Anyone have recent experience with Amex Optima Oasis

[sjt]

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@Anonymous wrote:

I had an old Blue Card that I had to let go during the recession.  It's kind of hard to pay your bills after being unemployed for over a year.  The account was charged off, I did pay it off in 2009, and even paid the 1099 that they issued me.  In 2013, I received an Optima Card application stating that I was being invited to apply because of the settlement that they went through, stating that I wasn't informed at the time of my charge off that I might not get approved for another card from American Express.  So I mailed in the application, took about a week to process, it was approved with a $500 limit and they even overnighted the card to me.  Application was standard info, (Social Security number, income, etc.)  It was a hard pull at that time.  My tradeline was scheduled to come off a month after my approval (I had recently been denied another card so I was able to obtain a copy of my experian report)  and the next time I checked, several months later, my old account was no longer on my report.  I didn't bother with backdating as I didn't want to remind Amex of my previous charged off account, it's off my credit and that was good enough for me.  After about a year of perfect payment history with the Optima, I was approved for a Green Card.  After a year of perfect payment history on The Green Card they approved me for both the Hilton Hhonors Card and the EveryDay Card with a 653 Experian score.  I applied online filling out the application that they give current card members and received instant online approvals.  Yes, I still have the Optima Card and all the new cards have a MSD of 2013 the date on my Optima Card.  Now I plan to "garden".

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Thanks for sharing your experience!

So your Amex charge off did not disapear early then.

[Anonymous]

No it did not fall off early.  The CO remained on my reports for 7 years. 

[Relique]

-How long did it take to get the application from the time you paid off the card.

It took me 2 months to pay off my balance of 2100. Made two payments and was done. The application arrived about 2 weeks after I sent the final payment.

-How long did it take to get the card.

The card arrived about 9 days after I sent in the application.

-What information did they ask for in the application.

Standard information about income, employment.

-Did they SP or HP.

Hard Pull

-DId they delete the negative Amex tradeline early.

Tradeline was deleted a month after my account was open. It was only listed on TU and was due to fall off in a few months so I am not 100% certain if they removed it or if it naturally fell off.

-Did they backdate the Oasis Optima tradeline?

The account was backdated to the original card that I defaulted on. It is backdated on amex account page and on credit report. However, the physical card was not backdated.

-Were you able to apply for another Amex product or get a CLI without closing the card.

This is where it gets tricky. I have read the first page of this thread and someone said that they seem to have changed the policy on CLI and second accounts. Therefore, I tried to request CLI over the automated phone system and was denied. I tried to speak to a rep and they told me to wait for the letter and would not reconsider. Decided to try to apply for a new account and close this one and was denied. So far I am not seeing a hard pull on my report so I am thinking they denied me with a softpull due to the recovery product. 

I know that the department I dealt with was for Optima only so I am gonna go ahead and wait for both denial letters and reconsider my options. I will try to speak to normal Amex customer service and see if I can get a better card at this point. I don't care about multiple pulls since they backdate. I will try to remember to update this thread and would appreciate if others can post their experiences in trying to app for a second Amex card or any CLI requests.

[Anonymous]

I know that the department I dealt with was for Optima only so I am gonna go ahead and wait for both denial letters and reconsider my options. I will try to speak to normal Amex customer service and see if I can get a better card at this point. I don't care about multiple pulls since they backdate. I will try to remember to update this thread and would appreciate if others can post their experiences in trying to app for a second Amex card or any CLI requests.

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They don't back date anymore so I'd be careful about the pulls. If you canceled your Optima Oasis, my understanding is that it will be a hard pull everytime you apply. How long did you have your Optima? I most definitely got a soft pull CLI over the automated phone line, but I had had my card for about 5 years( I think) before I even tried. 

[Relique]

I was planning to cancel it if I got approved, and not before they backdated the new card. Since they denied me with a soft pull, I didn't cancel the Optima. It is my oldest tradeline and is really helping AAoA as it was backdated to before I got into credit troubles back in 2007.

I've had my card for a year and a half or so. I didn't put a lot of money through it... rotating it in and out of my sock drawer every few of months, and taking advanatage of the occasional Amex offer from the account page.

I think my mistake was asking for too much. It asked for my desired limit and I put $4000 (current limit is $700. It was probably naive of me to expect an automated system to counteroffer but I thought it would do that or transfer me to a rep. 

Thanks for letting me know that they no longer backdate. Now that I know that I will probably not apply for anything and just leave Amex alone for a while. I need to be in the garden for at least a year anyway. I'll just keep the Optima for now and maybe try for an increase in 6 months or so.

[Anonymous]

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@Relique wrote:

I was planning to cancel it if I got approved, and not before they backdated the new card. Since they denied me with a soft pull, I didn't cancel the Optima. It is my oldest tradeline and is really helping AAoA as it was backdated to before I got into credit troubles back in 2007.

I've had my card for a year and a half or so. I didn't put a lot of money through it... rotating it in and out of my sock drawer every few of months, and taking advanatage of the occasional Amex offer from the account page.

I think my mistake was asking for too much. It asked for my desired limit and I put $4000 (current limit is $700. It was probably naive of me to expect an automated system to counteroffer but I thought it would do that or transfer me to a rep. 

Thanks for letting me know that they no longer backdate. Now that I know that I will probably not apply for anything and just leave Amex alone for a while. I need to be in the garden for at least a year anyway. I'll just keep the Optima for now and maybe try for an increase in 6 months or so.

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Good you didn't cancel it. My Optima is my oldest card as well, I pulled my head out of the sand 2 months ater they stopped backdating so I'm kicking myself. Having said that I hold out hope that they'll offer some sort of product change down the road. I chatted  online with an Amex rep who told me that the policy had been changed and that I could apply for a new card and a CLI without canceling 

As for asking too much, I think I asked for 2,800 and they countered with 2100( my limit was 700 too), but I did mine via automated request on the phone. Never did have a luck witht he luv button online. 

[sjt]

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@Relique wrote:

I was planning to cancel it if I got approved, and not before they backdated the new card. Since they denied me with a soft pull, I didn't cancel the Optima. It is my oldest tradeline and is really helping AAoA as it was backdated to before I got into credit troubles back in 2007.

I've had my card for a year and a half or so. I didn't put a lot of money through it... rotating it in and out of my sock drawer every few of months, and taking advanatage of the occasional Amex offer from the account page.

I think my mistake was asking for too much. It asked for my desired limit and I put $4000 (current limit is $700. It was probably naive of me to expect an automated system to counteroffer but I thought it would do that or transfer me to a rep. 

Thanks for letting me know that they no longer backdate. Now that I know that I will probably not apply for anything and just leave Amex alone for a while. I need to be in the garden for at least a year anyway. I'll just keep the Optima for now and maybe try for an increase in 6 months or so.

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You can check the Amex application status link to find out the reason for the denial. Here is the link:

https://www262.americanexpress.com/eaol/welcome.do

I dont think the denial had anything to do with having an active recvery card product becasue they changed their policy and if that was the case it would state that in their reply.

Also, there have been folks that had recon success by writing them for a recon.

Keep us posted.

[eddie84]

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@sjt wrote:

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@eddie84 wrote:

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@sjt wrote:

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@eddie84 wrote:

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@sjt wrote:

4.  Did they SP or HP.

5.  DId they delete the negative Amex tradeline early.

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My Optima card was a hard pull and they did delete whatever I owed prior early.  YMMV though.  Are they still offering the Oasis program?  I thought they got rid of it a few years back.

I still remember when I got the email stating that I was approved for their Optima card (this was a few years back).  I was sitting at the airport waiting for a transpacific flight to Asia and I was like Woohoo!  I got in with Amex again! 

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Quick question, what was the time frame from the time you paid the Amex account to when they deleted the negative tradeline?

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Sorry for late reply and IIRC it was around 12 months.

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Thanks!

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You're welcome.   And I also asked for CLI on my Optima card and was shot down everytime.  Apparently they don't allow any kind of increase on the Oasis program (well, for me anyway).  Another thing is that I had to close my Optima card first before they would approve for any normal Amex card.

[sjt]

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@eddie84 wrote:

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@sjt wrote:

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@eddie84 wrote:

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@sjt wrote:

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@eddie84 wrote:

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@sjt wrote:

4.  Did they SP or HP.

5.  DId they delete the negative Amex tradeline early.

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My Optima card was a hard pull and they did delete whatever I owed prior early.  YMMV though.  Are they still offering the Oasis program?  I thought they got rid of it a few years back.

I still remember when I got the email stating that I was approved for their Optima card (this was a few years back).  I was sitting at the airport waiting for a transpacific flight to Asia and I was like Woohoo!  I got in with Amex again! 

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Quick question, what was the time frame from the time you paid the Amex account to when they deleted the negative tradeline?

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Sorry for late reply and IIRC it was around 12 months.

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Thanks!

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You're welcome.   And I also asked for CLI on my Optima card and was shot down everytime.  Apparently they don't allow any kind of increase on the Oasis program (well, for me anyway).  Another thing is that I had to close my Optima card first before they would approve for any normal Amex card.

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Amex recently changed their policy. After a year you are eligible to apply for a CLI or another card product without having to close out your Optima Card.

[davidsawsparks]

I know this is not entirely on topic... but somewhat related. I never had to go through the Optima program. I applied for the AMEX EDP almost a year ago and was instantly approved even though I had a charge off from them almost 2 decades ago. Maybe they forgave me since it wasn't a large amount that I burned them for. Anyhow... they approved me for 2k CL. I tried to do the 3x CLI at the half year mark and was declined... and tried again 3 months after that and was declined. Funny thing though... 1 month after my last decline of CLI, they auto CLI my card to 3k stating because of my good credit. Go figure...

My point being, although I'm sure it's rare. You can still get back into AMEX graces even without the Optima program.