@Anonymous wrote:
I applied in store last Saturday and got approved. Is there anyway I can find out if I got the Amex? Or do I have to wait until I get the card? I assumed I'd get it today at the latest, and it's not here. Now I'm getting impatient! According to CCT my EX FAKO was 715 at the time they pulled (no baddies, 4 positive tradelines, 13% UTIL - oldest account is only 2 yrs and 2 months old though...and I have 10 inquiries :/ ) . What are my chances that my real FICO is also above 700? I read that they give the Amex to people with over 700 FICO so I have my fingers crossed.
Oh one more thing! For those of you that applied in store, when they had you put your SSN in the keypad, did it also ask if you wanted to be considered for the Amex? I read that was someone else's experience from a few months back, but I don't remember it asking me that. Now I'm kind of scared that I wasn't even considered for it, or maybe I accidentally hit no.
In light of their recent changes to the store cards it would really suck if that is all I got!
I can only respond to the FAKO PLUS/FICO score questions.
Bottom line is, unfortunately, there's absolutely no correlation between CCT scores and FICO scores.
CCT loves me! I mean they really really love me.
According to them, my fako PLUS scores are EX 771, EQ 792, TU 780. .
Problem is, I have a CH 13 BK on my credit reports.
My real FICO scores are EX (loan pull) 723 (49 points difference); EQ 708 (84 points difference), and TU 723 (57 points difference).
It can be pretty dang frustrating - especially if you shelled out cash to get a PLUS score. I got fako PLUS scores from CCT and was pulling them when we did our mortgage app. That allowed us to compare all three PLUS and FICO scores for both DH and I - so six scores altogether. I also subscribe to ScoreWatch and get FICO EQ score updates that I compare with my ongoing CCT fako PLUS scores.
When we compared scores, they were all over the place. DH's PLUS EXP score was his highest, his FICO EXP score was his lowest. Mine was converse; my PLUS EXP score was my lowest and my FICO EXP score was high.
DH's PLUS score range between the three CRA's is less than 10 points. His FICO scores cover an almost 90 point range.
When companring FICO to PLUS, some of our scores were relatively close, some were 100 points off.
When my FICO went up, my PLUS did't. When my PLUS went up, my FICO went down. No pattern. No nothin'.
"The truth is, only Fair Isaac knows how FICO scores are calculated, and their formula is kept very secret. Other credit scores can sometimes come close to the mark, but they can be off by as much as 100 points either way. This is important because lenders don't use FAKO scores; they almost always use FICO. So it does you no good to know a score that a) isn't correct, b) won't be considered by lenders."
Experian is fairly straight forward in saying, "The Experian-developed PLUS Score model is a consumer-focused credit score." That means it is a product designed to sell to consumers. It is, in short, a cash cow. Because it is not designed to mirror FICO - but is designed as a consumer tool, it has differing criteria. That is also why the advice given along with PLUS and other FAKO scores is faulty when applied to FICO scoring. Following FAKO advice can, and does, lower FICO scores.
Hope that's helpful!
And best wishes on the Macy's card. Things will probably settle themselves out during the next month or so and we'll see what we really have going on with the store card. The AmEx, like the store card, has a horrendous finance rate, so both these cards are definitely PIF'ers.
I'm wondering if I opted out of applying for the Amex. Or maybe the store rep opted out for me? Oh well no use on dwelling on it now, my score just wasn't high enough and I have to accept it that haha Regardless, I really regret applying for it now. I have to go find out how to go about upgrading later. What a bummer.