AMEX account closed - Recon denied

[Anonymous]

I wanted to say thanks to the forum for advice.  I filed Chapter 13 in 2005.  AMEX was part of that settlement.  I applied for the BCE and was denied.  I tried to recon and was denied again. 

I know my credit has gotten much better because in the last 30 days I recently applied for the Discover IT card and was approved $3K, Cit Diamond $3K, USAA Rewards Visa $4k, PenFed Visa $20K, Chase Sapphire $5K.  I had to recon on the Chase Sapphire because they were part of the BK settlement as well, Fortunately for me I had maintained a WAMU visa (Chase later purchased them) throughout the ordeal with a $5k limit, and a checking account with Chase so I think that might have made a big differnce.  So now i am off to the garden for a while to watch my credit grow.   

Does it matter if I try to apply for the AMEX charge card versus the credit card? 

I asked the agent am I blacklisted with them for life, and I got she responded that it depends, but she couldn't approve me at this point due to them cancelling my account. 

[LS2982]

AFAIK if you burn AMEX you have to repay your debt before theyll let you back into their good graces.

[Jamisonke]

I had a BkCh7 in 2002 which just fell off the reports last November. AMEX was part of the Bk and I tried apping for AMEX a couple of years ago - denied. They finally approved me for the Costco TE revolver after the Bk fell off my reports. I received the card, attempted to use it and it was declined. I called and was told the old charged off debt was linked to my new account and the underwriters needed to review the situation prior to a decision on whether or not I could, in fact, have an account (even though it had been approved). The process took about a week before they contacted me saying the old debt had been successfully unlinked from my account and I could use the card. They also backdated to 2000.

I now have AMEX Costco TE, AMEX BSP, AMEX Mercedes CC and AMEX PRG. FICO scores are around 720.

When I attempted a 61 day CLI on the AMEX Costco TE, it was denied. Apparently, the old charge off has me in a high risk category according to their internal data.

My understanding is that my experience getting back in with AMEX is unusual and YMMV.

[boomhower]

Yep, you have to pay them back before they will give you another card.  Amex gives second chances but they have to be paid first. 

[webhopper]

Amex is not what's known as BK friendly around these forums.

Best advice would be to focus on Chase, since you already have a good relationship from which to build.

[LS2982]

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@webhopper wrote:

Amex is not what's known as BK friendly around these forums.

Best advice would be to focus on Chase, since you already have a good relationship from which to build.

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If the OP pays back the debt they'll have a better chance of approval.

But I agree I would stick with Chase for the time being because you have a relationship with them.

[Jamisonke]

Just one note: I have not paid back the old charge off included in my Bk. If they asked me to do so, I'd tell them to go fly a kite. I have plenty of love from other lenders (Chase, Discover, Citi, Wells Fargo).

[LS2982]

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@Jamisonke wrote:
Just one note: I have not paid back the old charge off included in my Bk. If they asked me to do so, I'd tell them to go fly a kite. I have plenty of love from other lenders (Chase, Discover, Citi, Wells Fargo).

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I think your in that YMMV slipped through the cracks category. Hopefully they wont bring it up.

[Jamisonke]

That could be so. It also could be that they reevaluated me based upon significant income and the credit profile I have established. Honestly, though, who knows?

[LS2982]

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@Jamisonke wrote:
That could be so. It also could be that they reevaluated me based upon significant income and the credit profile I have established. Honestly, though, who knows?

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This is true too. AMEX is a different kind of beast they go all over the place with approvals, denials, FR's. You have to thick skinned to deal with them sometimes.