This is an update from my prior review back in March 2017. I hope this review would help those that are considering applying for the Amex BCE. Now while this is one of the hardest cards to get an approval, note that, once you get approved for it, it is packed with great rewards and bonuses that will save you more money in the long term. When I orignally gotten an approval for the card, my CK credit scores were at 662, but my FICO score at the tme of application was at 742. So for those thinking about applying, please remember to check the following first so you do not waste a hard inquiry. - Length of credit history 6 mos and longer ( if any of you have a high credit score from CK but if the length of your credit history is less than 6 mos old. you would need to wait and age your account until your reach 6 mos. and more) - AMEX likes thin files with no missed payments (during the time of application) - No Baddies or deregatories on your file - Is your FICO score specifically with Experian at least within 690's and over, since AMEX tends to pull the reports from them "MAJORITY" of the time. I say 690 is the absolute guarantee of an approval with the best sign up bonuses and interests. Anything less than that, then you are looking at a lower SL and no sign up bonuses. I hope this breakdown would help some of you, I am sharing this because I have went through it, applied, got denied, without realizing that I needed to age my accounts for 6 mos. and longer to have an actual FICO score, but I did not wait and I wasted an inquiry. I suggest using your approval odds as your motivation, but check for those factors before you apply to ensure success in getting an approval. My current FICO score from Experian is 721 and I am gardening to get that back up again to where I used to be or higher. But overall, my experience with American Express has been amazing. Their sign up bonuse of getting $100 back if you spend $1000 in the first quarter of your membership saved me a $100 on a new TV that I bought. I also get %10 cashback when I use it for dining at restaurants, and more cashback bonuses when being used wisely. I am very happy and content with the AMEX BCE and back in April they reconsidered by original application for the AMEX Green card and approved me for it as well. So if you applied and did not get an instant approval. Call the reconsideration line and you might get suprised. I hope this thread helps.

I have been a card holder since 2013, I have always made my payments and utilized my American Express card more than my other credit card because I had always heard good things about their customer service. OH HOW WRONG I WAS!!! I made a payment on 1/26 for MORE THAN the minimum amount due per their mobile app. On February 2nd a late fee showed up on my account and then on February 6th I got a notification that my credit limit had been reduced by $6,000!!! I called American Express right away to discuss this issue. It took three phone calls and more than 2 hours on the phone to get the late fees waived and attempt to get my credit limit fixed. (I was told by two reps that my late fees had been waived but when transferred to the department that handles credit limits I was told no late fees had been waived.) After all of that I was told that they would advise the proper department of the POSSOBLE mobile app issue (I was not given a case # or confirmation that this issue was actually escalated) and that they could not fix my available credit. I was given two options: Pay $3,000+ or provide financial documents with proof of income/assets/stocks which would take at least two weeks to review! ALL BECAUSE THEIR APP TOLD ME I OWED $178, I PAID $200, BUT APPARENTLY THE ACTUAL AMOUNT OWED WAS $247?!? I am in the process of purchasing a home and have kept my credit card utilization at a certain % to maintain a very good credit score which is not COMPLETELY SCREWED UP as my utilization on my American Express is now basically 100%. While on the phone with them I paid the $47 difference and told them to go ahead and schedule a payment for the next day, which is not due until MARCH, to avoid further confusion. I then called back to have my cash rewards applied to my balance as I WILL NOT continue using American Express after this fiasco! I was told that there was STILL a hold on my account AND THE LATE FEES WERE STILL SHOWING which meant that I could not apply my rewards $$$ until the next day...IF THE HOLDS WERE REMOVED!!! It took another 30 minutes to get someone who actually gave a crap and get my rewards $$$ applied. CLEARLY this was possible from the beginning but again, American Express DOES NOT care about their customers and WILL NOT make any effort to help in a crisis...WHICH THEY CAUSED! I will be transferring ALL of my business to a different credit card company ASAP and will advise all of my friends, family, and colleagues to avoid American Express. This entire experience has been a nightmare and my credit is now being negatively affected due to their technological error! Additionally, the cash back rewards are almost non-existant and you can only redeem them in $25 increments