CREDIT CARD – SHOPPER’S ALERT!

29-year old black entrepreneur Kevin Johnson, who has a perfect payment history and a high credit score, recently got a letter from AMEX cutting his credit limit. The letter said, “Other customers who have used their card at establishments where you recently shopped have a poor repayment history with American Express.” Kevin couldn’t tell what set it off, his statement had what he saw as normal transactions, including places like Amazon, Ruby Tuesday, Wal-Mart, Starbucks and Federal Express.

AMEX defended its practice saying, “We’re just doing this to manage risk…customers who make transactions with certain merchants tend to have a higher proportion of credit issues or a higher probability of default.”