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New Member, FIrst Post.

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Anonymous
Not applicable

New Member, FIrst Post.

Hi guys,

 

I have been viewing a bunch of these threads (which have really helped me) and I figured, why not join in on the fun. I'll start off with I'm currently a 22 year old college student taking a break (hoping to go back in January) with what I believe to be a good score for someone my age. My Credit Karma fako score has me at 749. I have a Chase Freedom Visa (CL 3,100), Discover Rewards (CL 750), Capital One MC (stuck forever at CL 1,500), Macy's Store Card (CL 1,500) some student loans (~25,000 debt so far that I've been making payments towards) and a car loan that I was only able to pay 4 months of before I totaled it. My AAoA is about 3 years.

 

I recently applied for the Amex Blue Sky as I wanted to build a relationship with Amex early and wanted that card to be my travel card of choice for the future. I was declined because according to Experian,

 

1) Amount of credit available on accounts (I assume too much credit for my reported income)

2) High utilization of credit lines (my utilization rate was 0 but my sister maxed out her credit card that I was an authorized user on and I had no idea)

3) Lack of bank account or lack of bank account information (I've had a BoA checking account since I was 18)

4) Your Fico score (which was a 739)

 

I was going to have my sister take me off her credit card (eventhough it is my oldest card along with my Capital One ~ 4 years), call experian to take that account off my report, and fax over a report to Amex with a reconsideration letter. But while browsing the forums, I found that the Chase Trifecta would be a much better option. As of now, I am going to open a Chase checking/savings account, and then garden my cards until I graduate, get a real job and have a realistic chance of being accepted for the Chase Sapphire Preffered.

 

Should I just apply for the Sapphire Preferred now (I could afford the annual fee), or apply for the Sapphire and eventually upgrade, or my original plan of just gardening? And any other tips would be helpful. Sorry the post was long, but thank you.

Message 1 of 9
8 REPLIES 8
Omri
New Contributor

Re: New Member, FIrst Post.

Welcome!

 

And congratulations on having credit built! When I was 22, I didn't have a single credit card because I thought it was more responsible to just use cash/debit to "pay only with what I already have." When I started looking into getting a card after college, I had no credit history and it was a *major* pain!

 

I just got accepted when I applied for a CSP. My CK FAKO has me at 748, so a very similar place there. I have higher limits on my cards (see sig) and around 3% utilization (total and around that on each of my cards), but my AAoA is less than a year and a half, and my oldest card is 2 years. When I applied, I had 3 inquiries in the last year (2 of those having come in a month prior to the application) and a total of 6 in the past 2 years (not sure what the distribution is on EX/TU/EQ, or which they pulled for CSP since I *just* applied yesterday). The upshot is, I think you have a reasonable chance of getting accepted.

 

One other thing to take into consideration regarding when you get the Sapphire - are you going to be able to spend $3k in 3 months? That 40k point sign-up bonus is *awesome*.

Recent FICO scores: TU - 755 (mortgage lender pull)
Message 2 of 9
webhopper
Moderator Emeritus

Re: New Member, FIrst Post.

CSP is a great card no doubt but can you justify the annual fee on your income? I recommend an amex charge card... and maybe think about travel cards after you graduate and enter the workforce as a professional. I suggest gardening until graduation... or maybe get amex green to build a relationship with amex.
FICO 9:
Filed Chapter 13 on 6/1/2017 after job loss. Discharged 6/1/2022.

Goal: Gardening!


Message 3 of 9
Anonymous
Not applicable

Re: New Member, FIrst Post.

Thanks for the reply. I was just reading someone's post that said CSP applicants are denied if none of there credit cards have a $5,000 credit limit so I may be stuck there. But, I think I could do 3,000 in 3 months as I am looking to buy a new Macbook Pro before January and have the cash for that. Maybe some college textbooks in January could finish the job.

Message 4 of 9
Anonymous
Not applicable

Re: New Member, FIrst Post.

sorry for the double post but I just read the second message.

 

@webhopper, do you think amex would give me a charge card, after denying me for the Amex Blue Sky (I have heard it is much easier and have been receiving promotional offers for the gold card in the mail for months now)?

Message 5 of 9
webhopper
Moderator Emeritus

Re: New Member, FIrst Post.


@Anonymous wrote:

sorry for the double post but I just read the second message.

 

@webhopper, do you think amex would give me a charge card, after denying me for the Amex Blue Sky (I have heard it is much easier and have been receiving promotional offers for the gold card in the mail for months now)?


 

Gold or PR gold are good cards. Look and see which one has the annual fee waived. Charge card is much easier than blue sky and the MR program has nice rewards. You have to wait at least 30 days after the blue sky denial before you apply for gold or green
FICO 9:
Filed Chapter 13 on 6/1/2017 after job loss. Discharged 6/1/2022.

Goal: Gardening!


Message 6 of 9
Anonymous
Not applicable

Re: New Member, FIrst Post.

any possible way I could call and ask them if they could use my denial credit report from the blue sky application along with a soft pull to see if I could receive the gold? I don't want another hard inquiry.

Message 7 of 9
webhopper
Moderator Emeritus

Re: New Member, FIrst Post.

It doesn't hurt to try since they already pulled your report. I doubt you'll be successful though. Good luck!
FICO 9:
Filed Chapter 13 on 6/1/2017 after job loss. Discharged 6/1/2022.

Goal: Gardening!


Message 8 of 9
distantarray
Established Contributor

Re: New Member, FIrst Post.


@Anonymous wrote:

Thanks for the reply. I was just reading someone's post that said CSP applicants are denied if none of there credit cards have a $5,000 credit limit so I may be stuck there. But, I think I could do 3,000 in 3 months as I am looking to buy a new Macbook Pro before January and have the cash for that. Maybe some college textbooks in January could finish the job.


I don't know but I got approved and the highest personal CL reporting at the time was $1,500  last month. after my app spree

 

Amex BCP $5,500 , Chase Sapphire $5,000, Chase Freedom$3,000 , Navy Federal Platinum $17,000 all apporved. Chase was my last cards and other cards were not reporting yet. Although I did have 50k in my savings account through Chase and i hear after $10,000 in their accounts really helps on manual reviews.


but remember Chase Sapphire bonus is really nice, you could always get it now, get the bonus, change  it to a non-annual fee version, and change it back later if you need be. This would be able to still get a lot of points.

 

 


total credit limits $108,400 Credit scores Ex 728 EQ 738 TU 758
Message 9 of 9
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