🚀 Our new App is live!  Signup

Advertiser Disclosure

Advertiser Disclosure

Although we put in a lot of effort to give our readers unbiased information, and we include many credit card offers on our website for which we do not get paid any compensation, we are legally required to notify you that we may be receiving compensation from some of the credit card companies mentioned on our website.

Some of the credit card offers which appear on helpmebuildcredit.com are from credit card companies from which this site possibly receives compensation. This compensation may impact how and where credit card offers appear on this site. This site possibly does not include all available credit card offers.

 

Close

Amex Reinstated My Closed Accounts Without A Hard Credit Pull

- Feb 25, 2018 Credit Card Info0 comments

Three Of My Amex Credit Card Were Canceled

A couple of weeks ago, I had used my Amex Gold Delta credit card and unfortunately forgot it there. (It happens to the best of us.) A few days later, my relative comes over to me (we share the same name) and asks me, “Did you by chance lose your Amex Gold Delta credit card?” So I answered, “Yes.” Then he told me how it’s really funny because someone found it and gave it back to him. Since we have the same name, he thought it might be mine. I told him, of course, to return it as soon as he gets a chance.

If the story would end here, then it wouldn’t be press worthy. But, unfortunately, it did not. As an afterthought, he continued to tell me that when the person gave him back the credit card, he at first thought it was his card. So, he called Amex to verify the purchases and, of course, did not recognize them, so he disputed them! The story gets worse!  He also did not recognize the other credit cards that Amex listed to him under ‘his’ name, so he canceled ALL the cards!!

Yup! He went and canceled 3 of my Amex credit cards (How in the world he was able to do that without giving any verification except the information found on the credit card, don’t ask me, ask Amex.) Now I thought I’m toast.

Amex Solution

 I called Amex ASAP. First, I gave them a rundown that they need to beef up their security and maybe fire the representative that took the call from my relative and let him cancel three of my credit cards without even asking him for my four-digit phone pin!

Then, after explaining the story, I asked the representative what can be done. The representative was very nice and told me he will reinstate all three accounts without making a credit pull and I’ll get back all my points and everything will be back to normal as if the cards were never canceled!

After all that there was only one thing I was still not sure if Amex would reopen a closed account without making a hard credit pull. I re-asked the representative to double-check with his supervisor that no hard pull will be done. He came back after a few minutes and confirmed that he can reopen the accounts without making a hard credit pull.

I was still not convinced but was still desperate to have the accounts reopened, so I told him to proceed. He was able to reopen all three accounts. I double-checked my report and found that the representative was right and Amex did not make any new hard credit pull!

Conclusion

What this episode taught me is that with Amex, even if you have closed an account, you can have it reinstated without making a hard pull. I’m not sure, though, if this can work even if you voluntarily closed the account. (In my case, it was closed in error.) Number two; I’m not sure for how long after you closed the account it can still be reopened. (In my case, I called two to three days later).

If anybody has any more data points, please share them below and I will update the post accordingly.

All the best!

Was this article helpful?

avatar_logo
Sam Sam has nearly a decade's worth of experience educating his many readers on everything credit. Sam spends his days checking out credit cards for a full report, from the minute benefit details to the shebang of welcome bonuses. Plus studying the ins and outs of building proper credit. It’s his favorite pastime and he loves sharing it with others.

Leave A Comments

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

0 Comments

Recent Posts

Follow us

Click here to subscribe to
our WhatsApp channel

Today's
best offers

Capital One Venture X Business

Earn 150,000 miles after spending $30,000 within the first 3 months.

more info

Ink Business Preferred Credit Card

Earn 100,000 points after spending $8,000 within the first 3 months.

more info

The Platinum Card from American Express

Earn 80,000 points after spending $8,000 within the first 6 months (terms apply).

more info

American Express Business Gold Card

Earn 130,000 points after spending $10,000 within the first 3 months (terms apply).

more info

You May Also Like

The 9 Best Credit Cards For Tolls [2024]

The 9 Best Credit Cards For Tolls [2024]

Since not many credit cards scream “use me” when it comes to paying highway tolls, let us help you put an end to your toll quandary.  Some credit cards include toll within the travel category and some credit cards include toll within the transit category. To make it...

read more
How Is Credit Utilization Calculated On Charge Cards

How Is Credit Utilization Calculated On Charge Cards

Credit utilization is one of the big factors that credit scoring models look at. Credit utilization is calculated by your current balance versus how much percent of your available credit or credit line was used. The higher the percent of your credit line you spend,...

read more
When Is The Best Time To Pay My Credit Card?

When Is The Best Time To Pay My Credit Card?

You might often wonder at what point of the month you should make a payment towards your credit card balance. You may also like to know how much of the balance to pay up at that point. Let’s get this question paid cleared up in this post.

read more
The Best Cards To Use For Charity [2024]

The Best Cards To Use For Charity [2024]

Purim is coming up. People ask me all year round what would be a good credit card to designate for charity purchases. Now before Purim is the best time to take action and finally get yourself a card designated for charity. But which one? In this post I will discuss...

read more
success_icon

Download link sent
succesfully

Got it * please check your promotional inbox
fail_icon

Error sending download link

Try Again