Milespot
🚫 Don’t Pay Your Spouse’s Amex Card
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milespot
28 days ago

🚫 Don’t Pay Your Spouse’s Amex Card

Paying your spouse’s Amex card might seem fine, and technically it works. But Amex can still treat it as a violation and shut down your account. Don’t get caught off guard: learn why this happens, how to protect your cards, and what kind of payments are actually allowed.

What Happened?

A few years ago, a UK community post discussed American Express’s payment policy. This information can still be found today on Amex UK’s official How to Make a Payment webpage.

But we live in the U.S., right? So what’s the problem? Recently, reports of actual shutdowns have resurfaced in online communities, drawing new attention to this issue. I’ve read as many related cases as I could find.

(While it’s still speculation,) here’s what I currently understand:

  • Amex does not automatically detect and penalize payments made from a bank account not under the cardholder’s name.
  • Most shutdown cases involved a financial review, during which Amex found that payments were made from someone else’s account.

Why Is It Risky?

Amex occasionally initiates a Financial Review of an account. This is a manual process, not something triggered automatically by their system.

During this review, Amex may ask you to submit the bank account information used to pay your bill. If the account is not under the cardholder’s name, this may trigger a problem.

When Does a Financial Review Happen?

A Financial Review by Amex isn’t random — it’s typically triggered by specific behavioral patterns or risk signals. The internal criteria are not public, but reviews are known to occur in situations like:

  • Spending a sudden or unusually large amount
  • Irregular payment behavior, such as frequently changing payment accounts or sudden changes to autopay
  • Suspected income misrepresentation or inconsistencies with credit information
  • Amex detecting suspicious activities (e.g., manufactured spending)

If a review begins, Amex may ask for:

  • Bank statements from recent months
  • Tax documents, such as tax returns or W-2s
  • Proof of account ownership for the payment source

You can refuse to provide documents, but in that case Amex may suspend transactions, shut down your account, and/or claw back your points.

How Can You Stay Safe?

The safest and most reliable method is to only make payments from a bank account under the same name as the cardholder. In short, if it’s your card, only pay with your own bank account.

Want to Pay from Your Spouse’s Account?

If you want to use your spouse’s bank account for payment:

  • Convert the account into a joint account. Many banks allow this online, and the process is simple.
  • Amex does not typically raise issues with joint accounts.
  • However, the account must clearly show both names, including the cardholder’s. Make sure your names are printed together on the bank statement.

What If a Financial Review Has Already Started?

If Amex has already requested documents for a financial review:

  1. Immediately convert the bank account into a joint account.
  2. Reprint the bank statement after the change. It must clearly show both account holders’ names.
  3. Submit the updated statement to prove the cardholder is listed on the account.