receiving the points and have waited the 6 to 8 weeks necessary to apply the points. After calling Customer Service four times and being told each time that the points would be applied, I got a call today telling me that the Membership Rewards Department denied my points because they need to see the letter that I received in the mail three months ago! Apparently, they don't have the offer code on record, they don't attach the offer codes to the account, and keep no record of the promises that they make in these pre-approved offers.

I thought American Express was a trustworthy company and I have used their card and paid my bills on time. This is the thanks that I get? Where I come from, that's called Bait and Switch. I was lured into applying for the card under false pretenses and I'm pretty sure that's illegal. Shame on you, American Express! I will never use this company for anything ever again. There are no damages other than I lost faith in what I thought was a good company. I have spent money on this card thinking that I would get something in return - over $4000.

American Express has to let me know by email or online notification (there is no message online even when we have online accounts set up), or decline the charge or at least give some type of time for end users to receive such a letter. They put me on $1,050 monthly payment. At first, I thought it is a win win situation. The payment is much higher than the flexible payment would have been, but still I accepted since I pay my bills in a few months anyway. However, no one told me that this payment plan is still going to be reported to Credit Bureaus as 30, 60, 90 day past dues, without knowing I am 210 days past due and has drastically lowered my score. If I would have known this, I wouldn't have agreed to payment plan. In addition to the credit report, my chances of getting any type of credit card and getting a job has been affected.

They held $45,000.00 from me for 8 days and I have asked them to close the account. Actually, I have to go back to my client and request they pay me the $45,000 in some other fashion. I no longer accept AX cards.

So I rang them and said I don’t need my card. They said ok since you have received a goodwill credit, we can close your card; however, you will be invoiced the goodwill credit so that the card will be reversed. I said what? They said since I had received the good will credit I would have to stay for 12 months before they can officially give me the goodwill credit with no strings attached. After hefty conversation with the supervisor, who sounded like they were just sitting on their throne and I could not do anything, and the fact I was screaming down the phone saying you must be running some kind of scam by locking customers into a card for a 12-month period, they came to the end that I would firstly stay for a 6-month period then change it to a 3-month period after the goodwill credit. What a dishonest way of customer retention. I said I will not be recommending AMX if anybody asked. I have to retain a card I don’t want to receive what AMX call a goodwill credit for being a long term member.

We continued to make payments to pay off the account and last month we made what we thought would be our last payment. We paid online and at least two weeks before the due date only to receive a statement this month with us still owing $90 in interest! I called and asked AmEx to write off the interest only to be told "no". So now I really know that AmEx does not care about the consumer at all. What a horrible company to deal with!

When I contacted American Express, I was told that they were going to look into the problem. I ended traveling and after returning, I contacted Amex again and I was told that I never contacted the airline (?) and that the tickets did not have any restrictions. I sent a letter to Amex with the following attachments: photocopy of the tickets issued by their travel agency, photocopy of the airline regulations with respect to fares, in which it read very clear that the fare in question was not upgradable. As of today (more that a year went by), they are still giving me the round around and not taking responsibility for their mistake.

I stopped using the card as many places in Europe don't take AMEX. Nearly 8 mos. later, I receive a statement with the disputed charges put back on the card and interest that had accumulated those 6 mos. Now this was all back in 2007, until today none of my voice messages on their # have been returned. They cancelled the card, kept all my points (a huge amount) and sent the balance to a credit collection company. They informed me this wasn't a matter for them and sent my collection back to AMEX, mind you it was less than $100. I wrote 2 letters, continued calling the 877 number but I was always being routed to India or the Philippines. No offense but their English is minimal to say the least. However, they did calmly try to help me.

Unsuccessful, as they can only type a message into the system and wait for it to reach the US database. At this point, I probably have spent hundreds of dollars on calling as it is not toll-free from Europe. Although, I live in Europe I may want to return home one day and this is now on my credit report. I did some researching on the web for varies telephone numbers to get a native English speaker in the USA. Well, let me tell you when I did, I wish I hadn't. Not only were they rude, but I was placed on hold sometime for 1/2 hr, hung up on and today "Joanna" if that is her real name, told me she was frustrated and had the bold nerves to tell me she was aggravated and kept cutting me off. I was so happy to get someone in the states after trying for 18 months and this was the service I got. I am totally disgusted by AMEX.

The remaining $400+ was denied by AmEx since they claim all deductibles are covered by your own insurance company. I have submitted documents showing that SafeCo in Texas does not cover deductibles. I cannot get AmEx to respond to my letters requesting payment. SafeCo made several attempts to get a response from them, as well. No calls, no letters, no emails. I will make one more attempt and then cancel the card. American Express is not what it used to be!

My call was transferred to a supervisor/floor manager by the name of Susan stating that I "misunderstood the payment plan" and that I need to make a payment that same day and if I do not, I will be kicked out of the program. Susan said that "the payment arrangements were all a misperception." I never misunderstood the agreed payment plan. I wrote it all down the day I spoke with Dennise and I was treated very rudely or shall I say coldly by Susan. I am foreigner and I feel that she has no customer skills. English is not my first language so that perhaps made me an easy target for her to talk to me like I was a waste of her time. I asked to speak to her boss. She replied that she has no one above her and I, therefore, told her, "So you hired yourself?" Anyhow, nothing's been resolved yet. I wanted to share this story so people out there will know about how horrific American Express is with customers/people who feed them.

I feel that they have you in the palm of their hands and no customer service whatsoever. They have even begun calling my personal home phone number to "harass" me for a payment when I haven't seen the bill yet. I am disgusted and cannot run my business the way I need to. I have plans to cancel this card.

One person said that I should have noticed missing a month's bill and just paid it without the statement. I told her we were in the process of an interstate move, and I was not concentrating on what bills I did not receive! They continue to call our house on a regular basis, but will not speak to me, only to my husband who is never home when they call. He has been in Afghanistan more than home since we moved here. I can't believe they are still calling us over this paltry amount. What terrible business practices! AmEx listed our credit, which I'm sure caused us to pay more for our mortgages. I put an explanation on the credit report, but I doubt that anyone reads it.

In July 2009, my new card was declined, and when I called AmEx, they said that card was canceled because of nonpayment on the old canceled card. I called about my membership rewards points and was told by the first representative that I would have 30 days to redeem and would receive a letter informing me of that.

When I didn't receive the letter, I called again and was told the first rep was not correct and that I would have 90 days. My points still showed 0 on the AmEx website, and the cards showed "canceled." Finally, I received notice from AmEx that the charges on the old card had been removed. Both cards were now paid off.

I called again and was told the points remained forfeited and that I should write customer service in Ft Lauderdale asking for reinstatement. I did so, explaining the whole situation to them by certified mail. Yesterday, I received a computer-generated form letter from EL Paso saying my card was canceled and the points were forfeited. If any of the early posters have successfully resolved a similar forfeiture, please let me know.

Today is the first time I have spoken to a person who spoke fluent English since I have had this card. I think they are getting a lot of complaints, and they better look out. My mom has been with them for over 40 years. If she did not have all the points on her card, she probably would have left them by now. Paying this outrageous interest when I have no job is painful, I will not forget. I will not ever have anything good to say about American Express ever again.

So what this means is that I have lost $14,000 in credit. I normally charge around 4k per month and have paid the balance in full each month. I now understand why so many merchants don't accept AMX. Mr. Alfred K, President of AMX, needs to get in the trenches and out of the clouds to get this once great company back the way Buffett, Well, and Fargo originally set it up or their 27% share of the credit market will diminish. Outsourcing their customer service to India may have saved them money in the short term, but I predict that that will come back to bite them in the butt. The CSR's in India do not have the compassion and don't understand loyalty.

However, in addition to the returned check fee, American Express also raised my interest rate from 9.4% to 27.24% even though I made the required payment for the sole reason the check was returned. (My account was current.) I explained it to the representative at American Express, and they refused to return the interest rate back to the 9.4% or lower it in any way. This was all due to Chase's inappropriate use of the promotional checks. If they were not going to honor the checks, then why send them? I received another promotional offer in the mail on Friday from Chase for the same account.

They have caused financial damage to my credit report, and it clearly was not due to my payment history with Chase, American Express or Discover. All my accounts are current. I carefully monitor all my accounts and pay most of them on automatic bill pay. I have subsequently paid off the Discover card through another source. I will also find a way to pay off the American Express card so as not to incur these dramatically unfair rates, particularly since I have always paid my bills on time over several years.

My business JetBlue is now paid off by the end of this month so it will be my personal account. My small company processes AmEx payments around $10k a month. As of now, I still am accepting AmEx as a form of payment at my business. I would like to advise you the consequences of your reckless behavior on my business and my personal credit. Other credit card followed suit along my credit report, which is still until now spotless. My buying power has diminished and almost disappeared. During the economic situation that we are all living through, it could have not been a worst time for this to happen. I feel that AmEx betrayed me and my business and owes both an apology and some sort of compensation to fix the damage done.

I am giving you this opportunity to do the right thing by me before I take this story to the media. I will aggressively make an effort to find others you treated the same. I am sure they are out there. I will contact FCRA and an attorney to start a class lawsuit against your company. I will wait for your response but not for long.

"In reviewing our records, we have found that your American Express card account(s) have been cancelled. As outlined in the terms and conditions, when all cards are cancelled from the American Express franchise, the Membership Rewards account is automatically cancelled and all points immediately forfeited".

I have heard that was how American Express has done with other people. The account was cancelled by them, not by me even when they said that after I covered my balance, everything will continue as usual with my account. Please let me know if there is something else I can do. I'll support a class action suit against American Express.

In call centers, every call is recorded. They can be pulled by representative, time, and date. I hope Warren Buffett realizes that this company is not one that has anything they can pull out of the vault with any magic. Credit scores have nothing to do with our situation. It was just one event - a 12-day late payment. Unless recently redeemed, rewards points factor into the AMEX equation?

To make matters worse, I was planning a trip for Christmas and I was told that in order to use the companion ticket (which I have paid $150 for annually), I would have to use the AmEx card, which was no longer offering me credit. I can't buy the tickets now for me and my spouse to travel for Christmas even though AmEx charged me - and a customer service supervisor named Rob in Toronto refused to reimburse me for it. My suspicion is that AmEx discovered I had lost my job, and thus considered me a risk. My balances and payments have been the same.

On this Nov 8th, it happened again. They logged on the site and changed the contact email address for the account to an erroneous email that I do not have contact or access to **@**.com. I have no information from police. No information from AmEx. I am convinced their information databases that hold my data are being compromised either through their website, calling in or a collection of things. I just don't know and no one will help me. AmEx has been nice but gives me no information. I have someone with enough personal info to impersonate me and have no information to prevent that.

Please allow me to explain the sequence of events that led your company to dismiss a loyal card holder for 24 years. Former residence on file at AX was ** Suitland, MD 20746. I moved out of this residence in early September 2009. Mail was forwarded to the new address. I did not change the address with AX until October 2009. Bills were forwarded late to the new residence. I called AX and paid online late charges on October 20, 2009. I explained the late payment reason (recently moved), provided the new address and asked for a change. I reviewed the bill with representative and discovered the discrepancy, then initiated an inquiry. I was informed that all was fine and that I would receive a credit and a letter confirming the inquiry request. On October 31, 2009, I tried to use the platinum card - it was denied. I called AX and was told that bad credit, late payment was the reason.

The following is the part where a complaint was lodged against your representative. I was transferred to a service representative who was rude and had absolutely no customer service skills. Jazmin, AX representative explained to me that there were many inquiries on my credit report, and that I had been behind on my AX card. I explained the moving issue, I explained that I had paid on October 20, 2009. I explained that were no issues and the accounts were up to date. She said that there was nothing she could do for me; the account was closed, period.

She asked me if I wanted to retry opening and I said, of course. She returned immediately and said it was disapproved and that I would be charged $25. By then I gave up. I was not getting anywhere except aggravated and more upset. What happened next was that I became concerned that maybe there had been issues on my credit report that I was not aware of, so I requested my report. I reviewed it, verified that all was well, credit rating 746, all was fine. So what made AX decide to end our business relationship? How is it that no one called me to alert me there was a problem? I verified the email on file and it was good.

I have only one credit card until October 31, 2009, American Express Platinum. I earned $118,000.00 a year with the federal government. I receive army retirement annuity $3,000.00 monthly. I own my home, never had a blemish on my credit history. I shall provide you with my credit report and copies of the statement envelopes attesting that the mail was forwarded.

Please reconsider your decision, in principle, based on your vision towards customer service commitment:

3. Bringing integrity and fairness to all our dealings with our Cardmembers.

"We have always provided our customers with the insights, information and tools they need to monitor and manage spending on their Cards. Over the coming months, we will be introducing a number of service enhancements designed to help Cardmembers better manage their spending in this economic crisis. We will: 1. Expand our online tools to help Cardmembers actively manage spending on their American Express Cards; 2. Help Cardmembers better understand and protect their credit profiles; 3. Provide even more timely communication when we make decisions that affect Cardmember accounts."

Thanks.

I tried to email them but when I logged in to my account, you have to do this in order to send an email. The system would not even let me write a message! How nice to be treated this way after twenty years of paying the $450 a year membership fee and never missing a payment! What's funny is that I called them about a month ago to make sure my account was okay because I was about to travel internationally and they told me, "Mr. **, your account is in perfect order." Can you believe it? Wow, what personalized service! They did not even have the decency to call me and ask what was going on or even to say my account was canceled. They just left me to be terribly embarrassed. AmEx is without a doubt the most unprofessional company that I have ever dealt with.

On our return, we found a charge totaling over $3000 for a stay at a hotel on Bora Bora that was totally unfamiliar to us. Certainly, it was not the hotel where we did stay. After some investigations, we were advised that the charge on our Amex bill was for a "no show" at that hotel. We figured out that the agent at PTS who we initially had spoken with had cancelled 2 components of the travel package (a second hotel on Moorea and original flight package) but had in error neglected to cancel the hotel Le Meridian in Bora Bora.

We advised PTS of this unwarranted charge and asked them to investigate and advise us when the correction was made. Instead, we have had to repeatedly call for over two months, asking for information and resolution and only in the past week have engendered some interest on the clerical level. Five different conversations, with five different persons have resulted in being told that we have to provide proof that we cancelled the request for booking this hotel. We kept insisting that we did not confirm this package, that it had 3 components and that we are being charged for 1 component of the package, which does not make sense that someone would keep the booking of only one hotel from the entire package.

It is obviously the agent's error and I am sure that there are records of the phone conversations my wife had with the agent constantly expressing her unhappiness with the tentative arrangements and price. I am sure the agent was required to keep some sort of record of the entire package offered and refused but Amex claims that there is not such evidence. The most disturbing element of the situations, is that in spite of numerous requests to step past the clerical level and be able to speak with someone in management who has the skills and authority to resolve this dispute fairly, we have been told there is a 72-hour window requirement before we can speak to someone at that level. Since each time we call we are speaking to a new person, that 72-hr window is endless, a very effective way to frustrate a customer so maybe they will pay up and go away.

I have sent certified mail to the CEO/Gen. Mgr of Amex Travel Services, to the Manager of the generic "dispute" dept. and to the general Amex customer service centers, in El Paso and Ft. Lauderdale and to the day, I have only been able to speak to Celia, another clerk in the "claims dept," for Amex. This was another untrained clerk, who did not even advise me that we were being recorded even though I could hear the beeps and who pretended ignorance of all the details concerning my dispute although in 3 previous voice mails, I had left detailed specifics including the file number of the open dispute. Her sole job was to get me to misspeak so that they can deny the claim. She doggedly tried to put words in my mouth concerning some emails that might have been or might not have been sent to us after we had already verbally advised the PTS agent that we would not be booking through PTS.

I have spent at least 3 days on the internet reading through volumes of complaints similar to mine regarding customers paying high fees for either the Platinum or Centurion card. I can surmise by the scope of these complaints that "there is something wrong in Denmark". To me, it is almost fraud to collect these fees with a promise of better services and yet not honor the "valued" customer with the simple ability to be able to speak to at least a manager when a true dispute arises. Why are these managers and officers of Amex hiding from their customers? I expect, like many of other Amex customers, that I will end up in court, because I am not going to be harassed or frustrated into paying unjust charges.

My payments doubled from $280 to about $450 and I could tell they were watching my spending. They even started calling me to verify purchases that were made. In Nov. 2008, my days were cut and I was only working part time. I didn't have the money to pay all my bills, so I decided to stop paying them mainly because of how I was treated and because I know they affected my credit score and other credit card companies followed them with dropping my line of credit. They obviously sold off my credit credit debt and one of their debt collectors called my job. So I will fight them and they will be the last creditor I pay on the list!

Just now, I received a letter from American Express stating, "your recent actions go against your account and have triggered a penalty Annual Percentage Rate (APR) of prime rate +23.99% for 12 consecutive billing periods. It also says the only way for me to opt out is to call them and in that case my account and any additional cards on the account will be cancelled. Lol, they must be kidding me. What a smart way to treat their paying customers. It's like they are playing this "who is ** game" instead of running a smart business. I have never had a problem having Visa/Master/Discover cards to remove a late charge as a courtesy if it happens only once in a blue moon as we are only human and they should work with their honest paying customers instead of against us.

I'm not going to give them the satisfaction to call them and cancel the cards to possibly affect my credit score. I'm just going to play smart, keep the cards and not have any charges on it ever for my benefit.

I called and spoke to a manager who told me that they lowered it because for several months I'd only been paying slightly above minimum payment each month. I told them that I'd been traveling extensively overseas and that my accountant had been paying my monthly bills. I asked them to please look at last year’s payment history and they could see that I'd been paying my card off nearly every month. They said that I could appeal this decision by sending in information about all my liquid assets. I considered doing this but after reading all of these other complaints online, I'm afraid it is some scheme or trick Amex is trying to pull.

The consequence of them lowering my limit is that my FICO score with all three agencies, Experian, TransUnion and Equifax dropped approximately 100 points from close to 800 to around 700. This in turn has caused my other credit card companies to view me negatively. And so 3 creditors have raised my interest rates, and 1 creditor raised my minimum payment from 2% of the balance to 5% of the balance each month. The only reason I don't pay off this latter card is because I have a lifetime balance transfer rate of 1.9% so paying it off was pointless, but now they are forcing me due to my lowered credit score.

Another time, I tried to link the card to my PayPal account, and the charge of $1.95 was refused. I contacted the customer service again and they told me the card was suspended until I paid the bill of my other American Express card. I tried to explain the payment of the bill of the other card, as usual, will be done on the correct date, but it will be only one week later. Then, rudely, the attendant said that she not could do anything to help me, and the card would be blocked up there.

I contacted the complaint department of the bank 10 days ago to open a claim against the worse treatment, and they asked me to wait three working days to receive an answer. I am still waiting until now. So, this is the cheaper way most cheaper Brazilian banks take care of the clients of the most exclusive credit card in the world.

What mostly bothers me is that Amex lied to my face. Just last week before paying down close to $14k in debt that I had with them on 2 cards, I asked them if my cards would be okay and they said yes, so I paid. Today, they cancelled my Platinum card without notice, making me feel not only like a fool but embarrassing me in front of a third party. If I had known that they would proceed this way, I would have closed down my credit cards with them and gone into a payment plan and used that money for something else, like buy a car for my 17-year old son that now will have to wait until my credit score is back in shape.

I have demanded they return my prorated membership fees. They said they will look into it and respond in 48 hrs. I requested they send me some confirmation of my request and the rep said she couldn't. I guess I'm in for more innuendos and lies. If I would do business as they do, I would have lost all my clients and be blacklisted in my niche. I honestly feel violated and helpless by the way Amex has treated me.

With a credit score of over 900, and the fact I always send them their money, they have no business charging that ridiculous rate. I closed my card. Is this type of practice even legal? The whole purpose of charging interest is for them to make extra when the account isn't paid off immediately. There's no reason to raise the interest rate like this. I have had my other Visa card for years and they never raise the interest if your payment is late or even if you miss a payment which happened a few years ago when I was unemployed.

I used my card for some home repairs since I did not have the cash available. These charges were based on the 13.99% and now I am put in the position of paying 27.99% for the time I need to pay the card off. This creates a hardship on me. I could have gotten a home loan for lower rates than this. Also, I was informed that I will lose the rebate dollars for Costco that I have earned by using this card.

Even Consumer Affairs was fooled by this and reported them only in a favorable way in their teaser sentence reporting that they dropped their overlimit charges and ignored the tricks they have played on their own customers. The first increase on Jan. 1, 2009, caused my interest to increase $100 a month. The second charge goes into effect Oct. 1, which will cause another increase of about $75 a month. I have closed the account, but because they increased their rates before the deadline and switched to a variable rate, I can't opt out and stop the increase.

I was upset that there was no prior notice, but I accepted it, assuming it was routine. Thereafter, I received an email advising that my credit limit on the card had been lowered from $11,000 to $1,000. I was very upset as such a decrease lowers my available credit, which in turn significantly impacts and lowers my credit score (Prior to this, I had a 760 credit score.). After several complaints, requesting supervisors, managers and the like, I got nowhere. So, I simply had no choice but to accept it.

Thereafter, my office began receiving calls regarding a line of credit we had with Amex. As some background, I am 1 of 5 attorneys at a boutique law firm in South Florida. In connection with our practice, we obtained a small business line of credit from Amex, which, as most would recall, was highly advertised and marketed (Pinkberry and similar commercials). Well, we received a notice that those small business lines of credit had been terminated starting January 2009 and that any balance remaining would be transferred to a fixed loan at a new rate.

Again, the firm in general was upset. But we accepted it, given the market, and began making the payments under the line. In that regard, the minimum payments were around $400, and we sent on time each and every month at least $1,000. The original line of credit for the firm was $40,000, and we have since decreased the outstanding balance to $24,000. Despite making more than the minimum monthly payments, we began receiving calls or solicitations from Amex trying to have us pay the balance in full. The firm decided that now would not be the best time to reduce our reserves by $24,000, so each time we advised the Amex representative "Thank you, but no, we will continue making monthly payments." That's when Amex took a more aggressive approach, and the additional problems began.

One day, I was with a client and went to pay with our firm's platinum card. To my surprise, it was rejected. I called Amex to inquire, and they advised that the firm had gone $700 over their average monthly balance. This was a major surprise, as this is a Business Platinum with supposedly no preset spending limit. Yet, Amex had now arbitrarily imposed a $5,000 credit limit (They said that for the last 6 months, our average charge to the card was around $5,000. So that now, they would not allow us to exceed that amount until we paid it down.).

To make matters worse, my wife advised that my personal Delta Platinum Amex had again been rejected. In that regard, Amex advised that they had linked my Business Amex accounts with my personal because I was the managing partner of the firm. No matter whom I spoke with (supervisor, manager, and the like), again, they did not care that this was a business account and that same had nothing to do with me personally; they were linking all accounts and freezing them all until we paid down the Business Platinum card, even though it was not even due at that time. Note that this card gets paid by the firm each and every month on time in full without delay. They did not care and said that was not the issue and that it was simply that we exceeded the last 6 months' average spending.

When I and the other attorneys (Others of the firm called as well.) asked how then could this be advertised and represented as a Platinum card with supposedly no preset spending limit, they could not answer. Again, left with no other alternative, we paid the balance in full 10 days in advance, so that they can then reactivate all accounts.

The following month, it happened again; and the firm similarly had to pay the balance in full well in advance of the same being due. However, I called again; and this subsequent time, to my dismay, they advised that until the firm pays the outstanding balance in full, our line of credit (the outstanding $24,000), I would continue to have these problems because they have linked all the accounts. This I could not believe, as it clearly appeared to be some sort of threat or intimidation tactic to force a consumer to pay a line that they themselves created and have now chosen to eliminate, which in itself is already hurting the consumer.

What makes this even more outrageous is that they are doing this to a very good customer, one that pays not only his personal Delta Amex, but also his MasterCard and all other personal credit accounts in full each and every month. I do not finance any of my credit cards. Additionally, the firm pays its Platinum card in full each and every month. None of this matters to Amex, which states a lot about its customer service and care. More importantly, their reduction of my credit limit dropped my credit score (It is around 720 now for some reason that I can only attribute to Amex.), which alone is damaging enough that some government agency or other authority should do something about these unfair trade practices by Amex.

I have no idea what my minimum payment will be since I currently pay around $600-$700 a month minimum. There is no way I can pay this off in less than 1 month (or even pay it down significantly) so what can I do? What in the world has our government done to the banks that would allow them to charge honest, hardworking citizens, outrageous interest rates with no recourse? Please provide me with some help regarding this situation as I am at a complete loss as to what to do.

The representative informed me that the reason for the hike was because the company is financially in trouble. I asked him if they took the stimulus money and he said yes. How is it that a company can take our tax payer stimulus money and then increase our rates so high all at once? This is outrageous, a 7% hike in rates because I have been a good and faithful customer. That will teach me to pay my bills on time and make sure that my credit is excellent!

I figured at worst they would cut my maximum usage on the card to $5,000 and I'd increase my debt to credit ratio and gain on my credit score. On July 14, after paying my balance in full and never missing a payment, I log online to check my card and it's cancelled! The reason? - High revolving balances; I paid all my cards in full! I have $0 debt on anything!; too many inquiries (maybe 3); level of delinquency (I missed one payment on a Banana Repulic card 5 years ago and paid it in full and closed it!)

Unbelievable! My restaurant accepts American Express cards, and the batches not only cost more; but take longer to hit my bank account. Does American Express care that I've been a loyal personal customer and business customer for years now? Absolutely not. I'm so furious I cannot express it in words.

The finance charge will stop only until I make the next full payment, so I will still see finance charge the next cycle. Only 2 cycles late will it stop assuming I make full payment (I think this is what I understand). I told them that was unheard of and it made me feel wanting to cancel the card. The operator said, "Do you want me to cancel the card for you now? I can do that." It made me even angrier that they do not seem to value their customers. However, eventually, she did try to cancel the finance charge for me for this period so that it will not automatically recur in the future. I have Citibank MC and had made a couple of late full payment in my 19 years of history with them. Citi is reasonable and works with you but American Express feels like a predator.

I called and asked to speak with Kenneth Chenault, CEO of American Express and got one of 30 executive assistants, Stephanie **, who despite outright agreeing with me, did confirm American Express' intent to circumvent the changes in the law. I am a Platinum cardholder and business cardholder as well as a Blue holder.

I then went back to the AE Travel screen and booked my flight using my AE reward points, but the optional delivery box would not open and after one hour on the phone with the AE rep and then online trying to get the delivery sorted out, I used my brother-in-law’s US address to send the tickets who would FedEx them to me in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. On July 27, 2009, I had an email forwarded from my brother-in law from AE telling me to call AE as there is a problem that needs immediate attention. I called AE Travel to find one of my flights had to be changed. I was on the phone again for 50 minutes with the AE Travel rep who took care of getting my flight arranged and again I asked him to confirm the flights were business class and again he did.

The flight change caused me to have a 12.5 hour layover in London, England, so I told the agent I was an AE gold card member since 1983 and asked if AE provided accommodations for such a long layover. He said no and commented that I have been a card member since before he was born and told me it is a pleasure to speak to such a faithful and good standing customer. I thanked him and asked him to please use my email for all correspondence. He asked for the last 4 digits of my AE card and then I told him my email, which he repeated, and said I would receive an updated flight itinerary. After waiting several days and no email from AE Travel, my husband went online to Delta, as that is who would issue my travel tickets, to check if anything was listed. It was only then he found that all my flights were economy class, and my email address was incorrect on the AE form.

On Sunday, July 27, 2009, this led to more phone calls which we paid for each one and discussions with AE reps Jennifer and Rebecca, who finally checked the AE Travel website and admitted there was a problem with the website and apologized many times for all the inconvenience and frustration caused to us. She then handed me over to AE rep May who said they would get me the business class flights and I would not have to pay any penalty and if we were not happy with the price increase, our card which had already been debited would be credited in full; but first I needed to speak to a Delta rep to get the additional price increase. May contacted Delta and had a rep online, but informed us she was not allowed to stay on the line and everything would be put in the system. We spoke with Delta and were given an increase amount of $2430 for business class and confirmation code **.

We then took a break as we had been on the phone 1 hour and 20 minutes. About one hour later, we called AE Travel again and had to go through everything all over again for most of what we spoke of with the other AE Travel reps; our earlier efforts were not documented in the AE system other than we had a problem with the economy tickets and wanted business class. Nothing was put in about the website not giving the full details. So after another 1 hour and 10 minutes with the final rep, and I think her name is Jacqueline, I was told I would have to go to the Delta ticket counter and pay the difference because I selected economy and I would have to pay penalties. I said no way! I would email my brother-in-law to refuse delivery and we were not going to pay any fees and that it was AE’s mistake because of the website not providing all information and that we expected AE not only to cancel the tickets, but that we would also cancel our AE gold card. She asked us to stay on the line until she checked on the fees and I said, “I’m sorry, I have been on the phone for over 1 hour and 10 minutes now on this go round and since nothing had been sorted out through our earlier efforts, I was not going to wait any longer.” I thanked her and we ended the call.

Never in my 23 years of being an AE customer have I had such problems. We now note that the AE travel website has been corrected and all the important information, which was not there when I made my booking, is there in red lettering. But as I said in the beginning of this letter, we have a printout of what was on the site when we made the booking. Since this we received another email from Amex to log in and check their secure email for my reply. I did and all it said was to call an Amex Travel rep. I did and spoke with Hector and again after rehashing the same old thing, nothing was done. You would think 23 years of service would stand for something, but I guess at the end of the day all they care about is not their mistakes, or customers, but money! I cancelled my 23-year membership and shredded the card!

Today, August 6, 2009, another email from AE saying to log in and check their secure email website. I have done that for the past 3 days and it is not working. “Sorry, but we are having temporary difficulties. Please try later.” I contacted Delta as that is who AE booked my tickets with and Delta said they can do nothing to speak with an AE rep! Thanks for the space to vent.

Prior to filing bankruptcy, I contacted my creditors to try to arrange a payment schedule to avoid bankruptcy; and Amex was one of the creditors who was hard-nosed and refused to make any such arrangements. So I too had no other choice but to go equally hard-nosed and file bankruptcy. The bankruptcy no longer shows at all on my TransUnion credit report and only shows on my Experian and Equifax credit reports as Account Status Closed, Closed by Credit Grantor\Consumer Credit Card, Credit Line closed-grantor request-reported by subscriber, Pays account as agreed, Paid Satisfactorily, High Balance $1,018, Balance $0, Past Due $0, when it shouldn't show at all by law as I understand it, after 2+ decades since the bankruptcy was granted by the court. (In fact, it should have been gone after 10 years.)

Therefore, please be advised that I legally decline this offer, and I will if necessary file the appropriate complaints with Amex, the credit bureaus, the consumer agencies, the BBB, the FTC, and the Court.

My balance was $16k, but with all late fees and accrued interest, I now owe $20k. They only have me on the plan to pay the $3500 in late fees/interest attached. This is crazy. How in the world could you be charged $500 monthly interest. After this, now every creditor has reviewed my account and cut my limits in half, though they were being paid on time. This is not right, and now I understand why people do not pay their credit card bills. Any assistance would greatly be appreciated, as I had every intention of paying. But I'm appalled at the decisions by the credit card companies. They don't care not one ounce.

I don't understand how they could close my account without any late payments and debts. I am thinking that the board of AmEx has some wrong policy and roughed cardholders. I also want to report it to the federal government for their violence to cardholders. I wonder if the AmEx will be out of business in the near future by those stupid policy!

On July 22, I called customer service who explained that the American Express computer system does not make any payments for 30 days after changes are made to the auto-pay setting. However, no such warning had appeared when I had made those changes; hence, I had naturally expected auto-pay to pay the bill. When I complained about the circumstances, the customer service representative credited me for the finance charges and late fees that had been assessed as a result of the nonpayment, which was the result of auto-pay. I paid off the entire bill on that date.

On seeing my July bill, I was shocked that finance charges of $39.10 were charged to my account on July 29 despite the fact that I had paid off the entire bill in July. According to customer service supervisor Ricardo **, this charge was still being accrued from the non-payment of the June bill (because auto-pay did not pay it). He refused to credit my account for the finance charge. Given that this finance charge was accrued because auto-pay did not pay any of the bill in June (despite my having set it up to pay the minimum amount previously), and charges related to this problem had been taken off the account, I find it absurd and unfair that I am being charged this finance charge.

Immediately, the charges poured in and the interest rate went into the double digits. Since then, we have spoken with numerous individuals who have agreed that this oversight doesn't warrant the penalties. However, their "review board" refuses to reduce the interest rate and I now pay over $200/month in interest charges. During one phone call, I waited on hold over 45 minutes for a supervisor. I finally hung up. They also reduced my credit line. This is a gross case of gouging and taking advantage of circumstance.

When I contacted American Express on July 12 and July 14, I was told that I could not have my miles for domestic frequent flyer miles programs because they have no way to charge me for the $75 excise tax fee for transferring award miles. This is preposterous. I don’t have an American Express card, so I can’t charge it to American Express, they won’t allow me to use another American Express card member’s card to bill for the $75, they won’t except payment from Visa or MasterCard, they won’t accept payment from my checking account (but they did when I paid all my bills for the past 15 years) and they won’t accept any other form of payment other than an American Express Card in my name. This is wrong and manipulative!

I want to transfer my mileage award miles to Delta Airlines. American Express would not let me do so until my account was paid in full, yet my card was canceled by them prior to paying my account in full and now they won’t let me have my miles. I have my award miles sent to Delta and they have me pay the $75 excise tax with another form of payment.

Well long story short, I pay the debt off and debate with myself whether I should cancel the card or keep it. I decided to keep it. Ten days later they sent out a bill with my annual charge stuck on (funny as I became a member after August, 3 years ago), showing that I now owed $108 more. The day after that, they sent a letter showing that they had a periodic review of my account and deemed it necessary to cancel the card. So not only had I paid the amount in full they now wanted to charge me at the close of the account - after I moved heaven and earth to pay them back. However, while I owed them money and had actually requested for a review of my account 5 months ago, they did not close the account. No, instead they said that I would not be capable of paying back how much I owe on a monthly basis.

Never mind the fact that I had paid off two other cards in that same month or the fact that I had not used the card since I paid off my debt and so in essence, they deemed me a risk at paying back 0 dollars. The simple truth is, that having felt the sting of overabusing my credit, I was not more likely to fall into those same habits again, which actually works to the detriment of the company. They make their real money off the clients that do not pay back their balance in full. Having a responsible person basically pay in full before they can accrue interest and allowing them to have lucrative deals on their airfare would indeed cut into to their profit margin. Is it no wonder that quite a few people are finding their credit reduced or their cards cancelled, when by all accounts they are doing the responsible thing. Had I not settled my debt, I would still have the card.

About 2 years ago, I was talked into using American Express for everything; parts utilities anything I could think of. They called some of my vendors who did not accept amex, the reason they should, and used me as an example. All of the time, I started building up good mileage. Use it a few times, but was saving most of it for when I retire. It was up to 400,000 points.

Last year, I had a state tax lien put on my credit, it was there for a few months, it has been resolved. But they took that opportunity to bail out on me. They closed my accounts without notice so I could not touch my points, and they told me I could never get them back. It is in small print that they could do that.

After some time passed and my point where gone, they offered me another card with a $500 limit, they want to start over. They're crazy. My point should be mine, I could have used another card, got points there and would still have them. That is a bad practice, what if it went another 20 years using their card and got hurt harder when I really needed it.

When I called customer service to see why it was declined, the rep said the account looked fine and there was no balance due so that she would have me hold on so she could check into it. When the rep came back, she told me both my Amex cards had been cancelled! Their reason was that I had a high debt-to-income ratio. They never sent me a letter or anything! I currently accept American Express cards in my restaurant, but on Monday morning, I am calling their merchant services department to cancel that account. I am stunned that they would want to drop a customer, who pays their bills!

I will never reapply to them again, too bad. Everyone gets a bailout, but the business people that keep everything going. Then they asked me if I'm an American citizen. What an insult. The real insult are the customer service reps from India and the Philippines or whatever. They should call themselves sorta American Express.

Then on June 26, with no warning, my card stopped working. When I called on June 27, I was told that American Express had put a hold on my card because they had not yet received "requested financial information" from me. I explained that no one had requested financial information from me, except Ms. **, who had never called me back. After speaking with a second person on the phone, I received an email that said, "American Express recently requested that you complete and return". At that point, American Express had requested nothing from me. As mentioned, I had been told I was pre-qualified, with no set spending limit, for the card that I received. And although Ms. ** indicated that they would be seeking some additional information from me, she failed to call me back, never mailed or emailed a request for information and did not alert me to the fact that my card would be frozen.

American Express was wrong to shut off the card without warning. I have an excellent credit rating and had never experienced the humiliation of a store clerk telling me that my card was rejected. Ironically, I had originally had a wonderful conversation with the salesperson who got me started on the AmEx card and I was intending to, and had already started to, move most of my business expenses from my Visa to AmEx. Unfortunately, now these monthly expenses, including several that are key to my business, are now bouncing because of the hold put on the card. I called to complain and again, was unable to reach Ms. ** and was told by two different people that they could do nothing to help me and that it would take at least three days to process the requested documentation once I faxed it to them.

A third supervisor (whom I reached only after multiple calls) finally stated that she would temporarily add $3,000 credit so that immediate bills would not bounce. However, the damage was done. In less than a month, American Express trashed a credit rating I built and preserved for years. They had no business saying I was pre-approved with no set spending limit and then putting a hold on the card before the second bill even came due. In fact, I paid the first bill ahead of the due date and was prepared to do so with the second. Their practice, in this case, was fraudulent and their customer service was utterly and completely lacking.

I then paid down the card approximately $5,000 resulting in a balance of approximately $15,000, thinking I would have $5,000 worth of credit to utilize if I needed it. The following month, I received another email that decreased my credit limit to approximately the balance I had on my card resulting in a +/- $60.00 credit available. The sequence of events seem to be totally unfair. I have been penalized for paying down my credit card balance. Also, as most others have mentioned, I have never been late on any of my credit card payments for at least the 17 years that one of my credit bureau claims to have record of. What if I paid the balance to $100.00, will my new limit be $100.00? I hope letters like these will allow AMEXCO to improve their customer service for their future business and to minimize burning their bridges with many of their loyal, longtime cardholders.

Additionally, just four weeks before the cancellation, AE charged my account a $75.00 renewal membership fee. I called American Express to request for my reward points, and at first I was told that for a $25.00 fee, my points could be reinstated. I agreed to the fee, however, minutes later, I was told by an AE customer service agent that "our system is not letting me do that" and suggested I write a letter to the rewards department in Fort Lauderdale, FL, reassuring me that if I write the letter, my reward points will be given back to me to utilize in the very near future.

Since then, I have called AE numerous times, wrote a letter, and faxed a letter to AE, requesting my reward points, and the annual membership fee to be returned or credited back to me, but have not gotten any replies from AE. The funny thing is, although months after AE closed my account, I am still receiving monthly statements from American Express, with zero balance due, but with a $2,100 total available preset line, a $1.05 credit balance, and 110,345 available membership points.

I feel that American Express stole my hard earned points from me, has charged me an annual membership fee in October 2008, and canceled my card in December 2008 without crediting it back since. I am very upset and outraged by these facts! I feel that American Express not only stole my points, and has criminally charged me for one year's worth membership that I no longer have, but it has also put me through months of stress, as I was bounced back and forth, by American Express, calling them, and writing to them, trying to get my issue resolved without getting anywhere.

Furthermore, I feel that I was teased and insulted by having to open monthly statements from American Express reflecting an open account, when in fact American Express had closed my account months earlier! At this point, I want American Express to return my rewards points along with the annual membership fee. I would like an attorney to contact me.

The reward points this year were to be used to buy necessities for my company, and give gift cards to my hardworking employees as part of their holiday bonus. I was counting on this especially because of the bad economy, and actually used my card to charge items (purchases that I could had paid cash, knowing that come December 2008, I will utilize my points).

In addition, I asked for a supervisor to explain why I was getting a call for payment that is not yet due. As a result, no supervisor or any manager is available at that time from top to the bottom. All my AE cards were suspended after the call. I called them back asking why my personal card (with a credit balance) was suspended. They explained to me it is the same profile. I don't understand how AE has the right to take hostage on my personal card which has a credit balance, to push me for payment on a business card which has 10 days to the due date.

Today, I received a letter from AE again saying I have an outstanding balance. The issue date is June 18. I checked the account. I have $4.59 credit balance on it. How the hell can this happen? What should I pay AE? I am so frustrated with this company's business practice.

I am very frustrated and I cannot focus on my work due to this experience. I knew they charge high interest rate so that I was very careful to ensure the payment required get paid before the due date. I am a Costco customer and I need this membership card. With this experience, I feel upset every time I go to Costco with my AE Costco rebate card.

I called them up to find out where they based their decision. I figure at least I still can use the card. Then 2 weeks ago I tried to use the card to buy gas on long trip. It was declined. I tried it again (same journey, different state) to purchase gas. Same thing. I called customer service and they said my card is cancelled. Same reason. It’s because of my mortgage being delinquent (still under modification). Again, I tried to be rational about it, so I just asked about the cash rewards that I have and they said I will have to call the department.

I received a letter by mail about the same thing. It now says I have 90 days to call and redeem my rewards or they will forfeit it. I just called them today and the person I spoke to says he can not do anything because my card is already cancelled. Now, this is really something. I never heard of this kind of bad customer relation suppose to be with AmEx. But I guess I’m wrong since I now find out how many people are complaining about the same situation that AmEx did to me. I for sure would join immediately any class action suit or complain action against American Express. I also am thinking if I should still renew my executive membership with Costco since they are affiliated with them as of this time.

When I contacted Amex, I was told that they will re-instate my spending privileges if I paid both accounts at that moment. I explained that I was willing to pay the $362.53 owed on the green card because that one is due tomorrow. However, the customer service representative informed me that this was not good enough and that it would be better to pay the $569.33 owed on my gold card if I wanted to have my spending privileges reinstated immediately. He further stated that the bill for the gold card was just mailed to me yesterday and I probably won't get it for another 3 days and that although, this bill is not due until 7/7/09. Amex wants me to pay this bill before it's even due!

For the past 4 months, Amex has been harassing me by suspending my spending privileges just before the bill is actually due. I have been paying my bills on time for a very long time. I am very responsible and conscientious about my spending and never go above my means. I have always had excellent credit until Amex has been harassing me with phony holds on my account. I have been an Amex customer since 1990. This is truly outrageous and I'm sure it is illegal that I am being penalized for bills that I'm not even late with paying.

We have filed several fraud cases with American Express, but they have repeatedly said that it was not fraudulent because there was a signature and the merchant has a copy of his driver's license. Of course, they had the driver's license--the whole wallet was stolen! Amex now wants payment. Citicard had no problem agreeing that fraud had occurred; that stolen card was also used at the same establishment with charges of $20,000. Not only did we not make these charges, but we do not have the resources to pay for what American Express failed to do in the first place, which is to protect the consumer.

The strip club must have been in cahoots with the pickpocket, as we don't see any way someone could spend a total of $30,000 at a strip club! We did not file a police report at that time, and of course, we do not have any receipts. Being up against American Express feels impossible. We just don't know what to do. My credit will suffer if I do not pay. My credit will suffer, if we negotiate a debt settlement. Unless I take out a bank loan, we cannot pay this amount.

They have informed me that they understand it is an invalid card. However, I have to wait until the investigation is over. They refuse to budge even though they have paid it out. My card is now over the limit by $400.00 and it reflects on my credit report. When a charge isn't made on my card and that of an invalid card, I expect to be credited immediately.

This is the third time they posted something on my credit report and I cannot afford to have this happen because I am a single mother with parent plus loans taken out for one of my children every semester. In addition to that, my second child is entering college in the fall and this will hurt me tremendously. My credit is outstanding even though I have balances and it is truly affecting me on an emotional and physical level knowing that they refuse to amend their mistake.

They said based on Experian reporting, my debt-to-credit ratio, etc... Well, I just bought a new car, I have student loans, and a mortgage--all of which are not in default nor do I have trouble making my payments. In fact, I typically pay more than the payments' amounts. They say that I am more than welcome to apply for another card. Hmmm... Strange. Why? So they can then give me a huge interest rate? Why not let me keep my account that I have had since 2000?

I do not see any where in the contract that says they can, or will lower your limit after they allow you to build up your debt, and then charge an over the limit fee. It is really an unfair business practice. My credit report now says that I am over the limit every month, and I am being charged $35.00 as well as an interest of 27% (I have never missed or been late on a payment).

I am perplexed on how they came by this decision, and of course, the customer service person knows nothing. Can you say lost customer for life? Obviously, this credit crisis has them on their knees. But one day, this will pass, and I expect when the storm blows over, they will be trying to rekindle these relationships they are severing.

After attempting to have my American Express platinum card opened back up, they informed me that they didn't get the IRS forms in the time allowed. The IRS forms states that it takes 60-90 days to mail off the forms and American Express only allow up to 60 days to obtain this information. After speaking with customer service rep, they informed me that I had to resubmit the IRS forms and attorney information again within the time allowed or they won't be able to reopen my account. I informed the rep that nothing will change in the forms sent from the IRS, so I don't understand the issue. She explained that they can't use the information if it was past the deadline even though the information won't be different.

I have excellent credit, with no mortgage, no credit card debt or even an automobile loan with a six figure income. I don't understand why a company like this would do this to their loyal customers. I will never work with American Express again.

I called on June 11th to inquire and they said that they had a new policy and that my account was cancelled due to no fault of my own. I expressed concern about the fact that they were going to add a black mark on my excellent credit rating. I pressed the customer service representative about the mark on my credit. She just kept repeating that their policy had changed, that I had too many open accounts (remember, I have no more accounts today than I had when I opened the account), and that they were canceling me due to this new policy. I pressed her by asking her how AmEx would view a "cancelled by company" mark on my credit rating and her response was, "I am unable to answer that question." I asked for a supervisor and was placed on hold for 10 minutes, during which time I Googled the AmEx cancellations and found this has become their new policy--to cancel accounts in good standing and damage the credit reports of those with excellent credit. I decided to hang up and file a formal complaint.

How can that be when the account is $0.00 balance and has never been late or even used for that matter. If they want to close the account, fine- but why threaten me and create a cause that it's the customer's fault when it was simply their decision to close the account.

This company is losing good customers by doing this and hurting the people that have been faithfully paying their payment on time. This is going to hurt my credit score, and I did not do anything wrong!

Auto pay is designed to generate late fees and finance charges. Sign up takes 45 days, any changes you need to cancel and re-apply and that takes another 1.5 billing cycles. AmEx computer pay site and auto pay are not linked. So your bank account info such as default bank will not be same as auto pay (if you have more than 1 bank account). Two separate companies, yet on same site! AmEx is behind the software update time frame. Also notice when you sign up to auto pay it defaults to the 20 day payment date. That is designed to generate last day to pay bill, so if there is a problem, too late for you to phone or do a computer payment. You're zapped with late and finance charges. I even tried to pay ahead and AmEx won't take the money. For email addresses, go to corp. site and look at media contact to get email format and then to corp management site to get names!

I did contact first the telephone hotline with the reference number from the confirmation which I got meanwhile in printing. My account was deducted by the amount and the money was sent. The very next morning I went to the Seeb branch to check again the details of the transfer. I was talking to the manager and he confirmed all data sent were correct. I told him to investigate where the money was sent to, and why AmexCo did not receive it. He promised to update me the very next day.

Five days later still no reply. I went again to him. He replied that as he did not had an update, he did not call me. I was very upset and told him I was previously working in an international bank and if any bank receives money which they cannot transfer to the beneficiary, they have to sent it back the very next day! So where is my money? He explained something about the way the money is sent from Oman via New York to London to arrive finally in Frankfurt. Absolutely nonsense!

So the mistake is with AmexCo. The next 10 days, I called AmexCo twice a day to check and HSBC to find out what is going on. On May 15, the manager called me and said they had found the amount at their branch in Frankfurt, where it was the whole time. Due to a software update in Oman, the money was deducted and sent without any information about where it should belong to. Why it was stuck there for now 6 weeks, he could not explain. I will cancel my account on the next opportunity. Definitely!

I called AE back and spoke with Helena, the manager of Credit Operations. She continued with the derogatory info accusations and said there was no other supervisor to speak with. She would not share her info. Instead, her resolution was for me to call Experian and write to her supervisor (who doesn't accept phone calls). She also noted on the account for upper management to call us in the next 7-10 days or "possibly longer." This treatment is unacceptable. Their calls are recorded. Please help!

As several of the comments posted here, I have been a client of American Express since 1991, not missing any payments ever. The supervisors I spoke with did not give me any reasons, other than my credit history that, as I explained, it was not true. Also, a letter was written by American Express the same day of the cancelation, according to them, but I have not received anything. As I was in the middle of the trip, I had to borrow money from customers, in order to pay for my expenses. Also, another card will take a while to be released, and my travel schedule is pretty intense, and I cannot afford to travel without a credit card.

3. Inappropriate treatment and harass customers with non-English native speaker, with bi-standard judgment and harassing words using their fluent but unnecessary country accent.

American Express became a monster who thinks they can control and manipulate customers to fulfill their greediness.

I was livid and insisted on speaking to someone else. After two more "some else’s", I was told that my card was canceled because of a recent increase in my debt. I asked her if she knew what a debt to income ratio was and she said that she did. I then asked her if she knew how much money I made annually and she said no. I then asked her how they could possibly decide my ability to pay my bills based on looking at my debt. She didn't have an answer. I asked her that if I made 6 million dollars a year if my debt would be out of line. She said no, so I asked her if she knew whether or not I make six million dollars a year and she said no again. So then how can you make that determination? She had no answer other that it was a recent policy change and my new credit limit was $5800.

I told her to cancel my platinum card, my wife's platinum card, my son's platinum card and my other Amex cards. I also told her that I wanted a full refund on the fees that I was charged for the "privilege" of having their card. She actually did that and the credit showed up the next day. Still, after this many years, how could you do that? I was embarrassed over a $40 purchase and Amex couldn't even tell me what they were doing before they did it? I just pulled my credit report (my business is loaning money ... imagine that). I have 25 ones on my credit and nothing derogatory. My debt/income is 38%. I'm just upset that they can do this on a whim without any warning or regard to what the consequences might have been. I am going on a missions trip to the Democratic Republic of the Congo in August. What if they would have done this to me while I was out of the country and I had an emergency? I'm not a litigious person, but I'm thinking I would make an exception in this case.

I received about half of the statements sent and rarely any paper refund checks. Much of this occurred before the internet was a common business tool, and before Amex offered a direct bank debit bill pay service. The checks had a 120-day validity period. If they were not cashed within 120 days, they were void. With few exceptions, I never got the checks, or statements referencing the checks. So how do I know how many checks were sent over the years? Simple. Just look at my account history. Amex has my complete account history, right? Amex customer service tells me they can regularly access customer records from the 1980s for other customers, but not mine. Why? Amex cancelled my card without my knowledge just before they migrated all their records from their old legacy system, to a new system, in about 2006. Apparently, they did not migrate my account, with its 25-year history since it was closed shortly before the system migration.

When they log into their legacy system, they see some records for my account number, but cannot pull up any details. A request has been submitted to un-archive these records. I regularly overpaid so that my account would remain dependable. I suspect many refund checks were mailed, but none were cashed by me. When a check expires, Amex does not issue another check, and they do not credit the customer account. The money remains in an Amex bank account in their name, and they apparently have no intention of ever paying the customer.

So on my second call to Customer Service, they now told me I have delinquent accounts on my credit report. I told them, "That's wrong, you must have mixed info or something, because I am monitoring my credit report for my mortgage hunt." Again, I was told they could not do anything about it and I needed to clear my credit! This was the end, I did not care about the impact to my credit. I canceled the account and do not want to deal with American Express ever! I just want to share my story and hope it helps when choosing their credit cards.