Hi all - just wanted to share my experiences.
After being denied a real AMEX for that pesky judgment - I thought I would try for another prime lender that was easier on past mistakes.
I applied for the Barclay Travelocity AMEX (I live abroad so I travel a bit) and got the 7-10 days processing message. I waited about 36 hours and after reading posts on this forum decided to give the credit analyst a call. I spoke to a nice girl who just asked me to verify my info (employment and annual income).
Then she put me on hold while she looked at my credit report. She asked me to explain the charge off (which is now the default judgment) and I told her about the situation. Then she said I had a few other small delinquencies that were a few years old and I explained about those.
She then immediately approved me for the card! My limit will initially only be $500. She told me to establish a payment history with them for 3-6 months to get a bigger credit line. I'm actually not upset about the small limit (though I wont be buying many tickets for now I guess!) and the best part is the card has NO ANNUAL FEE!
I think this is my first prime lender approval in almost 15 years (if Barclay is able to remain a prime lender, they've been approving a lot of people lately) and I was really surprised that they approved me with a big baddie (default judgment from 2010) on my report.
My scores are all FAKOS (creditkeeper) but I'll share:
EQ: 666 
EX: 691
TU: 657
Can't wait to cut up those Orchard Bank Cards next year! I remember how smug the customer service person was when I complained about originally being offered an Orchard Bank card with no annual fee and then being sent an "upgrade" (2% cash back reward) that came with a huge $59 annual fee. She pretty much said "we'll drop the fee to $39 - take it or leave it" and she wasn't that polite about it! 
Congrats !!
Get your history with them and they will treat you well 
@charyot77 wrote:Hi all - just wanted to share my experiences.
After being denied a real AMEX for that pesky judgment - I thought I would try for another prime lender that was easier on past mistakes.
I applied for the Barclay Travelocity AMEX (I live abroad so I travel a bit) and got the 7-10 days processing message. I waited about 36 hours and after reading posts on this forum decided to give the credit analyst a call. I spoke to a nice girl who just asked me to verify my info (employment and annual income).
Then she put me on hold while she looked at my credit report. She asked me to explain the charge off (which is now the default judgment) and I told her about the situation. Then she said I had a few other small delinquencies that were a few years old and I explained about those.
She then immediately approved me for the card! My limit will initially only be $500. She told me to establish a payment history with them for 3-6 months to get a bigger credit line. I'm actually not upset about the small limit (though I wont be buying many tickets for now I guess!) and the best part is the card has NO ANNUAL FEE!
I think this is my first prime lender approval in almost 15 years (if Barclay is able to remain a prime lender, they've been approving a lot of people lately) and I was really surprised that they approved me with a big baddie (default judgment from 2010) on my report.
My scores are all FAKOS (creditkeeper) but I'll share:
EQ: 666
EX: 691
TU: 657
Can't wait to cut up those Orchard Bank Cards next year! I remember how smug the customer service person was when I complained about originally being offered an Orchard Bank card with no annual fee and then being sent an "upgrade" (2% cash back reward) that came with a huge $59 annual fee. She pretty much said "we'll drop the fee to $39 - take it or leave it" and she wasn't that polite about it!
LOL is that like saying I refuse to join any club that would have me as a member when you say they been approving a lot of people lately, I think you can say the same thing about Chase
@john398 wrote:
@charyot77 wrote:Hi all - just wanted to share my experiences.
After being denied a real AMEX for that pesky judgment - I thought I would try for another prime lender that was easier on past mistakes.
I applied for the Barclay Travelocity AMEX (I live abroad so I travel a bit) and got the 7-10 days processing message. I waited about 36 hours and after reading posts on this forum decided to give the credit analyst a call. I spoke to a nice girl who just asked me to verify my info (employment and annual income).
Then she put me on hold while she looked at my credit report. She asked me to explain the charge off (which is now the default judgment) and I told her about the situation. Then she said I had a few other small delinquencies that were a few years old and I explained about those.
She then immediately approved me for the card! My limit will initially only be $500. She told me to establish a payment history with them for 3-6 months to get a bigger credit line. I'm actually not upset about the small limit (though I wont be buying many tickets for now I guess!) and the best part is the card has NO ANNUAL FEE!
I think this is my first prime lender approval in almost 15 years (if Barclay is able to remain a prime lender, they've been approving a lot of people lately) and I was really surprised that they approved me with a big baddie (default judgment from 2010) on my report.
My scores are all FAKOS (creditkeeper) but I'll share:
EQ: 666
EX: 691
TU: 657
Can't wait to cut up those Orchard Bank Cards next year! I remember how smug the customer service person was when I complained about originally being offered an Orchard Bank card with no annual fee and then being sent an "upgrade" (2% cash back reward) that came with a huge $59 annual fee. She pretty much said "we'll drop the fee to $39 - take it or leave it" and she wasn't that polite about it!
LOL is that like saying I refuse to join any club that would have me as a member when you say they been approving a lot of people lately, I think you can say the same thing about Chase
It's exactly what I mean! With my credit profile, I dont think I 'm quite ready for "prime time".
The card might as well be a subprime card - it has 24.99% interest!!! 
Guess I'll be using this like a real AMEX charge card and PIF every month.
Congrats! Barclay's has been very nice to me so far. Their CS is night and day, compared with Cap One. I think you should listen to what the rep said and try for a CLI in 6 mos. It w/be a hard hit, but worth it (I think.) Personally, I wouldn't recon for a higher CL right now. With all the baddies you have, I'd just be glad you got approved and not make any waves. (IMO)
Enjoy your new Amex!