Upgrade to Amex revolver

[Sunshinebiz]

Hi forum-
Thanks as always for the valuable advice. I became a member of American Express this year which was an awesome achievement and was very happy. I spoke online to a rep and applied and was approved for the Amex green with a score of about 620 (down from about 650 due to a flurry of activity) and I was thrilled to get my foot in the door with Amex for the first time.

Now my question is about January or February of next year (for max backdating and just general timing) I would like to pick up a revolver. I'm interested in either the BCE or TE Costco. With being an Amex member for about 5 months with good usage and perfect history of pif and hopefully getting my score in to the 680-700 range should I have any issue getting one or both of these cards? Any other suggestions for better Amex?
Thanks a lot for the advice and help once again

[Crashem]

Apply for what you want. No harm if rejected as existing amex customers dont get inquiry. As for approval, I think you are borderline. My advice is to make sure balance is 0 at time of application

[09Lexie]

+1

Also keep in mind Amex will use your most recent SP. If you have the ability to view your SPs, make sure you app after best SP. Ie low util across all cc's.

[Sunshinebiz]

Thanks for the tips guys. Util won't be a problem; I'll be in the magic 1-9% range and Amex will definitely be pif before I app. Thanks again; anyone else who wants to chime in, feel free.

[Sunshinebiz]

I have an odd question if anyone has any experience. Regarding paying the Amex balance to zero before applying for another card. Do I need to make sure that it's already updated on my reports as being 0 balance on my last soft pull from Amex (which could be quite delayed obviously) or will Amex see during my application process that my balance is zero with them regardless of the CR? Thanks a lot for the help as always

[myjourney]

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@Sunshinebiz wrote:
I have an odd question if anyone has any experience. Regarding paying the Amex balance to zero before applying for another card. Do I need to make sure that it's already updated on my reports as being 0 balance on my last soft pull from Amex (which could be quite delayed obviously) or will Amex see during my application process that my balance is zero with them regardless of the CR? Thanks a lot for the help as always

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Amex has a strange system and IMHO wait until they SP so they have the most recent info because it will be based off of that 

As far as payment to $0 that will be reflected in the system if you apply by phone they can see

Remember you can apply anytime 

SP if denied HP if approved 

[Crashem]

Still recommend waiting till Jan to maximize backdating.  Real close to Jan already.

[myjourney]

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@Crashem wrote:

Still recommend waiting till Jan to maximize backdating.  Real close to Jan already.

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+1 without a doubt wait 

[Sunshinebiz]

Oh I'll be waiting until the end of January most likely for max backdating and because I think that's when I'll have the best terms for approval. Just wanted to get the most info possible so I can plan ahead. Won't apply until backdating is advantageous and terms are best. Even though it is only a soft pull still want to apply at the best possible time. Thanks to everyone for the tips. Let me know if anyone has any more info about the balance reporting aspect.

[kkapdolee]

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@Crashem wrote:

Still recommend waiting till Jan to maximize backdating.  Real close to Jan already.

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Hi, what is backdating?