Platinum rejection then acceptance

[Whatsthepoint]

I can’t find the post on here that originally gave me the hint as to why I got initially rejected for the Amex platinum, so thanks to whoever posted it. Thought it worth mentioning again. After I got rejected the first time, I called them and the agent confirmed that they could see no reason why I was rejected except ‘internal scoring’. My credit score and history with Anex were impeccable. I mentioned whether my large Anex BAPP credit limit might have something to do with it and asked to be referred to a more senior person. The agent then put me on hold for some time before returning. He said that it might be a reason, so he reduced my existing BA Amex credit limit on my request and put the application through again with no guarantees. Today, I was accepted!

[Carlos]

Were you referred by any chance and if so, since you were declined first time but accepted via the phone
is it worth mentioning to CS to get the referral points?

happened to me as I too had too much credit with Amex and since reduced it (as I was planning to go Carzoo)

[Donal]

It might have been me that posted originally. I added a comment to one of the Amex Platinum posts. When I was rejected the first time, I called up and the agent suggested that I offer up half my BA Amex card credit limit to the Platinum card. I was rejected a second time. I called up again. This time the agent suggested I increase the amount of credit I was offering to the Platinum card, even going so far as to suggest the exact amount I should offer for acceptance. I then didn’t hear anything for two weeks so I chased it up on the phone. A day later, I was accepted.

If at first you don’t succeed,…

[KenC]

Hi, exactly the same as me. My application was approved at 7:00pm on Saturday evening, some three weeks after I had asked them to look again at it. My credit history was also impeccable. At least I got there in the end, having agreed a reduction in credit limit on BAPP.

[Michael C]

On the basis of this (and in general), would it be better for me to drop
from BAPP to free card before applying?

[JDB]

Michael C wrote:

On the basis of this (and in general), would it be better for me to drop
from BAPP to free card before applying?

It’s not really about which card, but rather the total amount of credit Amex is extending. I raised this after a few people were surprised to be rejected when they already had other Amex cards with good limits which I believed was probably the reason for rejection. There’s little point in having high credit limits unless you need them. It was also almost certainly why people with big incomes and lots of high limit credit cards were refused Avios Barclaycards.

[whuaremassive]

It’s a strange one as my husband was rejected from my referral. He applied for BAPP a few days later as we need an Amex to pay for companion trip and was accepted.

[FFoxSake]

You can reduce your credit limit online. I’ve just done this on my unnecessarily high credit limit BAPP in preparation for a Platinum application in a few weeks. Every little helps (maybe!)

Same screen that you would ask for an increase you can put a lower value instead.
While logged in to the card you want to change:
https://global.americanexpress.com/lending/line-increase/request

It asks you to confirm the reduction. Approved immediately and new limit was showing within a minute.

[Gary_Dexter]

Decreasing your credit limit is never a good idea, despite what Amex tells you.

Other lenders will see the limit decrease when you apply for other credit products elsewhere, and a decrease in credit limit could be a sign that you can’t manage/be trusted with higher limits.

[Whatsthepoint]

Gary_Dexter wrote:

Decreasing your credit limit is never a good idea, despite what Amex tells you.

Other lenders will see the limit decrease when you apply for other credit products elsewhere, and a decrease in credit limit could be a sign that you can’t manage/be trusted with higher limits.

Are you sure that is the case. In the past, my credit report has often stated that one of tasks I could do is reduce the total amount of unused credit on my cards either by cancelling cards or reducing credit limits to improve chances of being accepted by some credit cards?

[Gary_Dexter]

Whatsthepoint wrote:

Gary_Dexter wrote:

Decreasing your credit limit is never a good idea, despite what Amex tells you.

Other lenders will see the limit decrease when you apply for other credit products elsewhere, and a decrease in credit limit could be a sign that you can’t manage/be trusted with higher limits.

Are you sure that is the case. In the past, my credit report has often stated that one of tasks I could do is reduce the total amount of unused credit on my cards either by cancelling cards or reducing credit limits to improve chances of being accepted by some credit cards?

Yes. Ignore that the CRA’s tell you – their “advice” is just gumpf to bolster your make believe score (that’s not seen or used by lenders).

Lenders look at the raw data in your credit report. And if they see things going down, they’ll wonder why.

[WillPS]

Gary_Dexter wrote:

Whatsthepoint wrote:

Gary_Dexter wrote:

Decreasing your credit limit is never a good idea, despite what Amex tells you.

Other lenders will see the limit decrease when you apply for other credit products elsewhere, and a decrease in credit limit could be a sign that you can’t manage/be trusted with higher limits.

Are you sure that is the case. In the past, my credit report has often stated that one of tasks I could do is reduce the total amount of unused credit on my cards either by cancelling cards or reducing credit limits to improve chances of being accepted by some credit cards?

Yes. Ignore that the CRA’s tell you – their “advice” is just gumpf to bolster your make believe score (that’s not seen or used by lenders).

Lenders look at the raw data in your credit report. And if they see things going down, they’ll wonder why.

Computers don’t wonder, they see in 0s and 1s.

Unless you know every bank’s proprietary credit scoring algorithm you can’t confidently tell anyone that any actions other than clear signs of distress (stacking late payments, CCJs etc) will be determined to be signs of distress or not.

I’ve certainly had no issues gaining credit after lopping my limits back from 5 figures a piece to £2k to £5k a piece. Quite the contrary in fact.

[BajanNation]

I applied two days ago and on completion the page stated that more information was required ( I cant recall the exact message) I’ve not received any email from Amex to even acknowledge my application is pending.

I’m sure we usually get some sort of acknowledgement. Anyone have a similar experience?

[lordy]

Likewise I think too high limits are bad I had 3 cards both all around 5 figures, applied for another and only got £1500. I have since reduced the 3 to £2-6k limits and hoping will make forthcoming plat application with a good limit.

[lordy]

WillPS wrote:

Gary_Dexter wrote:

Whatsthepoint wrote:

Gary_Dexter wrote:

Decreasing your credit limit is never a good idea, despite what Amex tells you.

Other lenders will see the limit decrease when you apply for other credit products elsewhere, and a decrease in credit limit could be a sign that you can’t manage/be trusted with higher limits.

Are you sure that is the case. In the past, my credit report has often stated that one of tasks I could do is reduce the total amount of unused credit on my cards either by cancelling cards or reducing credit limits to improve chances of being accepted by some credit cards?

Yes. Ignore that the CRA’s tell you – their “advice” is just gumpf to bolster your make believe score (that’s not seen or used by lenders).

Lenders look at the raw data in your credit report. And if they see things going down, they’ll wonder why.

Computers don’t wonder, they see in 0s and 1s.

Unless you know every bank’s proprietary credit scoring algorithm you can’t confidently tell anyone that any actions other than clear signs of distress (stacking late payments, CCJs etc) will be determined to be signs of distress or not.

I’ve certainly had no issues gaining credit after lopping my limits back from 5 figures a piece to £2k to £5k a piece. Quite the contrary in fact.

Likewise I had 3 cards both with 5 figures, applied for another and only got £1500. I have since reduced the 3 to £2-6k limits and hoping will make forthcoming plat application with a good limit.

[BajanNation]

I applied on Monday and received confirmation of acceptance email last night. Email states card should arrive within 7 days.

[Carlos]

OH got rejected recently, presume its due to high credit limit already across two cards.
Credit reduced online by 1k successfully, no loan application pending so not worried about that
By experience, when is it good to re-apply after a rejection? OH prefers to do it online rather than call

[lordy]

Carlos wrote:

OH got rejected recently, presume its due to high credit limit already across two cards.
Credit reduced online by 1k successfully, no loan application pending so not worried about that
By experience, when is it good to re-apply after a rejection? OH prefers to do it online rather than call

If rejection was recent I’d probably just call them and basically appeal it.

[LeeG]

Carlos wrote:

OH got rejected recently, presume its due to high credit limit already across two cards.
Credit reduced online by 1k successfully, no loan application pending so not worried about that
By experience, when is it good to re-apply after a rejection? OH prefers to do it online rather than call

Player 2 had the ‘acceptance then rejection’ issue and called to ask what had happened. Was told it would be investigated (2 weeks later have had a letter acknowledging the ‘complaint’ and that they’d get back to her) but during the initial conversation she was told she had the option to apply again 90 days later.

[JellyFan]

I currently have a BAPP card and am thinking of applying for a Platinum card while the 60k SUB is still being offered.

I’ve been accepting regular offers from AMEX to increase my credit limit, and it now sits at £16k despite me rarely spending more than a quarter of that in a month.

Would it be safe to assume that I’d be better off reducing my credit limit by half to around £8k?

I had previously assumed that the regular offers to increase my credit limit from AMEX indicated an increase in trust on their behalf since I always pay my monthly statement in full, but after reading this thread I’m no longer sure this is the case?

[MattB]

My wife was accepted for the Platinum card yesterday with a 15k limit, crazy IMO her salary is barely 3 times that.

[BuildBackBetter]

JellyFan wrote:

Would it be safe to assume that I’d be better off reducing my credit limit by half to around £8k?

I had previously assumed that the regular offers to increase my credit limit from AMEX indicated an increase in trust on their behalf since I always pay my monthly statement in full, but after reading this thread I’m no longer sure this is the case?

If you don’t plan to spend more than 8k in a single transaction, you are better off reducing it. Even if you might spend across multiple transactions, you can always pay it off after the first one.

Having very high limits across banks is always risky from a new lender perspective than decreasing your limits.

Remember, the main reason for a credit history is not just a borrowing / default record, but also to understand how much you have borrowed and what credit lines you have across other banks. Super high limits (relative to income) carry a super high risk for banks.

HSBC explicitly mentions that:
“your current credit – the limit on any credit cards, store cards or overdrafts you already have available”

[JellyFan]

MattB wrote:

My wife was accepted for the Platinum card yesterday with a 15k limit, crazy IMO her salary is barely 3 times that.

My salary isn’t even double that haha, although to be fair most of my income comes from dividends/yields on investments rather than my meagre salary.

BuildBackBetter wrote:

If you don’t plan to spend more than 8k in a single transaction, you are better off reducing it. Even if you might spend across multiple transactions, you can always pay it off after the first one.

Many thanks for the detailed reply.

I’ve submitted a request to lower my credit limit to £7.5k, which has been accepted.

[Luca M]

All this posts about reducing one Amex Credit Limit to apply for the Platinum, were you having those discussion for the new Platinum (credit card version) or already when it was still a Charge Card? I have what I understand is considered an higher limit (5 digits and not with a 1 in front) and it keeps increasing on my BAPP but when I applied for the platinum last time around was accepted straight away and when I use the spending power tool I get “possible transactions” approved up to around my Credit Limit with my BAPP.

When I last upgraded from the BA blue card however, I could not initially do it as the system said I was not eligible but it was then processed manually by a supervisor.