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A little off topic, but based on the last post, it seems the AMEX member date only applies to their charge cards? So I have a BCE, if I apply next year for another AMEX revolver, will it be dated the year my BCE was opened or the year the new revolving acct is opened?
I'm also an AU on my wife's Gold Card, but I recently read a post they no longer backdate off AU's. Which is of no concern if they'll backdate off my BCE...
@hardworkrebuilding wrote:A little off topic, but based on the last post, it seems the AMEX member date only applies to their charge cards? So I have a BCE, if I apply next year for another AMEX revolver, will it be dated the year my BCE was opened or the year the new revolving acct is opened?
No, member dates apply to all of their cards. Most people here go for a charge card first though since they are easier to qualify for than an amex revolver.
@jsucool76 wrote:
@SnackTrader wrote:Once again, I have to disagree with those stating the 2012 member date is important for Amex. The OP's AAoA is 1 year, so adding another new trade line will bring that AAoA under a year, so if the OP were to apply for another Amex in 4 years (assuming he added no new tradelines), the backdating would barely impact his AAoA at the time regardless of if the member date was 2012 or 2013. If we assume he adds 3 or 4 new tradelines a year, then AAoA will also be unaffected by a different year in the long run, since there will be so many tradelines factoring into his calculation. He has plenty of aging tradelines right now, and I don't see the point of rushing for an Amex he doesn't want. In fact, it seems pretty clear to me that the OP is looking for a high limit revolving credit card to grow with him, which a charge card doesn't fulfill unless his monthly spending is large enough.
Anyway, sorry for rambling on that. OP, your scores should improve once the Util updates in a few days. I think you are going to be a good candidate for many prime lenders, although perhaps not at the limits you want. But I've seen many success stories this year using recon lines, So make sure you beg and plead for what you think you deserve. And remember that your income and current debt obligations plays a big part into those limits. But with a 7% DTI you have some room to work with. Your INQs are already low, and I think you have a few to burn without putting yourself in a hole. So what I would do is pick out some cards you're interested in (Chase Freedom, Discover, Amex revolver like Delta or Hilton, Citi Forward, Barclays) and go for 2 or 3. Then wait 3-6 months, see what rewards or financial gaps you have, and try another 1 or 2. But remember, with such a short AAoA, lots of tradelines at once will impact the score.
Good Luck, and please keep us updated on your decision and the results. And yes, do this within the next month. Get those INQs and tradelines to age together.
Well if the OP were to apply for an amex charge now and get approved (assuming he got the 2012 member date) and then applied for an amex revolver in january, his account would read "Opened january 2012" as opposed to january 2013 or december 2012. which would make the account a year old, thus allowing him to open accounts with amex without lowering his aaoa.
Well said. I agreed.
Thanks for all the advice.
I think I'm going to wait until my accounts update in a week or two and see what my scores and reports look like.
If my score jumps into the 720 range like I'm expecting them to, and the new $3500 GECU VISA TL and $8200 GECU auto don't show up at that time, I'm gonna go on a little app spree for sure. Even if the new TL's do show up when my newly reported utilization goes from 50% to 3% on an overall $20K CL, I still may do an App spree, pending further myfico counsel of course.
I've been waiting a long time for my credit to improve, so what's a few more weeks or months for that matter.
I do plan on buying a house in early 2014, so that's my main focus and reasoning on getting some good cards and maintaining and improving my overall credit.
Income is $60K btw...
Yes jsucool, but I really think my scores will go up 20-30 points because of the big utilization drop.
A decrease in AAoA may knock the scores down a couple but it surely wouldn't negate the big bump in score due to the huge utilization drop?