American Express wants an income update. | Credit card reward programs | Discussion forum

Probably not a scam, since they say that you can phone the company to complete the process. In this case, actually 'calling the number on the back of your card', as suggested, is probably the most prudent path.

blake said
The “from” email address appears legitimate.
And also my start year and last digits of card number are correct.

I agree to hit a tab or URL in a legitimate of illegitimate email is not the way to go. I look at an email then use my bookmarks to login and never from within an email.

My mother-in-law received the same email.

I just logged in and no notification of request. I have never gone over limit, never have paid interest, never missed a payment and have never asked for nor do I want an increased credit limit. And I do keep the account active.

I had this cash back card card to back up my BMO cash back card at the time. But I do much better by using my Rogers cash back card. Thus Amex and BMO get minimal charges every 3 months.

I am curios for the real reason why. If push comes to shove....I will relinquish the card.

And me too.....never have had a credit card ask for my income other than in the application.  

OK, then my next guess is its part of a marketing approach to sell upgraded cards.

It will be interesting to see what's actually behind this request. The only other card that I recall asking this was PC Elite Mastercard about a year or so ago, but their purpose was much different, to downgrade their Mastercard so as not to pay out as much.... I don't know why AMEX would do anything like that though.

I've never had such a request, but I don't keep much in the way of cards i don't use much.

Some possible reasons:
1. marketing, to try to get you to upgrade or buy another service or product.
2. To see if you still meet criteria for this card - especially if you have hit usual retirement age.
3. To set the stage to offer you a higher credit limit or other enticements to use the card more frequently.
4. They are gearing up for the coming recession by checking on their customers.
5. Amex may be for sale, and they want to make it look more attractive to purchasers. Same may go for investors, but I don't know anything about their corporate structure.

COIN said
…
They downgraded me because they claim I don't spend enough ($15,000 annually?) to qualify for the Elite black card.

That's actually MasterCard Canada and not President's Choice Bank.

MasterCard Canada and Visa Canada likely got themselves into an awkward position with the federal government. For years, they argued that the higher interchange fees charged to merchants for accepting the "premium" editions of the Visa and MasterCard cards were for higher spenders with higher income.

Government likely then asked what the minimum income and spending requirements were for the premium cards, like the MasterCard World Elite and Visa Infinite. For some reason, the answer was dead silence!

upto you to update the info they ask for.

If they decide to cancel ur card cuz you dont provide updated answer, its their loss, not mine. Thats how I look at it.

But yeah like most said, its part of their marketing / big data analysis.

If that's true, then it's seniors who may get hit. They have lowered incomes but often significant assets and willingness to spend them. Based solely on income, they might see a downgrade in CC limits.

COIN said
Is all this info gathering the first step in implementing a wealth tax?  

No. The govt already knows all our incomes - and in far greater detail. Wealth tax is about assets.

They are interested in the big numbers, accumulated over long periods, maybe intergenerational.
There is no reliable direct line between income and wealth. It's far too messy.
I think it would be far simpler to just devise a form that everyone had to fill out, describing assets, with high penalty for lying or omitting. It may be the only way. But it would meet with a lot of resistance, so I don't think it's likely to ever happen. If it did go through, it would have to be a very small tax to begin with. Inflation is already chomping away at wealth apace.
Still, my feeling is that a wealth tax per se is unworkable.
What they can do more easily is introduce or increase related taxes - and tell us they are "temporary".

Apparently the Florida tax on non-tangible assets like stocks bonds etc was repealed some years ago. They also have no personal income tax.

But, really, you can't just single out one tax without looking at the whole tax structure in a given jurisdiction Some taxes will be higher; others lower. Overall, Florida apparently is one of the low tax states overall.

https://www.thebalance.com/an-overview-of-taxes-in-florida-3193256#:~:text=Florida%20is%20one%20of%20only,is%20no%20longer%20taxed%2C%20either.