American Express Optima: Keep, Cancel, Change

[Anonymous]

Update: I accomplished one of my goals. I clicked on a TPG link for PRG 25K for $2K and it opened up a page with 50K for $1K. Apped and approved. So, now I've got MR and UR.

[sjt]

Congrats!

[Anonymous]

I came across your post and noticed your recent success...congrats on that.  There seems to be a lot of outdated info out there so I thought I would share my experience as it's similar to yours. 

I had an old Blue card that I had to let go during the dark days of the recession.  I eventually paid it off through their collection agency and even paid the 1099 that was issued to me.  Once I was back on my feet, Amex sent me an application for the Optima Card stating that it was part of the judgement ordered against them....essentially they didn't inform me at the time my Blue card was cancelled that I might not be able to be approved for another Amex product.  So I mailed in the application, and they approved me for the Optima Card.  The card arrived via UPS next day, came with a $500 limit, no annual fee, and to my surprise....was enrolled in Membership Rewards. I noticed at that time my old Blue fell off my credit reports.  I decided not to go through all the backdating hassle.  If Amex was willing to give me another chance, I said let bygones be bygones.

I was very hesitant to apply for another Amex product because of what I had read on here regarding needing to close the card first before submitting an app, etc. etc.  I decided to eschew all the comments and take a chance.  To my surprise, after a year of on time, paid in full, payments with the Optima card, I was approved for a Green Card with a score of 650.  A year later of perfect payment history with the Green Card, I was approved for the Hilton Hhonors Card and the Everyday Card at the same time.  My experian score according to Amex is about 680 now...which they say is "good".  Each time I used the App for current card holders and all the Member Since Dates are of the date of receiving my Optima Card.  I still have the Optima.  This month's closing date marks 3 years of having it which Amex told me that up until that point I wouldn't be eligible for a CLI. So I'm waiting to see if they tell me anything regarding the card.  I use it occasionally, last month I bought a latte at starbucks and received a statement for $4 :-P.  Recently I received a letter in the mail from Amex explaining that I'm eligible to upgrade my Green card to The Platinum Card.  I'm not ready to take on the hefty annual fee yet but perhaps in the future....it's at the very least, nice to know that things have improved.  Re-establishing my credit has been a frustrating process but it can be done. 

[Anonymous]

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@Anonymous wrote:

I came across your post and noticed your recent success...congrats on that.  There seems to be a lot of outdated info out there so I thought I would share my experience as it's similar to yours. 

I had an old Blue card that I had to let go during the dark days of the recession.  I eventually paid it off through their collection agency and even paid the 1099 that was issued to me.  Once I was back on my feet, Amex sent me an application for the Optima Card stating that it was part of the judgement ordered against them....essentially they didn't inform me at the time my Blue card was cancelled that I might not be able to be approved for another Amex product.  So I mailed in the application, and they approved me for the Optima Card.  The card arrived via UPS next day, came with a $500 limit, no annual fee, and to my surprise....was enrolled in Membership Rewards. I noticed at that time my old Blue fell off my credit reports.  I decided not to go through all the backdating hassle.  If Amex was willing to give me another chance, I said let bygones be bygones.

I was very hesitant to apply for another Amex product because of what I had read on here regarding needing to close the card first before submitting and app, etc. etc.  I decided to eschew all the comments and take a chance.  To my surprise, after a year of on time, paid in full, payments with the Optima card, I was approved for a Green Card with a score of 650.  A year later of perfect payment history with the Green Card, I was approved for the Hilton Hhonors Card and the Everyday Card.  My experience score according to Amex is about 680...which they say is "good".  Each time I used the App for current card holders and all the Member Since Dates are of the date of receiving my Optima Card.  I still have the Optima.  This month's closing date marks 3 years of having it which Amex told me that up until that point I wouldn't be eligible for a CLI. So I'm waiting to see if they tell me anything regarding the card.  I use it occasionally, last month I bought a latte at starbucks and received at statements for $4 :-P.  Recently I received a letter in the mail from Amex explaining that I'm eligible to upgrade my Green card to The Platinum Card.  I'm not ready to take on the hefty annual fee yet but perhaps in the future....it's at the very least, nice to know that things have improved.  Re-establishing my credit has been a frustrating process but it can be done. 

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Thank you for your post. I just paid off my AMEX Blue charge off from 2009 this past Friiday (whew!!) and they said my Optima application should arrive in 30-90 days - does it really take that long?!?!?!  Also, how long until your credit reports updated?  I've been making monthly payments for 6 months until I got my tax refund and could pay the balance in full and they've been updating those payments a day or two after they  post.  However, they said it would take 30-45 days for my PIF to update. I have other negatives still reporting (should all fall off my March 2017) so I don't expect a big boost, but it will be one less charged off account reporting anyway.  

Anyway, this is good to hear, and I have been hearing it on here, that AMEX will let you keep the Optima along with another approval and that they may grant a CLI after a year.  I am so very grateful to t hem for giving me another chance.  Citi and Chase could learn a thing or two.  

Congrats on your other approvals too!!

[Anonymous]

I feel your frustration.  It's a slow process but things do get better.   I didn't receive the app for the Optima Card until 3 years AFTER paying off the settlement with the Blue Card.  It literally came out of nowhere.  The old account fell off my report about the same time that the Optima was open.  After you mail in the app it took about 2 weeks for it to be processed.   My relationship with Amex is good again.  Their customer service is always excellent, I've never had any problems....even on the Optima Card.  Just take very good care of it, and be patient.  Things do get better.

[sjt]

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@Anonymous wrote:

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@Anonymous wrote:

I came across your post and noticed your recent success...congrats on that.  There seems to be a lot of outdated info out there so I thought I would share my experience as it's similar to yours. 

I had an old Blue card that I had to let go during the dark days of the recession.  I eventually paid it off through their collection agency and even paid the 1099 that was issued to me.  Once I was back on my feet, Amex sent me an application for the Optima Card stating that it was part of the judgement ordered against them....essentially they didn't inform me at the time my Blue card was cancelled that I might not be able to be approved for another Amex product.  So I mailed in the application, and they approved me for the Optima Card.  The card arrived via UPS next day, came with a $500 limit, no annual fee, and to my surprise....was enrolled in Membership Rewards. I noticed at that time my old Blue fell off my credit reports.  I decided not to go through all the backdating hassle.  If Amex was willing to give me another chance, I said let bygones be bygones.

I was very hesitant to apply for another Amex product because of what I had read on here regarding needing to close the card first before submitting and app, etc. etc.  I decided to eschew all the comments and take a chance.  To my surprise, after a year of on time, paid in full, payments with the Optima card, I was approved for a Green Card with a score of 650.  A year later of perfect payment history with the Green Card, I was approved for the Hilton Hhonors Card and the Everyday Card.  My experience score according to Amex is about 680...which they say is "good".  Each time I used the App for current card holders and all the Member Since Dates are of the date of receiving my Optima Card.  I still have the Optima.  This month's closing date marks 3 years of having it which Amex told me that up until that point I wouldn't be eligible for a CLI. So I'm waiting to see if they tell me anything regarding the card.  I use it occasionally, last month I bought a latte at starbucks and received at statements for $4 :-P.  Recently I received a letter in the mail from Amex explaining that I'm eligible to upgrade my Green card to The Platinum Card.  I'm not ready to take on the hefty annual fee yet but perhaps in the future....it's at the very least, nice to know that things have improved.  Re-establishing my credit has been a frustrating process but it can be done. 

---

Thank you for your post. I just paid off my AMEX Blue charge off from 2009 this past Friiday (whew!!) and they said my Optima application should arrive in 30-90 days - does it really take that long?!?!?!  Also, how long until your credit reports updated?  I've been making monthly payments for 6 months until I got my tax refund and could pay the balance in full and they've been updating those payments a day or two after they  post.  However, they said it would take 30-45 days for my PIF to update. I have other negatives still reporting (should all fall off my March 2017) so I don't expect a big boost, but it will be one less charged off account reporting anyway.  

Anyway, this is good to hear, and I have been hearing it on here, that AMEX will let you keep the Optima along with another approval and that they may grant a CLI after a year.  I am so very grateful to t hem for giving me another chance.  Citi and Chase could learn a thing or two.  

Congrats on your other approvals too!!

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It usually takes 2-4 weeks to get the application. Once you receive the application and mail it off it will be an additional 7-10 days before you get the card.

Regarding the credit report. That can take between 30-60 days before it shows up as paid status. Interesting thing about Amex is that when they update it will show that it was "paid after charge off" and zero out the balance, but they remove the previous lates that they been reporting monthly. I have heard that they eventually remove the tradeline but Im not sure they do that anymore and you can not request to have it done.

[sjt]

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@Anonymous wrote:

I came across your post and noticed your recent success...congrats on that.  There seems to be a lot of outdated info out there so I thought I would share my experience as it's similar to yours. 

I had an old Blue card that I had to let go during the dark days of the recession.  I eventually paid it off through their collection agency and even paid the 1099 that was issued to me.  Once I was back on my feet, Amex sent me an application for the Optima Card stating that it was part of the judgement ordered against them....essentially they didn't inform me at the time my Blue card was cancelled that I might not be able to be approved for another Amex product.  So I mailed in the application, and they approved me for the Optima Card.  The card arrived via UPS next day, came with a $500 limit, no annual fee, and to my surprise....was enrolled in Membership Rewards. I noticed at that time my old Blue fell off my credit reports.  I decided not to go through all the backdating hassle.  If Amex was willing to give me another chance, I said let bygones be bygones.

I was very hesitant to apply for another Amex product because of what I had read on here regarding needing to close the card first before submitting an app, etc. etc.  I decided to eschew all the comments and take a chance.  To my surprise, after a year of on time, paid in full, payments with the Optima card, I was approved for a Green Card with a score of 650.  A year later of perfect payment history with the Green Card, I was approved for the Hilton Hhonors Card and the Everyday Card at the same time.  My experian score according to Amex is about 680 now...which they say is "good".  Each time I used the App for current card holders and all the Member Since Dates are of the date of receiving my Optima Card.  I still have the Optima.  This month's closing date marks 3 years of having it which Amex told me that up until that point I wouldn't be eligible for a CLI. So I'm waiting to see if they tell me anything regarding the card.  I use it occasionally, last month I bought a latte at starbucks and received a statement for $4 :-P.  Recently I received a letter in the mail from Amex explaining that I'm eligible to upgrade my Green card to The Platinum Card.  I'm not ready to take on the hefty annual fee yet but perhaps in the future....it's at the very least, nice to know that things have improved.  Re-establishing my credit has been a frustrating process but it can be done. 

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Amex has started to revise and remove restrictions on their Optima Recovery Card Product. It used to be that you were not eligible for a CLI and had to close your Optima Card before you cauld apply for another card product. About 2 years ago they revised their policy to having the card for 12 months before you can apply for a CLI or another product withut closing your Optima Card. Now they seem to lift the restrictions that previouly applied to the card.

Keep in mind that there are two versions of the Optima Recovery Card. The first version is the "original" where you pay the full balance of your defaulted account Amex account and then you would be offered the Optima Card with a credit line of $500-5000, $49 annual fee and no membership rewards. The second version was a result of a settlement with the CFPB. That Optima Card version had a credit line between $500-1500, 9% APR, no annual fee, and a no fee membership rewards. It also mandates a 3 year waiting period for CLI.

[Anonymous]

So I dug out the letter that they sent along with the application.  They just called it "Optima Card from American Express".  It just says it's in response to the lawsuit from the FDIC, etc.  Says depending on my application I would be given a credit limit of either $500 or $1000.  Also says that the account will not be elligible for a credit limit increase for 36 mos after account opening.  0% apr for 12 mos. fixed apr of 7.24% thereafter.  Further states card comes with enrollment in Membership Rewards Program with no annual fee.  Then it gave me a deadline of when the application had to be received.