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Movingforward- Thank you for the kind words. I find this a bit weird, but a few nights ago at work I had a customer come in, and after eating and taking care of them, I had them come up forward to pay and they left me a really nie tip, then they asked to bring my boss forward and the customer I was such a sweet guy and always doing what I could to make everything memorable for them...so I do thank you for the words and I do appreciate them. I do my best to be nice to everyone I can be and I can only hope to get that back in return. Yes cancer was very hard to fight, my grandpa, lord bless him, was 88 when he passed away. He had developed some type of cancer that pretty much attacked his bones and slowly worked it's way into his heart, and he finally passed away. I also lost my best friend in elementary school to Leukemia, he passed away in 7th garde (so it's been about 8 years since then.) I also had the unfortunance of losing another of my friends to a car accident, the same year my grandpa passed away but in January. We were t-boned in an intersection, and he wasn't wearing his seatbelt. I did what I could to save him, but he died on the way to the hospital. I feel guilty still that I could have done more...but I've moved on. I figured everything in life, there will come a storm and then it will pass again.
And thank you, I'm hoping things work as well. Do you think my strategy that I posted will work out or not.
@bluesnowman wrote:LS- Yeah I'll use it, I'm just too lazy to use the Quote button..lol
Enharu- That does sound like a good deal! I'll look into it when I start apping, do you think they would approve me though with the stats I have? So when should I apply for Amex? at the end of this month (towards the 25th, and leave a small balance or not?)? Should I go for the BCE and Delta Gold, and maybe try for the SPG too? are my scores good enough to be approved for any of the three. Like I said, I mainly want the BCE, but if it helps getting another Amex card or two I'm all for it, I am considering going up to a max of 5 inquires on each bureau. And yes, I shall see what happens If I am approved .
the thank you premium is a NPSL card, and based upon what other's said and what I've read, getting that card isn't going to be easy. Your chances of getting a BCE/BCP is going to be much much higher compared to this card with your profile at this time. This card is Citi's 2nd best card in their entire lineup, with the best being the Prestige with has a $400+ AF. I would recommend you apply one at a time, and go easy on trying to get lots of AMEX cards. You don't want to get into any FR trouble with AMEX as well. You can start with the BCE, and if you are not approved, apply for the Delta next month. If you are approved for 1, wait 3-6months before you try to apply another.
Because you are still a student with very low income, on top of your thin credit file, a lot of credit cards will not be available to you now. After you graduate and have a much higher income, most of the cards are easily attainable, so there's no need to panic nor worry. Make sure u do well at school and land a good job!!! Income is almost as equally important as whatever is in your credit report and your credit score.
I understand that it will not be easy to get the card, Citi can be kind of tough to get approved with and I realize that. And that's fine rather keep my goals rather simple for now and when my income goes up I'll go for some more higher end cards. I don't want too many Amex cards, maybe 2-3 at the most. And yes I don't want any trouble with FR either, I mean I have the income and tax returns to prove it, but I would rather not go through the hassle of going through it, and the minute they do that, I'm going close my accounts with them, too much of a hassle and too intrusive for a credit card IMHO. I have to wait for a month If I don't get approved? I can't go for 2 cards at once? and yes I will plan to wait for three to six months if I do get approved.
And yeah, I realize that my income is a bit of an issue, but I am hoping over time it will increase and my credit will still be in good shape. And I realize that yhere won't be too many cards available to me either. And I'm not worried, right now I'm just trying to gauage where I am now after 1 year of starting to build my credit and see what I can and can't be approved for right now. Actually right now, I am thinking about going into real estate (maybe becoming a loan broker or something related to that) or I want to work as an underwriter/credit analyst for a CC like Amex or Discover or Chase. My dream job. however, is to work for the California Highway Patrol. Ever since I was little boy I was fascinated by that type of job and one of my friend'd dad was a motor officer and I always thought it would be a great career, I've also been ridealongs and was an explorer so I know what I'm getting myself into. They are not hiring right now, so for now, I am thinking about going into those types of jobs right until the CHP starts hiring, which could be in another 6 months to a year. In the beginning most officers make about 55k and at top step it's about 78k gross, which should get me approved for most cards right? as an underwriter I think or a Loan officer I was researching make about 53k a year. So yeah, those are the types of careers I am interested in/looking into right now. And yeah you're right, income plays a big factor when trying to get credit.
@bluesnowman wrote:I understand that it will not be easy to get the card, Citi can be kind of tough to get approved with and I realize that. And that's fine rather keep my goals rather simple for now and when my income goes up I'll go for some more higher end cards. I don't want too many Amex cards, maybe 2-3 at the most. And yes I don't want any trouble with FR either, I mean I have the income and tax returns to prove it, but I would rather not go through the hassle of going through it, and the minute they do that, I'm going close my accounts with them, too much of a hassle and too intrusive for a credit card IMHO. I have to wait for a month If I don't get approved? I can't go for 2 cards at once? and yes I will plan to wait for three to six months if I do get approved.
And yeah, I realize that my income is a bit of an issue, but I am hoping over time it will increase and my credit will still be in good shape. And I realize that yhere won't be too many cards available to me either. And I'm not worried, right now I'm just trying to gauage where I am now after 1 year of starting to build my credit and see what I can and can't be approved for right now. Actually right now, I am thinking about going into real estate (maybe becoming a loan broker or something related to that) or I want to work as an underwriter/credit analyst for a CC like Amex or Discover or Chase. My dream job. however, is to work for the California Highway Patrol. Ever since I was little boy I was fascinated by that type of job and one of my friend'd dad was a motor officer and I always thought it would be a great career, I've also been ridealongs and was an explorer so I know what I'm getting myself into. They are not hiring right now, so for now, I am thinking about going into those types of jobs right until the CHP starts hiring, which could be in another 6 months to a year. In the beginning most officers make about 55k and at top step it's about 78k gross, which should get me approved for most cards right? as an underwriter I think or a Loan officer I was researching make about 53k a year. So yeah, those are the types of careers I am interested in/looking into right now. And yeah you're right, income plays a big factor when trying to get credit.
i think it is best you go for 1 app at a time, regardless of approval.
and some people said that amex only allows 1 app per 30 days for 1 type of account (i.e. 1 for charge, 1 for revolver, 1 for business, etc). not sure if true.
but the main point is that you don't want to seem like you're desperate for credit by amex.
Sometimes when people get FR'ed, they still get CLD or account closure even though they sent in the documents. FR is often confused with income verification. Both are technically considered as financial review but the FR people are scared of isn't just about income verification. Most of the people who get FR'ed, other than for income verification, get some kind of AA taken against them.
There's really no need nor justification for you to apply more than 1 card at once, or trying to get so many different cards with Amex over a short period of time. This is going to be hard to explain to any underwriter especially when you are just a student with 10k+ income. They do not consider "I'm just trying to increase my credit report / score / history, or lower my utilization" as a valid reason. There's another post on the forums just today about someone who had all his AMEX accounts closed by AMEX for opening and trying to open too many accounts over a short period of time.
like others have said, there's nothing much you need to do, other than to wait. AAoA and account history takes time to build up. There's no real shortcut nor express lane. There's been many shortcuts/exploits (such as the AU trick), but most don't end well if discovered by the banks.
50-70k income will qualify u for most cards, but it also depends on your dispensible income (i.e. money left after taxes, rent/mortage, loan payments etc). Overall, you are in very good shape for where you are right now. You really need to let your account age. I know the feeling of just wanting that top tier card right now. I want my amex BCP and cash+ too. However trying to rush and get those cards right away might just make everything worse.
Enharu- I see. It looks like then at the end of this month, I'll leave a small balance on one of my cards and try for the BCE (maybe 26th-27th) pay it off and then apply for it. If not, I'll wait a month, go for the Gold Delta and see if they approve that. Does that sound like a good plan for now? And yeah, I agree, I don't want to come across as desperate for credit, especially by Amex. I see your point, and I've learned my lesson to go 1 card at a time, and not apply for so many in a short period of time, and yeah giving an underwriter that type of excuse probably won't help me get a card. I can't imagine it ending well either if they found out, so I'll take your advice and just keep paying on time and maybe in a year or two my situation credit wise will be better and I'll get every card I want. I figure after I apply for the BCE/Delta, I'm not going to app anything for a while, and I'll take a chance with Chase and see if they will approve me this month, if not I'll burn an inquiry and probably apply again in a year or so once my scores will be higher and AAOA will be better. And I see that the key is to be patient, because if I do, my chances of getting the cards I really want will improve and it make it much easier to get credit, all in all, I'd rather keep my credit as pretty as it can be and not go to fast and make it less likely to be approved. So I hope my plan or now sounds reasonable and apping times sound reasonable as well, if so, I'll app on the 26th or 27th of this month and depending on what happens, I'll put myself back on the garden for a while. Does that sound okay?
yea your plan sounds great. i would hold off on the Chase until end of the year though, unless you really don't mind a toy limit card or burning an inquiry. It's kinda a waste though IMO for chase because their cards really don't grow with you. Only way it grows is to apply for other cards with them or to burn another HP, so you're essentially wasting inquiries for no reason. Keep in mind inquiries stay on for 2 years, so in 1.5 years from now you might have other plans and need a certain card to complement your needs.
Best of luck with your amex app and keep us informed!
Enharu- Alright, I think it is best if I wait until, say the end of December to apply for Chase? like before Christmas? hopefully then I would be approved and not given much of a toy limit, + it'd be a nice christmas present...lol. That's true, things could change and I might need different cards. And I will. I'll come inform you guys of what happened during the application, and I am hoping very much so that how my credit is now, I will be approved (maybe not instantly, but an approval is an approval.)
Movingfoward- I hope so, that my chances are good for getting another Amex since I already have one. I am considering closing my PRG though, because I just don't spend enough to make it worthwhile, and maybe I'll be re-allowed to open it once my income is higher. I mainly got it to get my foot in the door with them. My Amex was opened in November 2012. So it's only been about 4 1/2-5 months since I've had it. I don't want them to start me at a lower limit either, but I truly want their card, and I'll take a low limit for now and then from then on I'm hoping once my income gets better I will be able ask them for a CLI (by then 2 years will have elapsed, and I'll take the inquiry for it then.) If they choose not to me approve me now either, I'll wait 6 more months and then try again. Ahh I see about that, I just want enough credit for about 1/2 of my income. Then I'll just stop apping until I graduate or land a better paying job. I don't plan on using all of those cards either, I have developed a system of which card I'd use and in what situation, so I'll keep my debt low. Heck, there are times when I pull out cash so I'm not tempted to put everything on a card, even though it is easier. That's true, and I'm going to do my best to keep my debt as low as possible when I'm looking for a job, and you never know with this economy. Primarily, I wanted the BCE to be my backup gas card, so while I'm paying Cash Rewards card, I'm still to fill up my tank and then easily pay it off, and maybe use it for small purchases here and there. The Freedom was for the categories really. Southwest (there are some people on the forums that have been approved for it with 2-3k limits.) and SPG were for the airlines/hotels (my family and I also stay at Marriott, but there is no chance I'd be approved for that right now.) Fidelity was for the Cash back, if I opened with them, but I'll wait on that for now. I don't intend to max out my cards, and if I do use a card, I fully intend to pay it off ASAP. No tbh, I don't think it's realistic to obtain all of them right now, maybe one day, but not now. Aww, movingforward, I'm not that old (I turn 20 next month), and of course I will take your words into consideration, you've been through some of what I'm going through so you know what I mean. Yes I always thought the same thing, It is all god's will and if they were meant to go now, then it was meant to happen. And I do my best to move on and not think about it not beat myself up over it becuase I did what I could, it's tough but it's life. I do thank you for the kind words, and sorry about the long post..lol
bumping again..lol.