I have an AMEX 'green' card, which I've had for nearly 20 years. I used to travel a lot, used it all the time. I haven't used it that way in several years, don't travel any more. On Feb 1 I was laid off from my job. I had purchased some books in Jan using the AMEX card which, had I not lost my job, I could have paid off in full easily, as I always have. However, that didn't happen. I paid them $50 at first, but just couldn't manage to pay the rest with only unemployment to get thru. I contacted AMEX and told them of my lay-off, that I would pay as soon as I could. Well, I did pay it off as fast as possible after I got a contract job and my first check, and I told them I was employed again. Now, I'm going to be filing for bankruptcy in the next month or two. AMEX is zero'd out, I owe nothing on the 'green' card, but do owe about $1500 on an Optima account, which also went delinquent from the layoff. I've resumed payments, larger than the minimums requested. If I file for bankruptcy, even if I can manage to keep the Optima account (maybe), is AMEX going to cancel my green card anyway ?? Since its not a 'credit' card and its paid off, it would be a vehicle for me to rebuild my credit post-bankruptcy. I've heard that AMEX is hard-a$$ed about this sort of thing. Just wondering if anyone knows what they'll do. Thanks !
I suspected as much.. that just sucks rocks.. if they're not included and they've been paid thats a pretty discrminitory practice.
Its just risk assessment. You may wish to close the account now, So you have the option of "account closed on consumers' request".rather than at credit grantors. Don't even mention BK to the amex reps either.
And once you bk on Amex your ss# will be blacklisted. So future Amex products will be very diffcult to obtain. Best regards, Mirage
Sorry to hear about your lay-off. There is a lot of that going around. I did a chapter 7 BK in 1997 and I had and still have a gold amex charge card. The card sailed through the bankruptcy but I did not have any other Amex products. The card had a zero balance and was not listed the bankruptcy. If you have the green card paid off I would just hope for the best. I would not bother trying to pay off the Optima card. Before I filed BK, I selected one card to pay off in the hopes that I could keep it. I had a maxed out Chase card with a $500 limit that I paid off. Unfortunately Chase included it in the bankruptcy anyway. Good luck.
I'd rather not have it closed at all !!! What a crock ! Its bass-ackwards.. after bk I won't have any other debts to pay, my cash flow will be free again. The whole credit industry needs to be reined in.. hard ! I don't intend to include AMEX in the bk, so maybe they won't blacklist my ssn #. I didn't get in this fix because I'm a credit-maniac.. its been a sequence of events over the last few yeas, the last straw was getting laid off in Feb. Geez..
Interesting, Erik, thanks. That gives me some hope. Its not like I'm raring to go with credit again post-bk. As a matter of fact, if it weren't for the fact that you can't rent a car or get plane tickets or do other things w/o credit I wouldn't bother with another credit card for the rest of my life !! Its all such dirty racket, every one of them ! Since I am a professional, and its possible a new job might require travel at some point, I have to have some kind of credit card, as odious as that idea is to me. I haven't used ANY credit card (aside from that one AMEX charge) in over a year.. so its doable to live without them. I haven't had any need to travel in that time either, outside of driving.
Ladynred, Personally, I would suggest paying off the Optima card and not including Amex in the BK. They may not close since you have been a LT customer with them. But, if you don't pay the Optima and declare BK you will not be able to get another Amex card until you pay Optima's balance and then they usually make you wait a year afterwards. Good luck. Dani
Interesting point. It would be great to keep the Amex charge card. I am a big fan of having a Amex charge card. I use mine for all Tax deductible purchases, charges over the Internet, or any charges where I may have problems with a merchant like an auto repair shop. I don't know that I would gamble with $1500 though. With that same $1500 you could get two secured Visa cards.
Thanks, I'll consider that. However, I don't know how that would look when I file for bk.. it may be considered preferential and cause problems. I could wait a few months after doing it, but I really don't want to wait much longer to file, I've already waited 6 months. Thanks again !
You definitely don't get any more credit cards, secured or otherwise until after you file bankruptcy. By the way, how much debt are you going to file on?
I have no intention, whatsoever, of getting ANY more credit cards, for ANY reason before I file. If I could completely avoid have any credit card ever again for the rest of my life I would avoid them.. with impunity and extreme predjudice !! The debt I intend to file on consists of about 20K in credit cards. I could manage that, would take a LONG time and no more lay-offs for a lot of years, but it could be done. However, in this economy there's no way to be sure I wouldn't get laid off again before I could get paid up, and I'd be screwed again. I'm so far behind from the layoff and problems from the 9/11 events, that I just don't see any way of catching up before there are more charge-offs (have 1 already) or I'm sued. However, the BIG kicker that is really driving me to file for bk is about 40K (could be more by now) from a 2nd mortgage. The primary foreclosed and the house sold this past December. Now that debt is unsecured and in collections, and if they sue me, I'll NEVER recover with ANY creditor.. I'll be paying until I die ! That's what I REALLY need to get out from under.
I don't think that Amex's policy is written in stone. I have had my green card for 16 years. I filed for CH 13 two years ago. I still have my green card, nothing has ever been said about it. Before anyone says "they just haven't detected it yet". They have detected it. About 6 months ago, I called AMEX on a disputed charge. While the cust svc rep was looking at my account, he suggested upgrading to a new product they had that would not charge me for the additional cardholder or membership rewards. I asked him no less than 5 times--"Am I applying for a new account with Amex?" Each time he answered "no, this is a change to an existing account." Having learned a few thing from this board at that time, I stated on a recorded line "we both understand each other...my credit will not be pulled to upgrade this account, right? Yep, that was the deal. The next day I got an alert from Equifax--Amex had pulled a hard inquiry the day before. I was absolutely livid! I called and complained, everyone was very sorry, but that's the way it goes. I got the inquiry removed, and I also got a letter from AMEX within a week saying "your current credit situation does not allow us to upgrade your account at this time, so sorry." So, basically, I was not cancelled due to my BK. They knew about it. Maybe it was because the card was 16 years old. Maybe it was because we use it like crazy every month to the tune of about $3,000 monthly. Who knows? I don't think that it is set it stone. Just my thoughts.
I was just curious about the amount. 60K is very definitely a lot. After you get your BK completed, be sure to check your credit reports. Good luck.
