very tempted to apply for amex + need some advices

[Anonymous]

Hi guys,

Although I've read quite a lot from this forum, but I still need some help with this.

My stats:

EQ: 708 as of 03/27/2009

Cap1: CL $750 - opened around Feb 2009

BofA: CL $4,500 (was a secured two years ago, got it unsecured last June)

Chase United M+: CL $1,000 - opened around Oct 2008

I don't have any other things like charge cards, installments, or mortgages.

My history is only two years.

- I have 2 hard inquiries in two years, that's not a lot, is it?

- I'm very tempted to apply for an Amex card. I check preapproval, and I got pre-selected for Preferred Rewards Gold Card and Preferred Rewards Green Card. Should I apply for Blue Cash, which is the card I want? In the past three months, I only used Cap1 (the latest statement is 62%) because I like cash back. Two other cards have very low balances (one is $0, the other is $50)

- My BofA has AF of $29, but no rewards or anything, the only thing I keep it is because it has high CL. Should I cancel it? How would it affect my score? In the short run, like within 5 years?

[Anonymous]

---

@Anonymous wrote:

Hi guys,

Although I've read quite a lot from this forum, but I still need some help with this.

My stats:

EQ: 708 as of 03/27/2009

Cap1: CL $750 - opened around Feb 2009

BofA: CL $4,500 (was a secured two years ago, got it unsecured last June)

Chase United M+: CL $1,000 - opened around Oct 2008

I don't have any other things like charge cards, installments, or mortgages.

My history is only two years.

- I have 2 hard inquiries in two years, that's not a lot, is it?

- I'm very tempted to apply for an Amex card. I check preapproval, and I got pre-selected for Preferred Rewards Gold Card and Preferred Rewards Green Card. Should I apply for Blue Cash, which is the card I want? In the past three months, I only used Cap1 (the latest statement is 62%) because I like cash back. Two other cards have very low balances (one is $0, the other is $50)

- My BofA has AF of $29, but no rewards or anything, the only thing I keep it is because it has high CL. Should I cancel it? How would it affect my score? In the short run, like within 5 years?

---

Hello AnhDo and welcome to the forum.

 1.  No, 2 hard inquiries in 2 years is not a lot at all. 

  2. I definitely would NOT close the BofA account. Losing the relatively large CL would negatively effect your credit scores,it appears to be your oldest account so I'd keep it for AAofAs. Also it is the start of a good relationship with a good banking institution.

  I can't answer the AMEX question as I stay far far away from them. Someone else will be along soon to answer  that.

Message Edited by VEEnVEGAS on 05-12-2009 05:01 PM

[Anonymous]

I say no..I have 720 score or higher for experian, no collections or baddies of any kind....They denied me cli because "score was not high enough" and also recent accounts--my amex is my recent account, got it in Jan 2009, and before that my car I bought in 2008Dec......

[Anonymous]

shay2009,

Any ideas what your score was when you applied for that Amex? I want to apply for new account, not CLI. Btw, what CRA does Amex pull from?

[Anonymous]

I was also preselected for the both green and gold card and tried for the blue. Turned down for score not high enough (my EQ was 700, TU was 715) and a new account had been opened within the last 2 months. I regret the hard pull now as I just received an offer for Discover. Not sure how touchy Discover is about inquiries, I opened one new Chase account this month and was turned down for the Amex Blue.

[haulingthescoreup]

I will just say that I'm very happy that I first applied for a charge card (Gold Preferred Rewards), kept it for a year with prompt payments in full and some decent monthly usage, and THEN applied for a revolver.

I don't think that my CL of $2500 on the Blue is going to set any world records, but my EX was probably somewhere in the 730's at the time, so I'm OK.

They had a year to get to know me with very little risk on their end (charge vs revolver), and I think that helped on getting the Blue.

And the only reason that I got the Blue and closed the Gold was because I'm too cheap to pay an annual fee. Might be different if I traveled, but my life is way too non-glam to justify paying an annual fee for anything.

[Anonymous]

Score was 730 experian , when i applied and was approved for amex blue--

[cobaltnv]

I would not close the BofA; I would calling them and ask for a product change to a card with no AF.