Amex revolvers

[watch44]

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@takeshi74 wrote:

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@youngandcreditwrthy wrote:

Idk, backdating confuses me. People on here say it's best app in Jan for "maximum backdating" but I still don't get that.. Maybe someone else can chime in.

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It's actually very straightforward.  January is earlier than any other month in the year.  Therefore, applying in January means that the card is backdated to January of your member since date, which factors in the maximum number of months into your AAoA.  If you applied in December then 11 less months would factor into your AAoA.

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I was confused by this January business too until I read: 

http://ficoforums.myfico.com/t5/Credit-Cards/Amex-and-Backdating/m-p/1124183#M313583

AMEX backdates to the new product's month and first product's year, not first product's month & year (which is how I assumed it worked). 

[youngandcreditwrthy]

What is confusing is this:
I app'ed in JUNE 2013, was approved, and it was BACKDATED TO June 2012.
So if I had app'ed in Jan 2013, it would have been backdated to Jan 2012, right?
There's still a year of history regardless. I'll check that post but I dont see how, in present time, you come out ahead... Makes no sense.
:-)

[youngandcreditwrthy]

Oh wait! Got it, I think. Perhaps I'll have to test this "theory" lol
So, all accounts post first amex get backdated to the orginal opening member year? That's rad!

[ryanbush]

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@Walt_K wrote:

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@fittiger wrote:

My opinion is the same as jenn_barr's.

It really depends on what you want to use these cards for and how much you would be flying delta.  If you fly Delta once a year with a companion I say go for the Delta Gold and PC to Platinum after a year as RyanBush suggested.  If you fly Delta often and book through delta.com, then it might be worth it regardless.

Otherwise, the SPG has the same reward bonus of 1x on all regular purchases, and can transfer to multiple airline programs with a 5,000 point bonus when you transfer 20,000 points; which ups the bonus to 1.25x.  If you are interested in the SPG for award stays at SPG hotels, take a moment to look into hotels you might want to book and see what's available for reward stays.  I've been a little disappointed with the option to pay with "Cash & Points" or even find award room availability.  It seems you have to book these far in advance (i'm talking a year sometimes) to find this availability.

...

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Cash & Points availability can be hard to find sometimes, but you should continue to check periodically.  It doesn't just open up far out, it also may open up close in.  If you have a cancelable rate, for example, if you booked on points, you may see Cash & Points open up closer to your date of travel and then you can change your reservation.

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I've had good luck calling the hotel and getting availability where there was nothing open online, remember SPG hotels are privately owned like franchises.  So if they have plenty of availabilty and think you are only going to stay if you can use Cash and Points they will open it up for you.

[watch44]

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@youngandcreditwrthy wrote:
What is confusing is this:
I app'ed in JUNE 2013, was approved, and it was BACKDATED TO June 2012.
So if I had app'ed in Jan 2013, it would have been backdated to Jan 2012, right?
There's still a year of history regardless. I'll check that post but I dont see how, in present time, you come out ahead... Makes no sense.
:-)

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I think it's only relevant if you're considering app'ing in the late months, like Sep-Dec. Then it'd prob be better to wait until Jan and pick up the max backdating. Telling someone who's ready to app in April to wait until January of next year seems silly. June OTOH, is borderline imo.

[Walt_K]

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@watch44 wrote:

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@youngandcreditwrthy wrote:
What is confusing is this:
I app'ed in JUNE 2013, was approved, and it was BACKDATED TO June 2012.
So if I had app'ed in Jan 2013, it would have been backdated to Jan 2012, right?
There's still a year of history regardless. I'll check that post but I dont see how, in present time, you come out ahead... Makes no sense.
:-)

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I think it's only relevant if you're considering app'ing in the late months, like Sep-Dec. Then it'd prob be better to wait until Jan and pick up the max backdating. Telling someone who's ready to app in April to wait until January of next year seems silly. June OTOH, is borderline imo.

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It's also less relevant the older your Amex is.  For people with young files, it can make somewhat of a difference to wait one extra month from December to January and pick up another tradeline that is now 11 months older.  But there's not a whole lot of difference between adding an account that is say 15 years old or 15 years and 11 months old.

[09Lexie]

@Walt_K

This is true. Any additional Amex cc's I receive will be backdated to 1985. Really not worth waiting till Jan in my case.