In May 2020 it was announced that American Express was limiting consumers to 4 credit cards, previously the limit was 5 (in February 2021 the Green card was considered a credit card as well). That limit has been relaxed again to 5 credit cards, this will need manual approval until Monday when the system will update.
I suspect given the timing this might have been pandemic related in regards to reducing risk, although limiting credit limits would have made more sense if that was the case. Still great news to see this being relaxed. You can see the limit for other card issuers by clicking here.
Hat tip to Walter Credit Cards
DP like Raylan below — if you close out a card it might take 30 days so call recon for a quick auto-approval
Just a quick DP on this. Closed out my 5th card late September and applied for the elevated Marriott offer to take its place about a week ago. Was immediately denied for max # of CCs. When calling the number in
Vic ‘s post below, the agent told me it can take 30 days to clear a closed 5th card from the system to facilitate auto approval.
Easy to recon this, but the 30 days could be helpful for people with phone-phobic P2’s who won’t call in.
Thanks for posting this. Super helpful!
+DP (potentially big news?)
Not sure if they’ll throw me a FR or close out my card anytime soon but I’ve had 5 CC with Amex for the longest time and decided to go with the Business Bonvoy card thinking that it’ll just trigger a pending review and closure of one of the 5 exisitng cc to swap out the slot since i’m “at limit”. That did not happen.
Applied 9/24 and approved on the spot, the other credit(non charged) cards i have are:
1. Blue cash everyday
2. amex everyday preferred
3. bonvoy brilliant
4. hilton surpass
5. hilton aspire
and now, 6. bonvoy biz.
How do business cards impact this rule?
Applied for the Delta Gold on 4/28/21. Was at four credit cards and a Green card opened in Oct 2019. Application went to pending review.
Next day was left a voicemail to call regarding my recent request. Please note that the number to call was the one Vic mentions in his comment on 4/27/21.
Called back and was informed that I was at the limit of credit card accounts. Apologies for neglecting to ask if it was because I was at four credit cards or five by including the Green card. In any case I had the option to close an account in order to free up a spot. I elected to close an account. After a few minutes the CSR closed one of my four credit cards and immediately approved my application for the Delta Gold.
Apologies again for not confirming what put me at the limit, but hope this DP helps.
Thanks for reporting back. Yes, it’s still helpful because it confirmed that the limit is indeed 5 and green is considered a lending card, both of which match what the post states.
Green card didn’t count as a lending card for me, retard. Maybe you should stop cherry picking and spreading bullshit
Vic
Thanks for being so polite,
MuricaFalls .
I’m glad Green wasn’t considered a lending card for you. I’m sure you’re always right and every single person in the world has the exact same experience as you. Have a good day.
5th Card Updated Datapoint After Recon:
Called the reconsideration line again today, and my Marriott Bonvoy app finally got approved.
The Amex Green card DID NOT take up a slot for me (opened 10/24/19 when it was refreshed).
I also DO NOT have any business cards.
* Previous 5 cards: BCE, Everyday, Hilton Aspire, Hilton Aspire, Delta Gold
* Previous charge cards: Amex Green, Gold, Platinum
I canceled only my Delta Gold and the support agent sent my request to the Senior Accounts Specialist.
My app was immediately approved.
Just applied this morning for 5th card Amex card which was Delta Business Gold and was instantly approved, logged in through my account and applied so not sure if that makes a difference versus referral links.
Recently denied for Marriott Bonvoy Brilliant due to too many lending cards (max 4 at time of application). Called new accounts CSR who said Green Card would be counted as a lending card regardless of whether POT was enabled but confirmed the lending card limit has been raised to five effective yesterday. Application was approved.
Following up on this:
Although reps told me that the system would be updated on Monday (4/26/2021), it appears that the auto-system is still declining 5th card for most people. I’ve received 2 DPs today where they’re auto-declined and then approved without closing any card after calling new account department. If you’re declined the 5th lending card, just give them a call.
I have 5 AMEX credit cards, (Lowes, Bonvoy Brilliant, Aspire, Delta reserve, and BBP) then they dropped max to 4… then they said Green counts as 1 (so I guess I have 6?)… I would like to add the Blue Cash Preferred but I can’t until they raise the limit to 7 cards… why not just lower available credit? What’s the difference if I want to pay more annual fees? The whole thing is silly if you ask me.