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AMEX charge cards

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Weights
Regular Contributor

AMEX charge cards

I apologize if there's been previous threads about this, but I just wanted to ask this more out of personal curiosity. For those that are interested in becoming an AMEX cardholder, I've seen other posts which suggest to apply for one of these, since these seem easier to obtain than a revolving account. In both your experience and knowledge, do all of their charge cards have the same requirements for qualification, or are there some that are easier to get than others? If so, would you list easiest to hardest? Thanks in advance. 

Message 1 of 19
18 REPLIES 18
laboi_22
Established Contributor

Re: AMEX charge cards

No AMEX product is easy to obtain. They are a prime bank and should be avoided if you don't have great credit. They are very picky. With that said, they are known to be a little more accepting if you have a positive history for a while even with baddies, but only for the Zync. That is somewhat one of their easiest products. The Zync is on a diffrent level than all the other charge cards. The Green, Gold, Plat, etc have all the same acceptance but the AF is where you see the difference. The Zync sometimes will come with a hard limit and not a no present spending limit (NSPL) and will require autopay setup if you have less than stellar credit. Again they are picky and they use their own internal scoring so it's not safe to speculate about one FICO score getting approved over the other.

Current Scores: EX - 728 FICO (5/11/13) TU - 771 FICO (7/02/13) EQ ??

Current Cards: Chase Freedom $5,000, CSP $5,700, BofA Visa Signature $15,000, AMEX BCE $6,000, Walmart $4,150, Gap Visa $10,000, JC Penny $5,800, Lowes $8,500, Dillard's AMEX $8,000, AMEX Hilton HHonors - $2,000, Chase United $12,000, Citi AAdvantage & Simplicity $6,000/$6,000, SPG AMEX $1,000
Message 2 of 19
Anonymous
Not applicable

Re: AMEX charge cards

I'd be willing to bet the approval criteria for the Green and Gold are absolutely identical.  A CSR told me once that an upgrade from Gold to PR Gold wasn't guaranteed, but honestly if it's not identical it's really close.  Same goes for Platinum, if it's not identical it's atleast very close.  The Zync may be a smidge easier than Green/Gold because of its target audience and the fact that Amex counteroffers a version with a hard credit limit.  Anyway, if there is an order of easiest to hardest it is Zync, Green, Gold, PR Gold, Platinum, just goes in ascending annual fee order.  If they aren't identical, they are close enough to just go for the one you want.

Message 3 of 19
jsucool76
Super Contributor

Re: AMEX charge cards

With the exception of (possibly) zync and (definitely) centurion, the UR criteria for the charge cards are basically identical. The only thing that would change IMO is income, for instance, I doubt they'll give a plat to a college student with a 15-20k stated income who also pays rent and everything like that. 

 

 

Message 4 of 19
LS2982
Mega Contributor

Re: AMEX charge cards


@Weights wrote:

I apologize if there's been previous threads about this, but I just wanted to ask this more out of personal curiosity. For those that are interested in becoming an AMEX cardholder, I've seen other posts which suggest to apply for one of these, since these seem easier to obtain than a revolving account. In both your experience and knowledge, do all of their charge cards have the same requirements for qualification, or are there some that are easier to get than others? If so, would you list easiest to hardest? Thanks in advance. 


The Zync, Green, Gold and PRG are all the same criteria. Plat has different criteria.

 

If you looking to get a revolver, you can go straight up app but you'll need:

 

-700 scores or very close to it

-no recent baddies

-Established credit lines 1 year or more good history (id say at least 2)

-not alot of recent INQ's

-overall util. below 30% (10% is better)

 

You can also get a charge product and hold it for a year and some of the bullets above are less likely to be needed because your AMEX risk internal score will be good with good payment history on the charge card.

 




EQ FICO 548 3/3/16
Message 5 of 19
Revelate
Moderator Emeritus

Re: AMEX charge cards

The Zync is the easiest card to obtain, the underwriting criteria for the NPSL is less than that of the higher tier charge cards, and that doesn't consider the counter-offers either.

 

6 months history on one tradeline is the minimum for a Zync.  I am fairly confident you cannot acquire a green or gold at that strata.  I also strongly suspect I would not have been approved for more than a Zync recently as my score was probably in the 640-650 range, and I wouldn't even take a pass at one of the higher ones without sitting at 660 really and we've seen some 635's and I think even a 626 FICO Zync approval previously.  Almost think a Delta co-branded revolver is on the same level as the Green et al. these days and I couldn't qualify for that right now, though it'd be possible in Oct/Nov and even likely in January if I applied.

 

 

 




        
Message 6 of 19
jamesdwi
Valued Contributor

Re: AMEX charge cards


@LS2982 wrote:

@Weights wrote:

I apologize if there's been previous threads about this, but I just wanted to ask this more out of personal curiosity. For those that are interested in becoming an AMEX cardholder, I've seen other posts which suggest to apply for one of these, since these seem easier to obtain than a revolving account. In both your experience and knowledge, do all of their charge cards have the same requirements for qualification, or are there some that are easier to get than others? If so, would you list easiest to hardest? Thanks in advance. 


The Zync, Green, Gold and PRG are all the same criteria. Plat has different criteria.

 

If you looking to get a revolver, you can go straight up app but you'll need:

 

-700 scores or very close to it

-no recent baddies

-Established credit lines 1 year or more good history (id say at least 2)

-not alot of recent INQ's

-overall util. below 30% (10% is better)

 

You can also get a charge product and hold it for a year and some of the bullets above are less likely to be needed because your AMEX risk internal score will be good with good payment history on the charge card.

 


Good income over 80k a year can make one or more of those requirement less of a requirement. I got my Amex blue revolver with 6-7 INQ's I had around a 720 score and was approved with a 6k CL. 

 

 

Cards: Chase Southwest 20k & CSR 17k & CSP 10k & FNBO 30k Oregon Duck 5k, & AMEX BCP 32.5k & Amex Magnet 15k&amg; Hilton Surpass 7.5k & Delta Gold 12k & Zync NPSL, Fidelity AMEX 17k Commerce5.9k & Cash Forward 7.5k & Sams Club MC 20k, Paypal Extras MC 10k, Paypal Credit 7.25k CapOne Venture 15k, QS 2.5k, QS 750, Amazon 10k, Walmart 10k, Citi Simplicity 18k, Discover IT 23k and a nice stack of store cards.
Landmarkcu Personal Loan 10k
Message 7 of 19
CreditScholar
Valued Contributor

Re: AMEX charge cards

I really don't think any of Amex's charge cards are diffifcult to obtain. The only times they are difficult are if you fall into one of the following categories:

 

- Your income is extremely low by their standards, which would likely be anything below 35-40k

- You've screwed up your credit in the past (bk, co, etc.). This is doubly true if you've burnt Amex previously

- You're very new to credit (TLs of less than 1 year or none at all)

 

Other than that they're not hard to get at all. The Zync by far is the easiest, since they do have hardlimit options that aren't available with the other charge cards. There have been reports of people getting approved with FICOs in the mid-600s, which is frankly pretty damned low.

 

The underwriting criteria for the rest are fairly similar, with the major differences being income and annual fees. Even the platinum isn't difficult to obtain. You can get one with a FICO of 680-700, a high income, and no recent/major derogs.

EX 798, EQ 789, TU 784
American Express Platinum (NPSL) || Bank of America Privileges with Travel Rewards Visa Signature - $23,200 CL
Barclays American Airlines Aviator Red World Elite Mastercard - $20,000 CL || Chase IHG Rewards World Mastercard - $25,000 CL
Chase Sapphire Preferred Visa Signature - $12,700 CL || Chase United MileagePlus Club World Elite MasterCard - $26,500 CL
Citibank Hilton Reserve Visa Signature - $20,000 CL || J.P. Morgan Ritz Carlton Visa Signature - $23,500 CL
Message 8 of 19
Revelate
Moderator Emeritus

Re: AMEX charge cards

CreditScholar brings up a good point (as usual, thank you); however, I think the Zync has a *much* lower "income requirement" than the other charge cards likely have.

 

Amex designed this card with students in mind is my understanding of it; they aren't likely to have much income at all and 10-20K income is likely enough to qualify for the card in some fashion.

 




        
Message 9 of 19
laboi_22
Established Contributor

Re: AMEX charge cards


@Revelate wrote:

CreditScholar brings up a good point (as usual, thank you); however, I think the Zync has a *much* lower "income requirement" than the other charge cards likely have.

 

Amex designed this card with students in mind is my understanding of it; they aren't likely to have much income at all and 10-20K income is likely enough to qualify for the card in some fashion.

 



@Revelate wrote:

CreditScholar brings up a good point (as usual, thank you); however, I think the Zync has a *much* lower "income requirement" than the other charge cards likely have.

 

Amex designed this card with students in mind is my understanding of it; they aren't likely to have much income at all and 10-20K income is likely enough to qualify for the card in some fashion.

 


I think the Zync according to the website is for the young generation 20s-30s some of those people might be in college, some might already be finished and making good income, and some might just be employed with college degrees. I got declined for the Zync with high income.

 

Don't forget AMEX is not as easy as everyone makes it. They also run check systems or telecheck or something like that and will decline you for those reasons. I had a payday loan from a long time ago show up on there. I could never get in with AMEX even with perfect credit because the kept giving me a decline because of checx systems or whatever. No other credit card that I know of uses these techiniques. You won't get approved unitl you deal with that problem first. I would call that being extra cautious if you ask me.

Current Scores: EX - 728 FICO (5/11/13) TU - 771 FICO (7/02/13) EQ ??

Current Cards: Chase Freedom $5,000, CSP $5,700, BofA Visa Signature $15,000, AMEX BCE $6,000, Walmart $4,150, Gap Visa $10,000, JC Penny $5,800, Lowes $8,500, Dillard's AMEX $8,000, AMEX Hilton HHonors - $2,000, Chase United $12,000, Citi AAdvantage & Simplicity $6,000/$6,000, SPG AMEX $1,000
Message 10 of 19
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