Credit Cards

[LilNYC]

After yrs. of having iffy credit & arguing w/ the cedit bureaus I finally cleaned up my reports & in April got approved for a Citi Thank You for $13,200 & Chase Freedom w/ $3,100 CLI a few days ago. Eventually I'd like the CSP & an AMEX BCE & that's it. A few prime cards w/ good rewards & no crazy AFs that I can use/leave open for yrs. Absolutely NO store cards. I'm trying to figure out when's the optimal time to apply for the Amex & the CSP.

I'm thinking about app for CSP in 3-4 months but I know that Chase likes long credit history & I only have 2 indiv. accts, both < yr old. AAoA is >10 yrs if they take the AU TL into acct but I know that Chase places heavy emphasis on indiv. history.  I had an amex green card in 2000 so if I open a new Amex acct it will backdate to 2000? Chase will think that I've had an active indiv. acct for the past 12 yrs? I'm nervous that I won't get approved for the Amex BCE & I really don't want to take a HP unless it results in an approval. Since it's easier to get approved for the charge cards should I apply for the Zync instead & hope that I get approved & amex offers a same day SP for the BCE? I don't really care for the Zync but the $25 AF is low enough that it wouldn't kill me to keep it open for a few yrs & store it. From the looks of these boards lately it seems like everyone's getting approved for the Zync npsl. (I'd prefer true MR but I can't justify the high AF's after the promo yr is up & I don't want to ding my credit by closing acts quickly.) Would this make me more likely to get approved for CSP in Oct/Nov?


EQ: 769  0 inquiries
TU: 703 (Chase Pull 7/12) 3 inquiries (1 falls off in Oct.) 1 paid judgement $349 3.3 yrs ago
EX: 688 (security freeze)

My Cards:
Citi Thank You $13,200 (41% until.) 4/12
Chase Freedom $3,100 7/12 (waiting to hear back from exec office on CLI)

AU: Amex Hilton $3,000 (94% until.) (1984) Going to remove acct b/c the util. is bringing my score down
AU: Amex Delta $1,700 (1984)
AU: Macy's Amex $6,000 (1999)
AU: Macy's- limit not rep (1999)
AU: Bloomy's Limit not rep (11/09)

Oldest Acct: 28 Yrs
Newest Acct: 1 month
AAoA: 9.5 yrs (after removing Amex Hilton)

[OhioCPA]

Since you were just approved for the Freedom I would wait six to twelve months to app for the CSP. A Zync approval then application for a BCE on the same day when you aren't a current card member could result in two HP's from Amex. Even with the two HP's EX might delete one as a duplicate. You should be able to recover your AF on the Zync with special offers from Amex, i.e., Small Business Saturday, etc.

I would work to get the utilization down on the Citi card then apply for either a Zync or Green and a BCE on the same day. If they decline your BCE then I would apply again in a few months after you have some history with Amex. Since Amex is great with CLI's at 61 days and again at six months I would wait until you have seen your second increase on the Amex report before applying for the CSP. This will increase your chance of approval on the CSP with a higher CL as they tend to match current CL's.

[Eschaton]

If you don't feel too good about the BCE, just get the Zync and wait a few months, apply for BCE since it'll be a soft pull anyways. The first year AF is waived for the Zync, and you can close it after a year if you get the BCE. 

I'm still new to the whole credit thing; but it sounds like you're doing well and I don't see you being denied for BCE or CSP. But take that with a grain of salt. 

[Crashem]

How did you leave amex before? Amex should be priority given the backdating.

[LilNYC]

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Crashem wrote:
How did you leave amex before? Amex should be priority given the backdating.

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In good standing.

[LilNYC]

@OhioCPA- good pt. about the 61 days CLI, ttally forgot about that. 

[Crashem]

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LilNYC wrote:

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Crashem wrote:
How did you leave amex before? Amex should be priority given the backdating.

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In good standing.

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Well any Amex should be priority. You should be backdated to your original member date. However it was a while ago so Amex might not have old file in active records. I hope you have some proof lying around. The backdated Amex will help fill in your credit file and increase your aaoa. I would go for zync and app for bce same day. However any delay on 2nd card approval/denial will likely result in two hard pulls. If on experian, you can likely get 2nd hard pull removed as dupe by calling experian. Other option is to wait a couple of months to app for bce will result in hp is approved and nothing if denied.

[Crashem]

Forgot. You need to remove security freeze before apping for Amex.

[OhioCPA]

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Crashem wrote:

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LilNYC wrote:

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Crashem wrote:
How did you leave amex before? Amex should be priority given the backdating.

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In good standing.

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Well any Amex should be priority. You should be backdated to your original member date. However it was a while ago so Amex might not have old file in active records. I hope you have some proof lying around. The backdated Amex will help fill in your credit file and increase your aaoa. I would go for zync and app for bce same day. However any delay on 2nd card approval/denial will likely result in two hard pulls. If on experian, you can likely get 2nd hard pull removed as dupe by calling experian. Other option is to wait a couple of months to app for bce will result in hp is approved and nothing if denied.

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While I agree on the Amex as being a priority I doubt there will be much of a bump in AAoA. Since the AAoA is already at 9 years I wouldn't expect much of a score change with hitting 10 years.

[Crashem]

Ohio, op's aaoa is primarily made up of au credit lines. Not sure if he would trigger fico 8 piggybacking rules which would discount or ignore au lines. Additionally, under manual review, he would be denied as he basically has a thin file with a bunch of au lines. The Amexs would help make his au lines look less out of whack.