A man in Vermont, two days before embarking on an international trip, had all of his six credit cards suspended by American Express for no apparent reason, as he had never missed a payment. He was asked for his tax return and then told that the company would lift the suspension in 10 business days, which was unacceptable given his plans.
Brenley Carmine shared the very inopportune financial debacle on TikTok. He is a content creator focused on finance and credit card strategies. The video attached above became one of his most popular ones. It garnered 856,900 views, 91,600 likes, and more than 2,600 comments in about a day.
The Vermont man claimed that American Express (AMEX) had arbitrarily suspended all of his cards without notice. This came as a shock to him, as he described himself as a person who had “never missed a payment” or carried a balance. Most notably, this came at the worst time possible.
“I’ve been with American Express for five years. I have almost 900,000 points,” Brenley said. “[…] Mind you, this is a travel card, and I’m traveling internationally in two days.”
He then explained what had occurred. He got a call from AMEX telling him that he was being placed under financial review. Confused, he argued he had a spotless credit track record, but that didn’t matter. According to Brenley, the credit card company said that nothing triggered the review, but that it was a normal procedure for “every card member” at “some point in the life of their card.”
Financial Review
AMEX asked him to authorize the IRS to release his 2025 tax returns to AMEX for income verification. He agreed to do so, but once he hung up, AMEX suspended all of his cards immediately. Brenley filled out the form, submitted it, and called AMEX back. Shockingly, he was told his situation would be resolved in 10 business days. Again, he was two days away from travelling internationally at the time.
In shock, Brenley called a third time, again asking if something triggered the financial review. He was told nothing did, with AMEX saying, according to him, “We just wanna make sure that all is good in terms of how we can support your spending and that your income is verified.”
Despite the claim, the Vermont man believes the financial review was actually triggered by a 2025 job change and a two-week gap between jobs. Furthermore, in a follow-up clip, an AMEX employee told him that he would be “good for a year” after the financial review wraps up. This means that another suspension could happen down the line.
Reactions
Viewers were shocked by Brenley’s card situation. One said, “Cancel them. That’s ridiculous.” Another one commented, “If you’re paying it off, they aren’t making money off you.”
Other users tried to theorize what motivated AMEX to do such a thing. One wrote, “Financial risk management. Sign of recession coming.” Another one added, “Multiple payments in a short period, unusual spending patterns, sudden increases in spending, etc. can all be triggers.”
While AMEX was his primary bank, Brenley does have other cards with other banks. Fortunately, this means he will get to enjoy his trip without all his financial capabilities being placed on hold.
