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@birjest wrote:Well, I checked online on my Optima account . It reflected that, my app was In progress. I called them 20 minutes ago, verified my id, and was approved. The rep asked if 7 -10 days was good for me, and I asked if she could expedite the card. I should have the card 24-72 hours. Limit is $500, half of my Costco card. Win-win since The AMEX Costco card will be coming to an end.
Congrats!! I am waiting for the app to come in but I think I will have to wait at 20 more days before they send it. Did they update your CR and then send you the app or they sent it to you in 2 weeks after you paid off?
I paid it off 1 August. Mailed the app, which was received Sep 4th. I checked today, called, Boo-Yahh!
@birjest wrote:I paid it off 1 August. Mailed the app, which was received Sep 4th. I checked today, called, Boo-Yahh!
Ah now I have a better understanding on how long this takes. So I can look for it in first week of Oct, and hopefully mail it out right away so I don't miss any deadline. I would hate to pay for this and miss out on the card. Even though this is a starter card, I believe the card itself looks really nice (of course not as nice as Centurion I am sure).
Hope your Amex journey goes smoothly from now on and you never have to be in this position ever again!! Good luck fellow member
Well, I can say, the Optima card is like any other AMEX card. To the average merchants, and your peers, when they see AMEX they think you have excellent credit. As for Centurion card, I think it is over-rated. Listen, the card is cater to those who can afford the annual, and monthly fees. Pretty much, (the affluent) those wo are the jet-setters or income that run above $150,000. If I was in the higher income bracket, I would pursue this card and the JP Morgan's card.
So, nthat I am in the process, of re-building my finance, I am good with the Optima card. Beleive it or not, I have a Platinum card that was cancelled with a balance of $14,000 in January 15. The law firm that is collecting the funds for AMEX informed me that, once I paid of my Platinum (balance now is $4,300), AMEX want to retain my membership and re-open my Platinum card in January 2016. Since I don't fly as much, I am going to downgrade ro the PRG.
Cheers.....
@birjest wrote:Well, I can say, the Optima card is like any other AMEX card. To the average merchants, and your peers, when they see AMEX they think you have excellent credit. As for Centurion card, I think it is over-rated. Listen, the card is cater to those who can afford the annual, and monthly fees. Pretty much, (the affluent) those wo are the jet-setters or income that run above $150,000. If I was in the higher income bracket, I would pursue this card and the JP Morgan's card.
So, nthat I am in the process, of re-building my finance, I am good with the Optima card. Beleive it or not, I have a Platinum card that was cancelled with a balance of $14,000 in January 15. The law firm that is collecting the funds for AMEX informed me that, once I paid of my Platinum (balance now is $4,300), AMEX want to retain my membership and re-open my Platinum card in January 2016. Since I don't fly as much, I am going to downgrade ro the PRG.
Cheers.....
I am actually surprised that they offered you Platinum (probably not give you a high limit but I may be wrong) after they took a settlement for 4300 instead of 14K that you owed them (Good for you though). I had only 1500 that I had to pay off and I was never offered anything till I paid off everything.
Of course Amex Optima is like any other card I just like the way it looks. I was told I will have a 500 limit too so I know its going to stay in my wallet most of the times and only get used if I want to show some usage. I am not arguing about the benefits of Centurion just saying it looks very good. I guess the appeal of that card is that you have to invited by Amex and from what I read you need to spend min of 250K/ year to even be considered for it. I think I read it somewhere that there only few thousand cards in usage so anytime someone flashes that you know they got moolah to spend.
NOOOOO!!! I owed $14,500 as of January 2015. I have been making monthly payments of $1160, plus additional payments. As of today, my balance has decreased to $4,300. I will finishing making payments in Dec, in which, after 30-60 days, I will have my Platinum card reinstated. :-)
Ohh, dont make no mistake, I would love to have the card. When I was stationed in Monterey, CA at the Naval Postgraduate School, my wife's friend, whose husband was a neurosurgen, went out for wine (ahh, I sure miss wine tasting lounges. My wife asked her what the heck kind of card was that, she told my wife it was the Centurion by AMEX. My wife said it felt very heavy.
LOL, Yes I was like how the heck did Amex allow that. Makes sense now! Yes I heard its very heavy and very impressive. Oh well may be I should make rich friends who have that and let me see how it feels in my hand!
When I was given Optima app, they said you can't apply for 1 year for any other card ( I guess you just get declined) and no CLI. So you getting your Platinum back is a good thing. Mine will take time but in time I shall get a Platinum too
@darwin_wins wrote:
@sjt wrote:
@darwin_wins wrote:
No it didn't have any firm offer on it. When the Amex authorized CA called they said if I pif then I "could" get Optima with 500 limit. After I pif I should receive an app but what I am wanting to know how before should I wait and then gir up thinking that Amex decided to not even offer an app or call them and ask if they are going to send the app.
All the forums mention how they got a letter and then got app but no one mentions how long did they wait. I have one year left before hopefully everything clears up but I would love to get started with Amex way before that and applying for regular cards won't happen until the end of next year.
Sorry if my questions are bugging you all.Hey Darwin,
You were offered the Optima Card and you should receive the application within the next two weeks. Amex will not offer the card and change their minds. When you get and complete the application, they will pull HP on Experian. They only way you can be turned is if you filed a BK or have no source of income.
To find out when Amex will update your old CO account to reflect the full payment, call their Credit Reporting Department at 800-874-2717. Be sure to have a copy of your credit report becasue they always use the account from a credit report. They should be able to tell you when they will update it. Keep in mind that it takes the credit bureaus up to 2 days to update thier records. Experian is the worst. On the average it can take upto 30 days to update your credit reports to reflect payment and it can take up to 60 days to report the Optima Card.
Congrats on getting back in with the Amex family!
Keep us posted!
I called Amex Credit reporting dept, they said they will be sending an update to CRAs on 25th of this month. Thats when it would show up as paid 0 balance. I called the CA and asked if they know anything on how before Amex will send it, they said he doesn't know about any specific time line but it should be there sometime. So I guess I can wait till next month and then see what I can do next.
I will keep everyone posted.
Im glad you were able to confirm that they received payment and got a confirmation on when Amex will update your CR. Keep in mind that it can take 2 days from the time the CRA receive the information from Amex to update your report to reflect payment and a 0 balance.
Also glad that the Collection agency rep confirmed that an Optima Card application will be mailed to you. It does take around 2 weeks before you receive the application. If you have not received in 2 weeks, I would call the collection agency again and make them follow up on it.
Also keep in mond that Amex Global Collections can be disorganized so dont assume they changed they recended the offer because of any delays, as its becasue of their disorganization.
@birjest wrote:NOOOOO!!! I owed $14,500 as of January 2015. I have been making monthly payments of $1160, plus additional payments. As of today, my balance has decreased to $4,300. I will finishing making payments in Dec, in which, after 30-60 days, I will have my Platinum card reinstated. :-)
Ohh, dont make no mistake, I would love to have the card. When I was stationed in Monterey, CA at the Naval Postgraduate School, my wife's friend, whose husband was a neurosurgen, went out for wine (ahh, I sure miss wine tasting lounges. My wife asked her what the heck kind of card was that, she told my wife it was the Centurion by AMEX. My wife said it felt very heavy.
Congrats on getting a commitment to having you Platinum Card reinstated! I have heard that Amex has been doing this instead of offering the Optima Card.
Keep in mind:
My friend, you're absolutely correct. The Costco was handled by GC Services, which offered the Optima card. The Platinum is handled by a private law firm, acting on behalf of AMEX which informed me of the reinstatement of the card, with an internal $3k limit. At the end of the day, I would just closed Optima and regained my Platinum, then downgrade to PRG.
i should have the card by tomorrow.....will keep ya posted.