when to try for AMEX / Discover

[LS2982]

I was thinking July, My EX report has 13 inquiries but 5 will not be counted by FICO has they are over a year old. I have 10 revolving accts and 5 will have a year of solid history. But im thinking I should wait until december when all accts are a year or older and all INQ's are a year old. would it be good to wait or try in july?

[Anonymous]

If you're wanting an AmEx, I'd wait till your EX Fico is right around 680+ and go for the Zync, JMO

Discover is very inq sensitive, I'm not real sure what the score threshold is with them.

When I apped for the Discover More in May my EQ Fico was like 777 IIRC, 24 inq's (12 inq's from rate shopping for my car 5/09 and 10 were from rate shopping for my new car 3/10) I was declined due to, too many inq's, I called BD# immediately and explained the inq's, was put on hold, when the rep came back, she said congrats, I was able to get you approved.

Hopefully a MyFico expert will chime in with better advice.

Best of Luck!

[MrShush]

Discover is not predictable; it really depends on what your entire portfolio looks like. For me, I applied two or three times back in 07 and 08 and was denied. Couldn't tell you my score, but it probably wasn't very good (< 680). In 09 after I bought my house, my reports were a bit better and my scores were around 700 +- 10 points. I got a mail solicitation so I applied and was approved. I firmly believe it was the new mortgage that did it for me.

The few things we can agree on is they are inquiry sensitive and they don't look kindly upon a higher utilization ratio. It's up to you whether to wait or not until some of those inquiries age.

AMEX of late is approval happy. People are being approved with scores all over the board and there doesn't seem to be any rhyme or reason to the chances for approvals. I got my Green last year (member since 1996). No idea what my EX was on that app either. In February of this year I applied for a regular Blue and was approved with a 10K limit. The next month PSECU gave me my EX FICO (686) and it was 80 points lower than my TU and EQ. In August 2011 I applied and was approved for Delta Sky Miles Gold with a limit of 7K and my score that month was 756.

The point is, it is mostly random. My stories don't apply to every situation. Income and history play a significant part. I hope it helps you decide and as always, YMMV.  Good luck!

[Anonymous]

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@MrShush wrote:

The point is, it is mostly random. My stories don't apply to every situation. Income and history play a significant part. I hope it helps you decide and as always, YMMV.  Good luck!

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I can verify this.

Discover gave me a more card with 3k limit, 720 fico, no baddies 1yr aaoa oldest account 1yr 10months. Amex denied me zync with the same score and history. I did have an extra inquiry when I was denied the zync though. It also failed a recon.

It's all a crapshoot

[CS800]

When it comes to AMEX, there is no telling since they have their own internal scoring system.

I would say wait until you get at least to 680 for both cards.

[LS2982]

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@CS800 wrote:

When it comes to AMEX, there is no telling since they have their own internal scoring system.

I would say wait until you get at least to 680 for both cards.

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I should be above 680 by mid february. I'll have my util at 5%. I think I'm gonna wait it out til december. Get some CLI's with current cards.

[SevenNEW]

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@LS2982 wrote:

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@CS800 wrote:

When it comes to AMEX, there is no telling since they have their own internal scoring system.

I would say wait until you get at least to 680 for both cards.

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I should be above 680 by mid february. I'll have my util at 5%. I think I'm gonna wait it out til december. Get some CLI's with current cards.

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Sounds like a good plan! See you in the garden...

[LS2982]

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@SevenNEW wrote:

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@LS2982 wrote:

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@CS800 wrote:

When it comes to AMEX, there is no telling since they have their own internal scoring system.

I would say wait until you get at least to 680 for both cards.

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I should be above 680 by mid february. I'll have my util at 5%. I think I'm gonna wait it out til december. Get some CLI's with current cards.

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Sounds like a good plan! See you in the garden...

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I'll be there......struggling to stay in there........but im going to give it my best shot!

[jasimae]

IMO, you should try to get your scores up a bit more and let some of your inquiries either fall off completely or age considerably.

[LS2982]

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@jasimae wrote:

IMO, you should try to get your scores up a bit more and let some of your inquiries either fall off completely or age considerably.

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Not sure if you read the other posts but thats what I plan to do. My scores should be very close to 700 by 12/12.