How Long Before Applying For Another Amex?

[stan_the_man]

My wife is in the credit rebuilding process and just received her Amex Zync card today in the mail.

It looks like they are going to backdate the card because she is an authorized user on two of my Amex cards -- meaning she now has three (one Zync charge and two AU CCs) Amex cards in total showing up on her credit report. All three of these cards are currently her oldest account.

Once I confirm that the Zync card is reporting the backdated open date (it should first report in 15-45 days), how long should she wait before applying for an Amex CC?

Our goal here is to improve her score by flooding the account with old, never delinquent trade lines -- that will increase her AAoA and not add a new inquiry to her reports -- to help boost her score.

[Creditaddict]

If you get the backdate, you might be alright to apply for a credit card product right now.

but if she only has 3 amex cards, it would probably be a good idea to get a Visa/MC in case amex is not excepted somewhere.

[Red1Blue]

When you apply for new credit card / charge card with Amex there will be a hardpull. You might want to look into overall picture than just AAoA. I have opened at least 20-30 new accounts in the last 1 1/2 years and my scores did not drop much. They are still around the 700's. I could not tell exactly how, but my scores seem to remain consistent around the same number despite new accounts and inquires I added.

[jforsyth]

The most difficult part of the rebuilding game is patience. I'd have your wife get used to her Zync card for a little while before you do anything else.

Many, many people have recently been approved for Amex Blue/Clear/any of the revolvers after having good history on their Zync card for 6 months. I would at least wait until her 6th statement on her Zync card cuts to apply for anything else.

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@Red1Blue wrote:

When you apply for new credit card / charge card with Amex there will be a hardpull. You might want to look into overall picture than just AAoA. I have opened at least 20-30 new accounts in the last 1 1/2 years and my scores did not drop much. They are still around the 700's. I could not tell exactly how, but my scores seem to remain consistent around the same number despite new accounts and inquires I added.

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Scores honestly don't mean much. Lenders care about the entire picture. If it were as cut and dry as having a certain score to be approved for certain card, then CCCs would just tell you what score you need for every card and nobody would ever waste a hard pull.

Think of it this way: You aren't going to get into a college with just high SAT scores. You need the grades, extracurriculars, and all that good stuff that makes you a well-rounded candidate.

What is the point of having 20-30 new accounts? How do you even keep track of all of them? I would take someone in the high 600s with 2-3 accounts over someone in the low 700s with 20-30 new accounts any day of the week.

[stan_the_man]

@Creditaddict - She has a Chase Visa card that she got last year -- when she dumped First Premier.

@concorduser - There was definitely a hard pull for the Zync, but I wasn't concerned too much about that b/c her Experian report has no inquiries in the past two years. I'm trying to simply my life, so 20-30 new accounts to manage (use and pay every month or couple of months) would be too much for me right now -- regardless of the impact on my wife's credit.

@jforsyth - I figured that six months was probably about the right spot. At the end of the day, I agree that scores are not everything. Unfortunately, the baddies she has are going to be there (until they age, I can figure out how best to dispute this one accout or one of her GW letters works) so my goal is to create the best picture possible from the inputs we have.

One concern I have is that with three or four Amex on her CRs that during a manual review a LO would see right through what was going on there.

Another concern I have is that on one of the Amex AUs I consistenly report a utilization of 10% to 15% (yeah, I know I should make a larger payment before the statement cuts) and it may not be helping my wife on the net.

[Iincognito]

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@stan_the_man wrote:

My wife is in the credit rebuilding process and just received her Amex Zync card today in the mail.

It looks like they are going to backdate the card because she is an authorized user on two of my Amex cards -- meaning she now has three (one Zync charge and two AU CCs) Amex cards in total showing up on her credit report. All three of these cards are currently her oldest account.

Once I confirm that the Zync card is reporting the backdated open date (it should first report in 15-45 days), how long should she wait before applying for an Amex CC?

Our goal here is to improve her score by flooding the account with old, never delinquent trade lines -- that will increase her AAoA and not add a new inquiry to her reports -- to help boost her score.

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stan_the_man:

I just spoke with their credit department 800-874-2717 and asked them to backdate my account to '95 since I was an AU on my mom's account. Even though the old account still shows up on all 3 credit reports, Amex said they cannot backdate my card... Maybe I'm doing something wrong..

[stan_the_man]

@Iincognito -- Just wondering, are you currently a AU for that account? Also, did you ever make a charge on the AU card? Did they have a record of you being an AU? Is this account still on your credit reports?

Basically, I'm wondering if they knew you were an AU, and where the dividing line is here.

[Iincognito]

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@stan_the_man wrote:

@Iincognito -- Just wondering, are you currently a AU for that account? Also, did you ever make a charge on the AU card? Did they have a record of you being an AU? Is this account still on your credit reports?

Basically, I'm wondering if they knew you were an AU, and where the dividing line is here.

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The account is being reported on all 3 credit reports as a "closed credit card at consumers request." I did have a few items charged and paid off and Amex does have record of me being an AU. However, I am not currently an AU for that account; I have my own now

[stan_the_man]

@Iincognito -- I'm thinking that the fact that you are/were not currently an AU at the time of the request may have played into the decision. Though, I don't know since they arent' completely forthcoming about the rules.

The backdating is great if you can get it, but since they are not required to do so we don't have any recourse.

I'd consider sending them a letter -- along the lines of a GW letter -- asking them to backdate the card. Address it to the C-Level (CEO, President of Card Services, etc.) and see what happens. I guarantee that they will respond to a customer service letter. If they reject it, you'd be out about 1/2 hour in drafting the letter and less than 60 cents and postage, envelope, etc.

It's definitely worth a try, especially considering that you will gain if they approve it.

[Iincognito]

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@stan_the_man wrote:

@Iincognito -- I'm thinking that the fact that you are/were not currently an AU at the time of the request may have played into the decision. Though, I don't know since they arent' completely forthcoming about the rules.

The backdating is great if you can get it, but since they are not required to do so we don't have any recourse.

I'd consider sending them a letter -- along the lines of a GW letter -- asking them to backdate the card. Address it to the C-Level (CEO, President of Card Services, etc.) and see what happens. I guarantee that they will respond to a customer service letter. If they reject it, you'd be out about 1/2 hour in drafting the letter and less than 60 cents and postage, envelope, etc.

It's definitely worth a try, especially considering that you will gain if they approve it.

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Thanks for the info, stan_the_man. Yeah, it's not a deal breaker for me if I don't get it backdated, but it would be nice to inherit 15 years of account age.