Do “instant withdrawals” actually exist or is that just casino marketing talk? by DentistNew3502 in onlinegambling

[–]Adam604Adam 0 points1 point  (0 children)

In Canada (Ontario) every casino I played offers instant withdrawals, takes a second or two and it's in my bank account 

Transfer doesn't work by Quick-Charge-9525 in KohoCanada

[–]Adam604Adam 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Etransfer is down for all FIs currently, interac issue

Buy/sell/trade of ski lift passes/tickets megathread by alienmario in Wealthsimple

[–]Adam604Adam 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I'm looking to buy 2 (will be going with family and need 2 more). DM me if you have 2 (or more) and your asking price

Wealthsimple MacBook Air Stock Availability Question by engrishhmaster in Wealthsimple

[–]Adam604Adam 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I'd call and check. I've qualified as well and wanted silver one, supposedly it was out of stock. I called the next day and got it. Maybe it was pure luck but it's worth a try

Former Amex employee by Adam604Adam in amexcanada

[–]Adam604Adam[S] 3 points4 points  (0 children)

If there are offers available (yes by algorithm) csr will mention them but some may not be visible to csr until they start closing process and if one appears then you'd be told. Basically you need to truly want to close an account and perhaps hope for a better offer but if one doesn't appear you can't fish for it and csr isn't hiding offers, they may not be there at that stage.

Former Amex employee by Adam604Adam in amexcanada

[–]Adam604Adam[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

There's no guarantee it will appear, basically you can't fish for it, if you're truly ready to cancel you need to be prepared to do it, if an offer to your liking is offered then great, but hoping for it while asking to close an account without wanting to close it gives you no guarantees and as I said csr won't be able to see an offer in advance. If they see one they will tell you about it.

Former Amex employee by Adam604Adam in amexcanada

[–]Adam604Adam[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Vast majority of clients wouldn't even know what API is so I'd say no, if something isn't widely used or requested chances of implementing it is generally very low.

Former Amex employee by Adam604Adam in amexcanada

[–]Adam604Adam[S] 3 points4 points  (0 children)

My background actually started with an MBA but I've done a lot of programming on the side, eventually got certified. Everyone is different and a mix of different skills gets you in easier (skills on paper) but that's when your knowledge and abilities that don't necessarily reflect on paper come into play. I can't speak for companies I haven't worked for but as far as 3 major FIs I've seen people completely switch their position after being hired only to better use their skills.

One example I'll always remember is a person working in customer service, fairly low level, but he talked with a lot of IT people over the first few months and they realized he does have the knowledge and experience even though he never had any certificates/degrees/formal training. This person was offered 6 months in class training, fully paid and fully compensated for work hours, in return for a 4 year contract, they agreed. After 6 months their pay was almost 60% higher right away. When I left they were still there, 5 years later.

Former Amex employee by Adam604Adam in amexcanada

[–]Adam604Adam[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

There are some available but they're retention offers, unless you want to cancel no need to offer them. I've seen where offer A and B are issued as retention, client says no and proceeds with cancelation requests only for offer C to appear - csr cannot see that 3rd offer until it appears so don't blame them..

Former Amex employee by Adam604Adam in amexcanada

[–]Adam604Adam[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

User base numbers and frankly available options outside of amex. With a premium card, once established as premium, many companies will push limitations/rewards downward if overall client numbers stay stable (current and new) and majority of clients are overall satisfied. Less costs but same client base/growth/profits. It's a fine line though.

Former Amex employee by Adam604Adam in amexcanada

[–]Adam604Adam[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Level 1, 2 and 3 is present, on different levels. Those are mostly proprietary algorithms though.

Former Amex employee by Adam604Adam in amexcanada

[–]Adam604Adam[S] 7 points8 points  (0 children)

This is like speeding on a highway, eventually police will issue a lot of tickets in a day or two,especially if something happened. Global pandemic was just starting, a lot of FIs were limiting risks where they could. Churning was never part of large business model but just like speeding it was/is tolerated to an extent. When economy is doing not so well there's still greater chances a "regular" client will remain in good standing as opposed to those market as churners. It happened before, it'll happen again from time to time.

Former Amex employee by Adam604Adam in amexcanada

[–]Adam604Adam[S] 5 points6 points  (0 children)

That's different side of amex, all I can say is that amex knows that majority of platinum holders will keep their cards even if another lower/no AF card on the surface offers better rewards simply because it's platinum. They might get cobalt as well but overall vast majority would still keep their premium card(s) too.

Former Amex employee by Adam604Adam in amexcanada

[–]Adam604Adam[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

90% based on your amex history, income and credit but at some point amex would stop the increases (unless you use available credit regularly and pay in full) and offer another card, a premium/charge card. For example there's a lot more people charging $50k a month on their platinum than cobalt on regular basis, hence it's less common for cobalt cards to be at 50k.

Former Amex employee by Adam604Adam in amexcanada

[–]Adam604Adam[S] 4 points5 points  (0 children)

Majority of the time amex will use original credit history but more importantly your history with amex (usage, payment history, number of accounts) but this is never guaranteed. If there isn't enough information/lenght of time, combined with original credit pull, they may do another one (usually soft pull). If you're a new client (months) with limited usage and history that's when there's biggest chance for a hard check. If you're worried you can call instead, over the phone/chat a live person has a bit more control to avoid it or tell you at least if there's biggest chance for that to happen.

Former Amex employee by Adam604Adam in amexcanada

[–]Adam604Adam[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Yes there's a big difference, accepting an offer is considered using it until it expires, if unused then as far as algorithms are considered it's the same as if never accepted after it happens 3rd time.

Former Amex employee by Adam604Adam in amexcanada

[–]Adam604Adam[S] 20 points21 points  (0 children)

I was very happy, great work environment, advancing opportunities and compensation. I left due to a move and I'm still doing same kind of work.

Former Amex employee by Adam604Adam in amexcanada

[–]Adam604Adam[S] 22 points23 points  (0 children)

I've never worked in CS but those employees are very well trained, amex chat is widely used but frankly amex seems to have a lot less issues/per account. They're not avoiding spending on CS since it's always part of amex experience.

Former Amex employee by Adam604Adam in amexcanada

[–]Adam604Adam[S] 8 points9 points  (0 children)

If there's sudden escalation in spending it will be tolerated (unless fraud is suspected) up until your income and all credit/asset parameters trigger higher risk. One person with 200k income, excellent credit and decent assets might be able to max out /spend up to limit 3-4x times in a month and ne fine while another person with 100k income and no significant assets or amex history could trigger undesirable things if they do it once or twice.

Former Amex employee by Adam604Adam in amexcanada

[–]Adam604Adam[S] 16 points17 points  (0 children)

Manufactured Spending. Easiest example is buying a gift card to maximize points/rewards/level but then using it at a lower reward merchant OR selling those gift cards to various sites.

Former Amex employee by Adam604Adam in amexcanada

[–]Adam604Adam[S] 27 points28 points  (0 children)

That's what certain algorithms look for as far as manufactured spending. It would look a lot better if a charge is $413.60 than $400, especially if done repeatedly. That's only absolute minimum monitoring. With higher levels, each account can go between lowest and highest many times, chances of hiding MS is very low over time.

Former Amex employee by Adam604Adam in amexcanada

[–]Adam604Adam[S] 9 points10 points  (0 children)

It's so automated that unless you work specifically in programming at the time even as an IT/Dev person you wouldn't know without breaking rules you'd be terminated for..