Topic Wiki

1)   What is a Financial Review?
In short - American Express occasionally freezes the credit card accounts of individuals with high-risk patterns, or for new account holders.
They request a lot of personal information, such as IRS tax returns, bank statements, letters from Banks ect…

Let’s break it down into 2 different types of Financial Reviews
A)   Mini Financial Review
B)   Financial Review

A)   Mini Financial Review
(please fill in info) This form of financial review, is usually a short process, it could be as short as one phone call. American Express might feel a need to verify your finances for whatever reason, and they could call you to verify information. Your accounts could be suspended from using until you get in touch with them, typically they will restore your accounts after a simple phone call.

B)   Financial Review
This type of Financial Review is very common. It often happens when opening a new account for the first time, usually if you are opening a Charge Card, or a Business Card or if on a new account you start off will a lot of high spending.
American Express will suspend your account/s, they will not remove the suspension until the review is over, which takes around 2 weeks.

If you cannot provide the required information, shut down your account right away.

2)   Triggers
Look below for a list of triggers and links.
 
3)   What will happen?
Your accounts will get suspended. You will be able to log in online, and see account activity, but you will get a message that charging is suspended.

They will contact you via phone and email. Once you get in touch with them, (typically) you will be assigned a specific representative to work on your case.

The will require mainly IRS Tax returns. The point of a Financial Review is to verify your income. They may also require Back statements, a letter from a Bank to verify your address, and other documents. People have reported that they did survive a Financial Review with just bank statements.

As long as you could provide the documents they request you will be fine, they might lower your credit lines, but you should be able keep your account open. Even as low as a $6000 tax return people have been able to survive a Financial Review.

In cases of a Financial Review after opening a Business Card, you will need proof of Business income.

If you cannot provide the required information, shut down your account right away.

As long as you could provide the documents they request you will be fine, they might lower your credit lines, but you should be able keep your account open. Even as low as a $6000 tax return people have been able to survive a Financial Review.

4)   What Steps Should I take?
Get in touch with Amex as soon as you could. Send in the request inform promptly. You will have a rep that will be working with you, and telling you what documents are needed. 4506-t is a transcript request from the IRS for you last tax return. You will need to fill out this form, fax it to Amex, it will take them 24-48 hours until they receive this form, they will request the tax return from the IRS that could take about a week.

Important: you only have 2 attempts to send them the fax, if they reject it after 2 attempts you will get shut down. You don't get more than 2 attempts. (source)
You may be able to get 3 attempts if you ask for a manager.

You need to be on top of it, if you don’t follow thru, they could shut your accounts down.


5)   What to do if American Express closed your accounts?
Once American Express closes your accounts, the only way to get back on is if you have the required information needed to pass a Financial Review. They will require you to request a 4506 form from the IRS (which will cost you $57) before they even approve any of your future applications.


To start you may want to read up here:

F/R triggers:[/color]

Credit line of $25k or more
http://www.dansdeals.com/forums/index.php?topic=1438.msg10906#msg10906

Family member receiving FR can cause other family members to get Fr'ed as well
http://www.dansdeals.com/forums/index.php?topic=6223.msg74003#msg74003 http://www.dansdeals.com/forums/index.php?topic=8.msg24759#msg24759

Living at same address as someone who was FR'ed
http://www.dansdeals.com/forums/index.php?topic=8.msg77046#msg77046

Using majority of CL
http://www.dansdeals.com/forums/index.php?topic=7526.msg87716#msg87716

Large cash advance
http://www.dansdeals.com/forums/index.php?topic=5908.msg82906#msg82906

Nothing...
http://www.dansdeals.com/forums/index.php?topic=2723.msg30062#msg30062

Changing name on business card
http://www.dansdeals.com/forums/index.php?topic=3589.msg38101#msg38101

Mint purchases
http://www.dansdeals.com/forums/index.php?topic=146.msg22932#msg22932

Amex Gift Card Purchases
http://www.dansdeals.com/forums/index.php?topic=2422.msg26670#msg26670
http://www.dansdeals.com/forums/index.php?topic=8.msg40106#msg40106

Unusual spending
http://www.dansdeals.com/forums/index.php?topic=8.msg7627#msg7627
http://www.dansdeals.com/forums/index.php?topic=3710.msg39597#msg39597

Amazon payments (possibly)
http://www.dansdeals.com/forums/index.php?topic=3657.msg88656#msg88656
http://www.dansdeals.com/forums/index.php?topic=3524.msg42436#msg42436

Using close to reported income
http://www.dansdeals.com/archives/2537

Logging in online too much (!)
http://www.dansdeals.com/forums/index.php?topic=8.msg13741#msg13741

Prepaying
http://www.dansdeals.com/forums/index.php?topic=1712.msg13732#msg13732
http://www.dansdeals.com/forums/index.php?topic=3710.msg39725#msg39725

Adding Cardholders (many?)
http://www.dansdeals.com/forums/index.php?topic=8.msg49318#msg49318

Refunds exceeding total payments made on the card since it was opened
http://forums.dansdeals.com/index.php?topic=8.msg845606#msg845606
[/font]
Though not exactly F/R, it's worth mentioning that Amex takes returned payments very seriously.
They often shut all accounts without going through the F/R process.
« Last edited by JACKSASSONBK on February 16, 2017, 06:19:07 PM »

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Author Topic: Amex F/R Master Thread  (Read 1913081 times)

Offline Super Speed

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Re: Amex F/R Master Thread
« Reply #3440 on: December 11, 2014, 11:05:31 AM »
Data point: Someone I know just got F/Rd and since he's single he hasn't filed taxes, he told that to the rep who in turn told him to send in his last 3 months of back statements, which he did. The bank statements he provided showed he only had $100 in the bank and he passed anyways!
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Offline TimT

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Re: Amex F/R Master Thread
« Reply #3441 on: December 11, 2014, 11:10:12 AM »
Quote from: Super Speed on December 11, 2014, 11:05:31 AM
Data point: Someone I know just got F/Rd and since he's single he hasn't filed taxes, he told that to the rep who in turn told him to send in his last 3 months of back statements, which he did. The bank statements he provided showed he only had $100 in the bank and he passed anyways!
Is he still living with parents ? Does he earn income ?
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Offline coralsnake

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Re: Amex F/R Master Thread
« Reply #3442 on: December 11, 2014, 11:15:28 AM »
Quote from: Super Speed on December 11, 2014, 11:05:31 AM
Data point: Someone I know just got F/Rd and since he's single he hasn't filed taxes, he told that to the rep who in turn told him to send in his last 3 months of back statements, which he did. The bank statements he provided showed he only had $100 in the bank and he passed anyways!
But how much were his deposits over the last 3 months?
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Offline eli.f

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Re: Amex F/R Master Thread
« Reply #3443 on: December 11, 2014, 11:29:29 AM »
Quote from: coralsnake on December 11, 2014, 11:15:28 AM
But how much were his deposits over the last 3 months?
+1
What kind of activity was going on in that account during that time?
Also, did they lower his CL?
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Offline Super Speed

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Re: Amex F/R Master Thread
« Reply #3444 on: December 11, 2014, 11:42:43 AM »
Quote from: TimT on December 11, 2014, 11:10:12 AM
Is he still living with parents ? Does he earn income ?
He lives with his parents and he doesn't have income (he's in yeshiva).
Quote from: coralsnake on December 11, 2014, 11:15:28 AM
But how much were his deposits over the last 3 months?
Nothing significant, if any at all.
Quote from: eli.f on December 11, 2014, 11:29:29 AM
+1
What kind of activity was going on in that account during that time?
Also, did they lower his CL?
His brother was spending money on it to hit the spend threshold. I don't think they lowered his CL but I'll double check.
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Offline Novo

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Re: Amex F/R Master Thread
« Reply #3445 on: December 11, 2014, 12:07:42 PM »
Quote from: Super Speed on December 11, 2014, 11:05:31 AM
Data point: Someone I know just got F/Rd and since he's single he hasn't filed taxes, he told that to the rep who in turn told him to send in his last 3 months of back statements, which he did. The bank statements he provided showed he only had $100 in the bank and he passed anyways!
What's his age, is he 21 or older?
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Offline Super Speed

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Re: Amex F/R Master Thread
« Reply #3446 on: December 11, 2014, 12:19:37 PM »
Quote from: Novo on December 11, 2014, 12:07:42 PM
What's his age, is he 21 or older?
Younger.
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Offline Dr Moose

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Re: Amex F/R Master Thread
« Reply #3447 on: December 11, 2014, 12:55:12 PM »
Quote from: Super Speed on December 11, 2014, 11:05:31 AM
Data point: Someone I know just got F/Rd and since he's single he hasn't filed taxes, he told that to the rep who in turn told him to send in his last 3 months of back statements, which he did. The bank statements he provided showed he only had $100 in the bank and he passed anyways!
when I was F/R'd a couple of years ago, I had the same situation and I also passed with sending in bank statements

IINM, they just want the bank statements to see if a lot of money is going in and out of your account
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Offline TimT

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Re: Amex F/R Master Thread
« Reply #3448 on: December 11, 2014, 01:34:16 PM »
Quote from: Dr Moose on December 11, 2014, 12:55:12 PM
when I was F/R'd a couple of years ago, I had the same situation and I also passed with sending in bank statements

IINM, they just want the bank statements to see if a lot of money is going in and out of your account
They asked for tax forms ?
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Offline Dr Moose

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Re: Amex F/R Master Thread
« Reply #3449 on: December 11, 2014, 01:58:48 PM »
Quote from: TimT on December 11, 2014, 01:34:16 PM
They asked for tax forms ?
I think they only asked for bank statements
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Offline Excalibur

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Re: Amex F/R Master Thread
« Reply #3450 on: December 11, 2014, 05:14:22 PM »
Wtf I called and verified my identity and they cancelled the app because they could not verify my identity

They said it's a very high risk application...
« Last Edit: December 11, 2014, 05:29:35 PM by Excalibur »
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Offline ChaimMoskowitz

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Re: Amex F/R Master Thread
« Reply #3451 on: December 11, 2014, 07:32:15 PM »
Quote from: Excalibur on December 11, 2014, 05:14:22 PM
They said it's a very high risk application...
Amex has a cheat sheet they use. It is called "Best one liners to use on customers".  :)
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Offline Excalibur

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Re: Amex F/R Master Thread
« Reply #3452 on: December 11, 2014, 08:54:55 PM »
I'm not high risk!
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Offline Chapshnell

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Re: Amex F/R Master Thread
« Reply #3453 on: December 18, 2014, 12:38:00 AM »
Alright.. just what I needed...

Was in MKE last week. bought some redbird cards & filled em with my Amex CC. Fraud alert comes up.. I verify via the amex app.. charges go through...
However the fraud alert on the website for the card doesnt go off.. so I decided after a few days to call Amex to please take off the alert as I already verified it...

Rep tells me that she see's I am under financial review since 12/16..

1) There is no record or any statement when I log in that my accounts are suspended or shut down.
2) I earn a legit living so I am not worried about proving income.. Maybe they will lower the credit lines but that is fine.

A few other notes to know..

3) Was approved for the platinum card & gold card on 12/16 (same day I supposedly went into F/R)
4) I dont max out my credit lines or anything even close. I usually use 1-2% of my CL per month.

What are your guys thoughts?
Anything I can do to be proactive at this point?

Thanks,
Chapshnell
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Offline Thingywingy

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Re: Amex F/R Master Thread
« Reply #3454 on: December 30, 2014, 11:09:49 PM »
Can moving part of a credit line to a different card trigger a FR? (I thought I saw that somewhere once)
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Offline eAge

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Re: Amex F/R Master Thread
« Reply #3455 on: December 30, 2014, 11:13:23 PM »

Quote from: Thingywingy on December 30, 2014, 11:09:49 PM
Can moving part of a credit line to a different card trigger a FR? (I thought I saw that somewhere once)
Moving itself is not a crime, maybe if they see something they don't like while moving they might act, but in general it's not a problem.
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Offline Thingywingy

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Re: Amex F/R Master Thread
« Reply #3456 on: December 31, 2014, 04:36:15 PM »
Quote from: eAge on December 30, 2014, 11:13:23 PM
Moving itself is not a crime, maybe if they see something they don't like while moving they might act, but in general it's not a problem.
Like what?
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Offline eAge

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Re: Amex F/R Master Thread
« Reply #3457 on: December 31, 2014, 06:50:27 PM »

Quote from: Thingywingy on December 31, 2014, 04:36:15 PM
Like what?
Rapid increase in credit usage, lots of AUs, 3rd party bank payments and such
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Offline Thingywingy

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Re: Amex F/R Master Thread
« Reply #3458 on: December 31, 2014, 11:54:01 PM »
thanks @eAge. No diss intended; but can anyone confirm this. I tread very carefully with Amex.
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Offline eli.f

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Re: Amex F/R Master Thread
« Reply #3459 on: January 01, 2015, 12:01:53 AM »
Quote from: Thingywingy on December 31, 2014, 11:54:01 PM
thanks @eAge. No diss intended; but can anyone confirm this. I tread very carefully with Amex.
It's common knowloledge with Amex.
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