Thread: How do delinquent mortgage payments affect credit card (AMEX Rewards Card)

Situation: went through a divorce, can't afford full home mortgage, delinquent payments (4 months at this point), trying for a loan mod through the lender and if that does not work I will be forced to a short sale situation.

My credit situation: AMEX Gold Rewards Card: perfect payment history.

Question: How will my house situation affect my AMEX card? Will I lose the card/acct be closed and all reward points lost or is there anything at all positive that I can hope for with my card?

Additional: I am on time for ALL other bills I have other than the mortgage.

Thank you in advance for any replies.

I think AMEX is pretty thorough about watching your credit for red flags. Lot's of people report all kinds of "coincidences" with AMEX closing accounts and so forth after losing a job or being late on another card. Universal default is now illegal so ther eare restrictions on what they can do. But I suspect they have ways around the new laws.

Unfortunately I think if I were in your position I would start using my points as quickly as possible to avoid losing them. Transfer them to an airline or something!

With the universal default being illegal what would AMEX legally be able to do?

Originally Posted by debitcardsblow

With the universal default being illegal what would AMEX legally be able to do?

Reduce your credit limit to $100, decline purchases, cancel your card because your credit score has dropped, who knows.

I read recently that they have a zero tolerance policy on some things. If you have EVER defaulted on an AMEX you will likely never get one again in your life. They are very strict about it. Yet some people say they have gotten another card after declaring KB and so forth. AMEX is their own thing and kind of hard to predict. They are actually suing the government over various new rules and laws are are refusing to follow them while in litigation. So far they have not been challenged and likely will not be.

That is insane. Which rules are AMEX challenging? Do you have a link where I could read more about this?

I believe all of this information is implicitly understood, there is no "in-writing" and is only verified through less than reliable consumers (e.g American Express "blacklist").

If you're 4 months behind, that means 4 separate dings to your credit in the form of a 30-day late report. That had to have hit your score pretty hard. If AMEX sees a sizable drop in your score, they can cancel you even if you're current with them (I speak from experience).

I'm not trying to be a downer but I think you're living on borrowed time.

Originally Posted by debitcardsblow

That is insane. Which rules are AMEX challenging? Do you have a link where I could read more about this?

They are challenging rules against fees they charge to merchants, rules that allow them to punish merchants that offer cash discounts, and various other rules like that. Visa and Mastercard did the same thing but have settled.

I suspect AMEX will continue doing "universal default" but they will not call it that. They are already one of the few credit card companies that occasionally demand a financial review from card holders where in they demand tax returns, proof of income, and all sorts of other stuff if you want to continue carrying their card.