AMERICAN EXPRESS reduced credit limit with no warning which shows reduced credit limit plus affects fico credit score never been late ever account over 10 years open i will discourage anyone catch 22 Internet

Credit card companies are facing the worst crisis of their existence and all of them are decreasing the amount of credit being extended to people.  The fact it affects your FICO score should not be a sign that your FICO score is being decreased, but that your score was artificially inflated.  Accordingly, it is now being brought back to a more appropriate level.

Nobody in Congress is going to help people in this because they're looking to the credit card companies to reduce their liability; they don't want to bail out credit card companies the same way they bailed out banks.  The fat times for all of us are over and we need to face the reality that everyone's FICO score was inflated.

In response to the new regulations which will soon take effect, AmEx is basically eliminating over-limit fees, even as the regulations do not require them to do so. This is a definite plus for consumers, but it's really more of a token gesture aimed at receiving some good press than anything else.

To make up for the lost revenue stream from over-limit fees, they are tweaking other aspects of their consumer agreements. I'm not sure how reducing a credit line increases revenue, but there must be some ecnomic reason for doing so.

Sometimes it's nice to be a fella like me. My credit's always been in the tank, and I can't even get a Capitol One card nowadays, so I really don't have to worry about all of this greed and nonsense.

Best regards!

Key Elements of the Credit  CARD Act of 2009

Bans Unfair Rate Increases: Financial institutions will no longer raise rates unfairly, and consumers will have confidence that the interest rates on their existing balances will not be hiked. 

• Bans Retroactive Rate Increases: Bans rate increases on existing balances due to "any time, any reason" or "universal default" and severely restricts retroactive rate increases due to late payment.
• First Year Protection: Contract terms must be clearly spelled out and stable for the entirety of the first year.  Firms may continue to offer promotional rates with new accounts or during the life of an account, but these rates must be clearly disclosed and last at least 6 months.