AMEX Gold the TRUTH

[danisgods]

so, whats the truth about this card?

is there a minimum income requirement ?

thats the minimum FICO score to get one of those?

they say its a charge card, therefore, its got no limit, but how does it really work? what if im approved received the card and try to charge let's say 5k in my frist charge, what would happen?

how much can you usually spend monthly with it? average , because i know it depends on your spending habits....

thanks guys.

[alph4]

I don't know if there are any solid income requirements. Others might know better.  I've read posts of individuals with high 600s scores or low 700s being accepted. 

You'd definitely want to do the pre-approved soft pull offers to see whether you might get anything.  That's probably going to be your best judgement. However, being pre-approved is not approved by any measure.

"No pre-set spending limit" means AmEx uses their computer each time you make a purchase to determine whether or not to approve it for you.  Your account has an internal limit that you can't see.  They want to see you have the ability to pay it off, since you cannot carry a balance on a charge card, and all charges are immediately due in full upon the statement closing (with the normal 20ish day grace period.)  Most of what I've read you usually want to start small, around $300-$500 the first month, and then gradually build it up.

I wouldn't try to put a $5k charge on it the first time you use it, as that may not only be rejected but red flag your account for financial review.

[Creditaddict]

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@danisgods wrote:

so, whats the truth about this card?

is there a minimum income requirement ?

thats the minimum FICO score to get one of those?

they say its a charge card, therefore, its got no limit, but how does it really work? what if im approved received the card and try to charge let's say 5k in my frist charge, what would happen?

how much can you usually spend monthly with it? average , because i know it depends on your spending habits....

thanks guys.

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lately I have seen as low as 650 Approved for Amex Charge cards, they are pushing the Zync even more but Gold is free for first year.

Don't think it really has a min income requirement

When you get it you can log in online and do test charges, the amount you can charge will go up each month after a successful payment. some people get it and can't charge 1k on it, others have gotten it and done test charges for 10k and it went through, but they love you to use it and they will usually adjust your spending ability quickly if you are using it a lot and making payments quickly

[Creditaddict]

The other thing Amex has been doing lately on some accounts, like the one I manage and use is set a hard limit on the charge card that can be viewed to you online.  I was told they review these hard limits every 6 months or so and may remove them all together or increase them over time.  I actually like the hard limit better then the internal line that you don't know because I don't have to worry about the card every being declined if I'm below this hard limit.

[danisgods]

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@Creditaddict wrote:

The other thing Amex has been doing lately on some accounts, like the one I manage and use is set a hard limit on the charge card that can be viewed to you online.  I was told they review these hard limits every 6 months or so and may remove them all together or increase them over time.  I actually like the hard limit better then the internal line that you don't know because I don't have to worry about the card every being declined if I'm below this hard limit.

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for this hard limit, do you call them and ask as of an option? how do you choose to get that instead of the internal line one?!!!

great info guys...

[Creditaddict]

it's actually more of a punishment from amex, it means they are watching you and your credit very closely... but it works easier for me personally to know exactly what i can spend.

[Anonymous]

In the fall of 2008, they cut my Amex Gold limit to about $300 above what I had on the card at the time. This was a big problem for me, because I use the card for travel for work. Anyway, three months later they cut it down again, and then twice more over the next few months. At one point, I was basically paying the card off every 10 days to make sure I had enough credit. Finally, in Feb. or March, they raised my limit by $1000, then a month or so afterwards, removed the limit entirely.

When it happened the first time, I called to ask if they could raise my limit, and a very "helpful" German-sounding customer service person lectured me on how to manage my credit, etc. What a jerk.

Keep in mind that the last time I didn't pay my Amex bill (well, I've always paid it, but I might have been a few days late once) was probably over ten years ago. And I don't have any other missed payments on anything since the 90s.

[JagerBombs89]

I just recently got the gold card and my FICOs are listed below... I don't think it really matters as they pull EX anyways... 

I put down income @ $43k annually and so far, I have "tested my spending ability" and got approved up to $15,000.

[danisgods]

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@JagerBombs89 wrote:

I just recently got the gold card and my FICOs are listed below... I don't think it really matters as they pull EX anyways... 

@I put down income @ $43k annually and so far, I have "tested my spending ability" and got approved up to $15,000.

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how'd you know they pull EX ?

Is this testing the spending limit, just an estimate? or it is for sure it is gonna go through?

[alph4]

American Express will almost always pull Experian.  AmEx has it's own scoring system based off an Experian report.

And the testing spending ability is a way for the consumer to do a "test charge" through their card to see if it would be approved.  All else being equal, it should be accurate.  I'm sure it was brought about partly because AmEx CSRs complained of the repetitive calls from customers about test charging their limits.