I just got approved for Amex Blue Sky, and this is the interesting part:

[Anonymous]

I used to have an Amex Green over 10 years ago. It went to collection 8 years ago. I paid it off in April 08, a year after dropping off of my credit. I did not accepted Oasis Program Amex Optima offer. I was told to wait for 30 days before application. For fun, I just applied today, and was instantly approved with a large credit limit.

Amex was my first credit card, now I welcome it back to my life. If there is any suggestions about this card or Amex in general, I would like to know; I have been away for a long time.

I don't know my current FICO scores, but my EX FACO is 712 and there is a Verizon collection that is supposed to drop off in May 09.

This is the last credit card I will ever apply, now I have a Visa, MC and Amex.

Just wanted to let you know, you don't need to go thru Oasis program, just pay it off what you owe and wait for 4-5 months and apply if your credit at that time is good.

Good luck.

[Red1Blue]

Congrats on your Blue. Looks like you need to add Discover to complete your card collection.

[haulingthescoreup]

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@Anonymous wrote:
I used to have an Amex Green over 10 years ago. It went to collection 8 years ago. I paid it off in April 08, a year after dropping off of my credit. I did not accepted Oasis Program Amex Optima offer. I was told to wait for 30 days before application. For fun, I just applied today, and was instantly approved with a large credit limit.

Amex was my first credit card, now I welcome it back to my life. If there is any suggestions about this card or Amex in general, I would like to know; I have been away for a long time.

I don't know my current FICO scores, but my EX FACO is 712 and there is a Verizon collection that is supposed to drop off in May 09.

This is the last credit card I will ever apply, now I have a Visa, MC and Amex.

Just wanted to let you know, you don't need to go thru Oasis program, just pay it off what you owe and wait for 4-5 months and apply if your credit at that time is good.

Good luck.

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Hey, congrats, nice work! Will they show it with the year of the original green card? They do this with most cards; don't know if it would be different since your first card was "troubled."

Working rule of thumb with AmEx these days, especially with one of their revolvers:

Don't routinely carry a balance, even if you're allowed to. If you do make a major purchase or something, pay it down in chunks of 1/3+ at a time, clearing it off within 3 months.

Don't pester frequently for CLI's. Wait until the seventh month or so before asking. And since they gave you a high CL in the first place, consider just waiting for them to raise it on their own.

Keep balances on your other accounts under control. Whatever your other cards looked like when you applied for the Blue Sky, keep them that good or better. AmEx will frequently soft your reports to see what's up with all your credit, not just with AmEx.

Let them know if you'll be using the card a good distance away from where you normally use it.

Thanks for sharing your experience. That's definitely different from what others have reported.

[FretlessMayhem]

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@Red1Blue wrote:

Congrats on your Blue. Looks like you need to add Discover to complete your card collection.

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Always one to play the Devil's Advocate eh?

[Anonymous]

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@Red1Blue wrote:

Congrats on your Blue. Looks like you need to add Discover to complete your card collection.

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From my experience, Discover will match or beat your current highest CL.



Good luck.

[Anonymous]

First of all, I appreciate for your kind comments. Thank you.

At first, I didn't want to get an Amex, but I heard from some people they reinstate your first membership date and this is what I am hoping to get, I will absolutely let you guys know how it shows up on my credit report.

Another reason I wanted an Amex is their rental car coverage. Again, I heard great things about its coverage and Amex service. I would like to take advantage of that when I travel.

I don't carry any balances on my cards, I pay the balance on due date or earlier. I think I will use Amex for little things and use the credit limit to keep my overall usage under 9 percent. My credit availability moves between 90-100% range.

Again, thanks for the advice and I will follow them.

[Anonymous]

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tomwest wrote:

Another reason I wanted an Amex is their rental car coverage. Again, I heard great things about its coverage and Amex service. I would like to take advantage of that when I travel.

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Congrats on your new Amex!  The Blue Sky is also on my wish list, and I will probably end up getting it in January 2010 or 2011 or so.  (Longterm wish list, lol.)

Just wanted to clarify the point about the Amex rental car coverage, though.  The secondary insurance offered for free with an Amex card is basically the same as the secondary insurance that comes with most major Visa/MC.  Amex does offer primary rental car coverage, but it costs $24.95 per rental.  Is that the coverage you were talking about?

Citi Professional offers primary rental car coverage for free, as does the Delta Community Credit Union Visa.

Message Edited by cheddar on 08-01-2008 10:41 AM

[Anonymous]

Actually, I did not know secondary or primary insurance until you told me. Interesting, I guess, that's what I heard but nobody mentioned me $24.95 rate per rental.

This is the website for this premium coverage:

https://www152.americanexpress.com/fsea/travel/car_rental/product.do

I guess, that works for me. Since I usually rent a car 7 days or more, it will be cheaper than rental company's coverage. Even though I do have full coverage insurance on my car, idea of not dealing with them to keep my insurance rate is good.

Again, thanks for your comment, I learned something new today.