American Express

[pa308]

I will be filing bk7 this week.

I have never had American Express so no bad history with them. My company is moving to using them as the corporate card. Will i be able to get a card with them since i dont have any negative history with them (i.e i didnt bk on them)? I wonder what other options i will have if i cant get a corporate card from them, maybe get a secured card for my travel expenses. I dont travel much and do not currently have a corporate card with my company. However i'm hoping this wont stop me from getting promoted.

[AtWitsEnd]

Not sure about your situation pa308, but I will share my husbands experience with AmEx.
His company card was in the name of the company, although my husband received the bills and made the payments to them from reimbursed expenses. But it was totally thru the company, my husband nor his soc sec number had nothing to do with it at all. AmEx never showed up on his credit at all. Best of luck.

[Scott50]

American Express is notorious for being unfriendly to Bankruptcy filers (both Chapter 7 & 13). I "had" a AMEX Corporate Card that was issued through the company that I work for but was in my name. One week after I filed Chapter 13, I received a letter from AMEX that the card was being canceled due to me filing Chapter 13 even though didn't include them in my filing. I would speak with your HR dept in regards to your situation..

[Flamingo]

It your SS number is tied into your corporate card in any way, AMEX may not approve your corporate card. It all depends on your company and how they handle their corporate cards/expenses. Sit down with your HR manager (it's all confidential; due to privacy laws he/she cannot divulge your conversation or BK to anyone) and ask about how your company would handle your situation. In our company, the AMEX's are under the person's name and sent to their home addresses and linked to their credit. It is also stated in corporate contracts for the executives/staff under contract who can get the corporate cards, that if they file bankruptcy, they have to notify the company immediately. It's best to check with your HR dept. in case you are under contract or something is stated in your company policy about BK. That way you have all your bases covered.

[mgmadara]

My husband works for a major corporation and received his corporate AMEX card 1 month before we filed in 2005. It has both his name on it and the company name and the bill is mailed to us. It was never canceled, and it has never shown up on his credit report. However, when the company was slow in making payments due to all the paperwork that needed to be filed and bosses dragging their feet we got the collection calls. I wasn't very happy about that!!

[jwbbx]

I have not filed BK yet.

I have 4 AMEX accounts, and per instructions stopped paying them as they will be on the BK eventually.

I got a collection call from them on one of my accounts, and gave them by attorney info.

Less than a week later, prior to filing, I have a letter in hand from AMEX that says all my accounts are closed - do not attempt to make more purchases.

My AMEX accounts have been around for 10+ years, some with limits well over 10K.

You do the math - AMEX is not BK friendly.

If you have to give a SSN to get the corporate card, you will be denied. Expect it and plan for it. There are a few (very few) exceptions, where AMEX issues corporate cards that are billed direct with no recourse to the employee. These agreements are limited based on annual volume, so if you're not in the Accenture or Deloite "Road Warrior" type family, expect no mercy.

Sorry....

[Cali]

I agree Amex is not BK friendly at all.

[lt2828]

I have 2 Amex Cards that I will not be including in my Chapter 7 filing. I'd like to keep them since they have zero balance for emergency situations. Does anyone know if They will cancel the cards anyway?

[Cali]

Amex is not BK friendly. If they do a AR on your account and see BK it will be closed.

I have 2 Amex Cards that I will not be including in my Chapter 7 filing. I'd like to keep them since they have zero balance for emergency situations. Does anyone know if They will cancel the cards anyway?

[Summerbreeze]

I have an american express and this is the first month that I stopped paying my bills, it was dune on 6/8, i received an email today from saying that charges will be declined, they don't have my phone number that is why they emailed me, it hasn't even been a week!!

[lt2828]

If they close the account, but I don't include them in the BK, and they had a Zero Balance. Is it possible to reopen ~10 years from now? Or are they completely unfriendly even if they didn't take a loss?

[lrprn]

I have 2 Amex Cards that I will not be including in my Chapter 7 filing. I'd like to keep them since they have zero balance for emergency situations. Does anyone know if They will cancel the cards anyway?

lt2828, you've asked this same question now several times - on 6/11 http://www.bkforum.com/showthread.php?t=25208; on 6/12 as a post at http://www.bkforum.com/showthread.php?t=25096; and again on 6/12 at http://www.bkforum.com/showthread.php?t=25269

The answer isn't going to change - once AmEx knows about your bankruptcy, your AmEx cards are very likely going to be cancelled even if they have a zero balance.

There's no need to keep posting the same question again and again.

You haven't shared your personal story, so if I'm off-base here with this advice, let me know. If you are filing bankruptcy, this is the perfect opportunity to learn to live within what you make. Using credit cards to fill money gaps is a sure way to increase your debt load over time. Using credit to pay off other credit debts is another. Bite the bullet and learn to live without credit for a time. Set up a budget and stick to it. It's the surest way to not ever find yourself in this situation again.

[lrprn]

If they close the account, but I don't include them in the BK, and they had a Zero Balance. Is it possible to reopen ~10 years from now? Or are they completely unfriendly even if they didn't take a loss?

If AmEx closes your cards because you filed bankruptcy, they are notorious for NEVER allowing you to have an AmEx card again EVER. Not saying it can't happen. Just saying that everyone on financial boards all over the net that have tried to get another card even 10 years later find themselves being denied because of the bankruptcy. As we all said on every one of your posts about this, AmEx is not bankruptcy-friendly.

[lt2828]

lprn, sorry. I also posted new thread w/ the question and they never appeared that's why I replied to these threads.

In that case, since they are at Zero Balance would I be better off:
1) Closing All Amex Cards
2) Filing for BK
3) ~10 years later reapplying

Are you familiar with a similar situation? Would they still be able to find out about the BK and not open the account?

[Cali]

Are you filing for BK?

If you file, even w/ zero balances Amex will close your accounts and most likely you will never get another one with them. They have a long memory.

lprn, sorry. I also posted new thread w/ the question and they never appeared that's why I replied to these threads.

In that case, since they are at Zero Balance would I be better off:
1) Closing All Amex Cards
2) Filing for BK
3) ~10 years later reapplying

Are you familiar with a similar situation? Would they still be able to find out about the BK and not open the account?