September 2019 Complaints Against American Express

Compiled from Public Data by FairShake

If you have an issue with American Express, you’re not alone.

The US government’s Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) collects complaints against financial companies.

In 2019, the CFPB received 2826 complaints against American Express. American Express ranked Number 11 among all financial companies for the most complaints.


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Complaint Details:

Date of Complaint: September 28, 2019

Company Official Name: AMERICAN EXPRESS COMPANY

State: CA

Product: Credit card or prepaid card
Sub-Product: General-purpose credit card or charge card

Issue: Getting a credit card
Sub-Issue: Application denied

Full Complaint:
American Express only approves me for cards with a really high annual fees. They are trying to extort me for their annual fees. When I apply for a card with No annual fee they immediately decline me for the same reasons that they approved me for. I had over ten American Express cards in the past 5 years. My credit wasn’t as good when they approved me for the cards previously. FICO score was XXXX when they approved me for several cards with the same info on my XXXX credit report. My FICO score is currently XXXX with same factors on my report.. And they are declining me. Most recently got declined for a Amex Cash magnet card. The cards American Express has approved me for in the recent years when my FICO score was XXXX are as follows. XX/XX/XXXX Approved for an Everyday Card. XX/XX/XXXX Approved for a Green Amex. XX/XX/XXXX Approved for a Platinum. XX/XX/XXXX Approved for a XXXX XXXX. XX/XX/XXXX Approved for an Everyday Card. XX/XX/XXXX Approved for a Green Card. XX/XX/XXXX Approved for a Gold Card. XX/XX/XXXX Approved for a XXXX XXXX Card. XX/XX/XXXX Approved for a Platinum Card. There is a trend of American Express only approving me for cards with annual fees. When I got approved for all these American Express cards my FICO score was XXXX with the exact same report on today. Only today my FICO is XXXX according to the Bureau American Express pulls XXXX FICO score base XXXX. If American Express doesn’t resolve this issue with me I will file a lawsuit against them. They only seem to listen to LEGAL action. I spoke to an American Express rep on XX/XX/XXXX and the rep understood the concern and offered me to reverse the {0.00} annual fee on my current Gold American Express card. The only reason American Express offered to do that is because what they are doing to me is wrong. Please look into this while I start my legal claim. I have already consulted and hired an attorney who handles issues like this.

Company response:

Response Type: Closed with monetary relief


Complaint Details:

Date of Complaint: September 28, 2019

Company Official Name: AMERICAN EXPRESS COMPANY

State: TX

Product: Credit reporting, credit repair services, or other personal consumer reports
Sub-Product: Credit reporting

Issue: Incorrect information on your report
Sub-Issue: Information belongs to someone else

Company response:

Response Type: Closed with explanation


Complaint Details:

Date of Complaint: September 28, 2019

Company Official Name: AMERICAN EXPRESS COMPANY

State: CA

Product: Credit card or prepaid card
Sub-Product: General-purpose credit card or charge card

Issue: Other features, terms, or problems
Sub-Issue: Other problem

Full Complaint:
On XX/XX/2019, American Express customer service sent me multiple simultaneous emails. All the emails were entitled : Important information about your account. ” In those emails, American Express said they were, effective immediately, closing ALL of my credit card account. They closed about 6 cards in one day! I lost personal and business credit cards that I had used for many years and have been a loyal American Express customer for over 20 years. The MOST devastating thing about this was that I lost XXXX membership reward points, at a cash value of XXXX dollars. There was no explanation. We called American Express over the phone on XX/XX/XXXX and XXXX trying to get the cards open. They denied this and didn’t know why the cards were closed What is absolutely maddening about this is that they also said that all of the XXXX membership reward points, points that we had earned by using american express credit cards for ALL of our personal and business purchases, ALL of it was taken by american express and wiped to XXXX. We tried to reach out on XXXX. No luck. We have also sent letter mail to american express at this address : XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX, TX XXXX. No luck. I understand American Express can close cards, but I believe they should give me a chance to use my membership reward points or cash them out, just like EVERY other credit card company.

Company response:

Response Type: Closed with explanation


Complaint Details:

Date of Complaint: September 28, 2019

Company Official Name: AMERICAN EXPRESS COMPANY

State: FL

Product: Credit card or prepaid card
Sub-Product: General-purpose prepaid card

Issue: Problem with a purchase or transfer
Sub-Issue: Charged for a purchase or transfer you did not make with the card

Full Complaint:
, On XX/XX/2019 I noticed there was pending charge of a linked external account into my account i was not aware about. The charge was in the amount of {00.00} I contacted Blue Bird by american express they said they will try and cancel the transaction and contact the bank it was linked to. They put account under dispute and said investigation takes 10 business days. On XX/XX/2019 which was the 10 business day i contacted them around XXXX XXXX. They said i had to wait till the end of the day for a response of my dispute. They sent me an email at at XXXX ; XXXX that my dispute for the {00.00} dollars was declined from American Express Prepaid Card because based on their investigation they determined no error occurred and that the transaction was authorized. I have no link accounts to my prepaid I have been saving all year all banks if you are going to do a big transaction will contact you this bank did not do anything to help me from identity theft In addition I have contacted all 3 credit bureaus. I have contacted the police for Identity Theft. I had to change all passwords. The bank does not want to give me any information about the linked account nor where it comes from. they said to send a letter and they will help in the matter I really hope me writing to their fraud Department it will make a difference .They hung up the phone on me the last 3 times i contacted On XX/XX/2019. I tried talking to their representative and they put me on hold and then hung up. In addition, it made it more suspicious on their end. I am taking all measures possible I will like the only money to be back into my account. At this point you want to save for a better future and maybe buy a home and I felt as if my money was safe with them and now I am scared to even put XXXX dollars into a bank and wake up and have nothing. My direct deposit I had to cancel as well The agents answering phones were not helpful and just kept saying to wait the 10 days. I have I been a victim of identity theft someone please help me fight this dispute it is very serious and it can jeopardize not only my identity but also my credit. Is Blue Bird american Express a fraud?

Company response:

Response Type: Closed with monetary relief


Complaint Details:

Date of Complaint: September 27, 2019

Company Official Name: AMERICAN EXPRESS COMPANY

State: CA

Product: Credit card or prepaid card
Sub-Product: General-purpose prepaid card

Issue: Unexpected or other fees

Full Complaint:
I had an American Express Serve Card with a balance of {.00} on it and a Bluebird card ( also from Amex ) with a balance of {.00} on it.American Express ” froze ” both cards and refused to give me my money back.I wrote them a letter a month ago to : American Express XXXX. XXXX XXXX XXXX, Ga. XXXX.
I asked for my money back. I have had no response from American Express.

Complaint Tags: Older American, Servicemember

Company response:

Response Type: Closed with explanation


Complaint Details:

Date of Complaint: September 28, 2019

Company Official Name: AMERICAN EXPRESS COMPANY

State: WI

Product: Credit card or prepaid card
Sub-Product: General-purpose credit card or charge card

Issue: Getting a credit card
Sub-Issue: Card opened as result of identity theft or fraud

Company response:

Response Type: Closed with non-monetary relief


Complaint Details:

Date of Complaint: September 27, 2019

Company Official Name: AMERICAN EXPRESS COMPANY

State: TN

Product: Credit card or prepaid card
Sub-Product: General-purpose credit card or charge card

Issue: Problem with a purchase shown on your statement
Sub-Issue: Credit card company isn’t resolving a dispute about a purchase on your statement

Company response:

Response Type: Closed with explanation


Complaint Details:

Date of Complaint: September 27, 2019

Company Official Name: AMERICAN EXPRESS COMPANY

State: PA

Product: Credit card or prepaid card
Sub-Product: General-purpose credit card or charge card

Issue: Problem with a purchase shown on your statement
Sub-Issue: Credit card company isn’t resolving a dispute about a purchase on your statement

Full Complaint:
My wife and I were defrauded by a hotel that was advertised by American Express Travel as a 4 star hotel. It was a dirty, unventilated room and the hotel had no food. We have tried to resolve this with American Express and American Express Travel by disputing the charge twice. We have photos of the room and an explanation of the conditions.
The hotel charge was {0.00} for one night on XX/XX/2019 in XXXX XXXX XXXX, XXXX.

Complaint Tags: Older American

Company response:

Response Type: Closed with monetary relief


Complaint Details:

Date of Complaint: September 27, 2019

Company Official Name: AMERICAN EXPRESS COMPANY

State: AL

Product: Credit card or prepaid card
Sub-Product: General-purpose prepaid card

Issue: Problem getting a card or closing an account
Sub-Issue: Trouble closing card

Full Complaint:
I had an Amex bluebird card. I was using for direct deposit of my payroll. The company closed my card down and did not notify me. I found out when I tried to use my card and my transaction was declined. I had over XXXX remaining on the card and they havent given me my money nor am I able to contact them by phone they wont except my call says account closed send them a letter. This happened in XXXX of 2019 and its currently XXXX and still I dont have the remaining funds that were left on my account. Nor have they sent me a statement.

Complaint Tags: Servicemember

Company response:

Response Type: Closed with monetary relief


Complaint Details:

Date of Complaint: September 27, 2019

Company Official Name: AMERICAN EXPRESS COMPANY

State: TX

Product: Debt collection
Sub-Product: Credit card debt

Issue: Attempts to collect debt not owed
Sub-Issue: Debt was result of identity theft

Company response:

Response Type: Closed with explanation


FairShake accessed this complaint from the public archives of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB). You can file your own complaint with the CFPB here.

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