Consumer complaint received 2025-11-09 00:00:00
Product: Credit card — General-purpose credit card or charge card
Issue: Advertising and marketing, including promotional offers — Confusing or misleading advertising about the credit card
Company: AMERICAN EXPRESS COMPANY
State: PA

Complaint narrative:
XXXX. Nature of Complaint On XX/XX/XXXX, I submitted an application for an American Express XXXX XXXX. American Express issued adverse action notices stating that my application was declined based on FICO score on the following dates : XX/XX/XXXX XX/XX/XXXX XX/XX/XXXX XX/XX/XXXX ( in response to a prior notice submitted by the complainant ) Each notice explicitly stated : An evaluation of your application was conducted and unfortunately our decline decision remains based on your XXXX Score. 
American Express publicly represents that there is no set XXXXredit score that will guarantee that you will be approved for any American Express credit card.

These repeated denials, based solely on XXXX score, demonstrate a pattern of unfair, deceptive, and discriminatory acts or practices, depriving me of access to credit while creating unnecessary credit inquiries and adverse reporting impacts. 
XXXX. Violations and Legal Basis a. Equal Credit Opportunity Act ( ECOA ) 15 U.S.C. 1691 ( a ) ; Regulation B 1002.6 ( b ) ECOA prohibits creditors from making credit decisions that result in arbitrary or unjustified exclusion, even if the factor used appears neutral. 
By relying exclusively on XXXX score across multiple applications over a one-year period, American Express XXXX XXXX provide individualized consideration and engaged in unlawful discrimination and discouragement.

b. Consumer Financial Protection Act ( CFPA, 12 U.S.C. 5531 & 5536 UDAAP ) The repeated denials constitute an Unfair, Deceptive, or Abusive Act or Practice ( UDAAP ) because : Amex publicly states that no minimum credit score guarantees approval, yet privately applied a threshold ; The criteria for approval were undisclosed ; The repeated denials caused harm through denied access, multiple hard inquiries, and lost financial opportunity.

c. Federal Reserve Oversight and Discretion As a member institution and agent of the Federal Reserve, American Express may evaluate applications, but the standards, policies, and permissible methods for determining creditworthiness are controlled and limited by federal regulation. 
No bank has sole discretion to approve or deny credit under the Federal Reserve Act ( 12 U.S.C. 343, 347b, 411, 321 ), Regulation A ( 12 CFR 201.4 ), or Regulation B ( 12 CFR 1002.6 ( b ) ( 2 ) ).

3. Harm and Damages As a direct result of American Expresss actions : I was denied access to credit for a high-value financial product ( Gold Card with no preset spending limit ) on four separate occasions.

Each denial caused hard inquiries on my credit report, reducing credit score and impacting future credit opportunities.

I suffered loss of opportunity, purchasing power, and potential rewards associated with the denied credit product. 
Given the nature, value, and repeated pattern of willful, deceptive, and discriminatory practices, I seek {$15000.00} in monetary relief.

Company response to consumer: Closed with explanation