Why American Express Will Never Recover

By: KWC

I have been an Amex cardmember since 1987. At one time I had a Green, Gold, Platinum, Corporate, Blue and Optima. Over the years, I have cancelled the Blue and the Optima.

Amex was once a prestige product but those days are long gone. There is nothing to differeniate them from any number of MasterCard or Visa products; nothing to warrant the high annual fees Amex charges.

I pay my cards in full every month, yet, from day-to-day, it's a crap shoot if the cards will actually be approved for charges.

Moreover, since they decided to impose "limits" on these no spending limit cards, my credit score has been negatively impacted.

The ratio between total open to buy and amount of credit used is a MAJOR part of the FICO score calculation. Within one month of Amex imposing a credit limit on my no-limit cards, my credit score dropped over 100 points!

I am in the process of relocating with my company and planned to sell my current home and buy a new one at my destination. Unfortunately, because of the damage to my credit score by Amex, I cannot qualify for a home loan/mortgage. Now, for the first time in my life, I have to rent an apartment while I work to pay off Amex so my ratio improves.

Other than my Corporate Card, which I am forced to use at work, as soon as I pay off Amex and get my home loan, I am cancelling all of my Amex cards, including my Platinum, and never going back.

IMHO, I believe that MANY consumers will be doing the same thing. You simply can't change the rules of a long-term relationship like this and expect that you will be foregiven. Amex will never return to the powerhouse it once was because of stunts and stratigies like this.