Just Got Amex Gold

[Miner]

I just got approved for a AMEX Gold card.  I've been getting their pre-approvals every month, all year, and my frig is covered with their magnets.  I finally gave in and applied when the latest one arrived today.  I should get it within the week.  If they weren't waiving the AF, I probably wouldn't have bothered since I normally am against AF cards.

My main reason for getting the card was because I've heard that they usually reage your accounts if you had an account before with them.  I'm trying to get Discover to delete the TL to remove all my 90+day lates which will reduce my credit history length from 18.5 to 12 years.  I use to have a green card that was opened in 1989, so this will actually gain me a year in my history and certainly help my average credit age.

I don't have any real plans to use this card much other then some minimum monthly activity.  However, what should I know to avoid getting FR and all those other negative things that Amex loves to do?  I don't want to have to call them or fax them any info for any reason.

Message Edited by Miner on 10-15-2008 12:54 PM

[haulingthescoreup]

Congrats; drooling at the thought of getting an account backdated to 1989!

First the don'ts:

Don't carry balances on non-AmEx cards; or at any rate, don't let them go any higher than whatever showed on your EX report today. I don't care if it's a 0% APR or BT, just don't.

Don't do cash advances, OMG. Sell plasma or something.

Don't open anything else for a while. Just sort of ease through the credit waters leaving a minimum wake.

Don't accept (at least for now) any offers from them to carry partial balances, skip payments, and other juicy apples.

Don't do anything that would hurt your scores --lates, util swings, all that fun stuff.

Don't call and pester them with anything for the first year --no cowboying around.

Don't live in a zip code with a high foreclosure rate, or work in the homebuilding or financial fields. Not a lot you can do there, I know.

Now the do's:

Use the card. Put one recurring charge on it (cell phone, etc.) And even though others say don't, air it out occasionally in your home turf. For the first couple of weeks, I called compulsively to let them know I was about to use it, until they finally kindly told me I didn't have to. And I did put some pretty decent one-time charges on it almost immediately: round trip ticket to Ireland, a block of hotel rooms, some restaurant adventures.

Pay it in full. I pay mine the day before the statement drops, so that I have a $0 balance report, but you probably don't have to. But they made cooing noises when I told them that that was my habit.

Call them if you are going to be using it out of your greater zip code area (a town several hundred miles away and so forth.)

Call if you have a genuine problem. I recently had an eBay charge with delivery to another country pop up on my online activity report, and they were fantastic at hunting it down with PayPal and so forth.

Carry a back-up card, because, well, you know.

Treat it like a long-term investment. It's not like a lottery ticket; it's like a stock or bond that you want to have work for you over the long run. And if (let's hope not) you do fall in their gunsights, treat it like one of your battered 401(k) goodies, and let it heal over time. There's no telling where American Express will be in a year or a month, so keep your options open.

Good luck!

[Anonymous]

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@haulingthescoreup wrote:

Don't do cash advances, OMG. Sell plasma or something.

LMAO!

That is all.

[GFer]

"Pay it in full. I pay mine the day before the statement drops, so that I have a $0 balance report, but you probably don't have to. But they made cooing noises when I told them that that was my habit."

LMAO....

[MattH]

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@Miner wrote:

I just got approved for a AMEX Gold card.  I've been getting their pre-approvals every month, all year, and my frig is covered with their magnets.  I finally gave in and applied when the latest one arrived today.  I should get it within the week.  If they weren't waiving the AF, I probably wouldn't have bothered since I normally am against AF cards.

My main reason for getting the card was because I've heard that they usually reage your accounts if you had an account before with them.  I'm trying to get Discover to delete the TL to remove all my 90+day lates which will reduce my credit history length from 18.5 to 12 years.  I use to have a green card that was opened in 1989, so this will actually gain me a year in my history and certainly help my average credit age.

I don't have any real plans to use this card much other then some minimum monthly activity.  However, what should I know to avoid getting FR and all those other negative things that Amex loves to do?  I don't want to have to call them or fax them any info for any reason.

Message Edited by Miner on 10-15-2008 12:54 PM

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If they re-age then probably the plastic itself will say "Member Since 89" as well.  There have been times when showing somebody my Amex Gold with "Member Since 82" has been useful.  As others have noted, do make sure to pay on time every time and don't go wild on purchases -- but DO use it regularly.

[Watchmann]

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If they re-age then probably the plastic itself will say "Member Since 89" as well.  There have been times when showing somebody my Amex Gold with "Member Since 82" has been useful.

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Really?  My card says Member since 1980 and it has never, ever, meant a darn thing to any merchant, anywhere.  It may help on the FICO score, but to a merchant all they care about is will the charge be approved.  Full stop.  There is no extra benefit in having an AMEX card with a long "Member Since" date when you are out on the street. 

Message Edited by Watchmann on 10-15-2008 08:23 PM

[wmarat]

Do not use it in liquor store.

Do not use it in tire shop.

Do not use it on adult sites.

Do not use it on-line

Do not use it in bars

Do not use it in man parlor

Do not use it for gambling

Do not use it for paying to shrink

Do not use it for paying to lawer

Do not use it for paying to family cancelor

Do not live in wrong zip code

Do not get morgage from the wrong lender

Be ready for FR.

[Miner]

Thanks for everyone's advice.  Fortunately my mortgage is with my CU and my zip doesn't currently have a lot of foreclosures; though of the 3 homes for sale in my tract, 1 is bank owned.

 Perhaps my safest path for the next few months is to use it at resturants only and maybe my phone bill.  Oh wait, utilities might be a no no since I might look desperate to pay my bills. ARGH!  What happened to the good ol' days when you could just charge what you wanted and not worry about such things?

Message Edited by Miner on 10-15-2008 10:35 PM

[Anonymous]

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@wmarat wrote:

Do not use it in liquor store.

Do not use it in tire shop.

Do not use it on adult sites.

Do not use it on-line

Do not use it in bars

Do not use it in man parlor

Do not use it for gambling

Do not use it for paying to shrink

Do not use it for paying to lawer

Do not use it for paying to family cancelor

Do not live in wrong zip code

Do not get morgage from the wrong lender

Be ready for FR.

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Why?  What does it matter what you use the card for?

[Anonymous]

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@Anonymous wrote:

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@wmarat wrote:

Do not use it in liquor store.

Do not use it in tire shop.

Do not use it on adult sites.

Do not use it on-line

Do not use it in bars

Do not use it in man parlor

Do not use it for gambling

Do not use it for paying to shrink

Do not use it for paying to lawer

Do not use it for paying to family cancelor

Do not live in wrong zip code

Do not get morgage from the wrong lender

Be ready for FR.

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Why?  What does it matter what you use the card for?

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It is no secret by now that AMEX will FR, CLD or shut your account down for doing any thing they consider risky behavior.