American Express Credit Card Limits
I recently was looking to add another American Express Surpass card to my arsenal and was pretty surprised to get hit with an instant denial. That should almost never happen, at least not with Amex. You may not be eligible for the welcome offer, hello pop-up, but Amex is usually quick to approve. That is unless you are running up against the American Express credit card limits rule. That was not the case for me though, or at least it should not have been.
Why I Wanted The American Express Surpass Card
For the last few years my wife and I each carried a American Express Hilton Surpass and a Hilton Business Card. We wanted the ability to earn four Hilton free night certificates for spending $15,000 on each of the cards within a calendar year. That would give us each plenty of points for the year, plus we would have four of the best free night certificates on the market. That was a great plan until Hilton and American Express decided to gut the business card.
Once those changes kicked in we decided to close both of the business cards. I still wanted to have access to the four free night certificates earned via spend each year, so I decided we each needed to grab a second Hilton Surpass. We wouldn't be able to earn a welcome offer for this with both of us currently holding the card. That wasn't a big deal since we both have had the Amex pop-up for years anyway. We would be able to make our own mini welcome offers via the referral bonuses any way.
Now that we had the plan in place, I had my wife refer me for the Amex Hilton Surpass card and hit submit. Within a few seconds the dreaded denial message populated my screen. Seeing it left me a bit distraught. I knew I wasn't up against the American Express application rules since I only had two Amex credit cards in my name. For some reason I still knew that had to be the issue. Mainly because it is the only way I seem to get instant denials from American Express.
Amex Application Rules
What are the American Express credit card limits though? And, why did they lead to my application's instant denial? If you have ever looked at our credit card application guide then you probably already know the credit card limit rules. Just in case you haven't, or don't remember them, here is a breakdown on what American Express will let you carry:
4 Or 5 Credit Card Limit
Amex has a 5 credit card limit, meaning you cannot have more than 5 Amex credit cards open at any one time. Some people are bumping into an issue at 4 cards as well, but the majority of people are able to carry 5 credit cards. Amex likes to move in between the two totals. This limit includes both consumer and business cards.
Examples of cards that always count against the 5 card limit include the Amex EveryDay Preferred Credit Card, the Amex Hilton cards, the Amex Marriott cards, and all of the Amex Delta cards.
10 Card Limit On Pay Over Time Cards
The 5 card limit do not include cards that have No Preset Spending Limit. These are known as Pay Over Time cards. Those cards come with a 10 card limit. This limit also includes consumer and business cards. The easiest way to discern these cards is they are the colored Membership Rewards earning cards with annual fees. Anything that has Green, Gold or Platinum in the name and earns Membership Rewards falls into this bucket.
Why My Credit Card Portfolio Was Problem
Most people are able to carry five American Express credit cards, or at least four, so why was my application an issue with only two credit cards in my name? I had four Amex cards a few weeks earlier, but closed two when the annual fees posted. One was of course the now terrible Hilton Business card. My guess is that American Express IT was to blame there. Their systems likely had not been updated yet showing that I was within the American Express credit cards limit. Yes, I am one of the unlucky few that are capped at four Amex cards.
A Quick Phone Call To Set The Record Straight
Knowing that I was likely a victim to Amex credit card limits, I decided to call into their reconsideration department to plead my case. At this point I still wasn't 100% sure that this was the reason for my denial, but I felt pretty confident. Those suspicions were confirmed once a rep got on the call. She informed me that I was denied because I had reach the American Express credit card limit.
I then informed her that I had closed two of my four cards within the last three to four weeks. She asked me for the last five digits are the cards in question so that she could verify this. It sounds like her system didn't even show the closures to her without a manual review? Once she confirmed that what I was saying was true she said she would send it on to the department to see if it could be approved. She then informed that it could take up to a week to be reprocessed. Luckily, I didn't have to wait that long, as I received an approval email a few hours later.
American Express Credit Card Limits: ToP Thoughts
While this was a surprising situation for me, I hope that you took a few different things from my experience. First off is the reality that sometimes having more than one card of the same type makes sense. That can be particularly true when you are over Chase 5/24 and are not worried about recent applications etc. as much. This can be accomplished via downgrades to no fee cards too, like the Freedom Flex etc.
Another lesson is that if you are under the Amex pop-up you can still make new cards worthwhile when in two player mode. That is because of the great referral program that American Express offers. You are never fully out of the bonus game because of it.
Lastly, it is important to understand the American Express credit card limits before applying. Not only that, but it also appears it can take a while for their systems to update. If you are denied for a card because of the credit card maximum they may be willing to even close a card to make space during the recon process. Just make sure it is a card that has been open for more than a year.
Let me know if you have any questions on any of this over in the ToP Facebook Group.
