topic Approved for AmEx Starwood Preferred Guest in Credit Card Approvals

Approved for AmEx Starwood Preferred Guest

K-in-Boston — Wed, 15 Mar 2017 00:03:11 GMT

I have a big tax payment coming up and was looking at the best way to make it less painful. Since I've decided to marry SPG/Marriott anyway, I thought the bonus offer (essentially 35,000 Starpoints with $5k spend - will be done in a single transaction) made sense. FICO 08s are 720-730 right now, utilization rounded to 28%. Instant approval with $8k SL. I may reallocate some of my Blue to this since I no longer use that card but have no compelling reason to close it or PC to ED/EDP - nice to see that AmEx now lets you do this online!

Re: Approved for AmEx Starwood Preferred Guest

Anonymous — Wed, 15 Mar 2017 00:15:34 GMT

Congrats on your SPG approval

Re: Approved for AmEx Starwood Preferred Guest

BronzeTrader — Wed, 15 Mar 2017 00:38:59 GMT

Nice.

mRe: Approved for AmEx Starwood Preferred Guest

Anonymous — Wed, 15 Mar 2017 00:42:22 GMT

Congrats on the approval! I love Marriott and now SPG. Can't wait to get one of the cards.

Re: mRe: Approved for AmEx Starwood Preferred Guest

Anonymous — Wed, 15 Mar 2017 00:43:36 GMT

Congrats. Marriott is a great hotel. 🍾🎉🎊

Re: Approved for AmEx Starwood Preferred Guest

K-in-Boston — Wed, 15 Mar 2017 14:59:05 GMT

Thanks everyone! I know it's too good to last, but so far no HP alerts. Love Marriott, especially since getting the Platinum - I am sure I will love SPG just as much.

Update: Still no HP reporting anywhere. The rumor mill says that for some existing cardholders, they're foregoing the HP entirely on apps. They do 2-3 SPs on me a month, so they're quite familiar with my profile. Still, it's nice that my last HP from AmEx was sometime in 2003.

Re: Approved for AmEx Starwood Preferred Guest

Anonymous — Wed, 15 Mar 2017 20:48:22 GMT

@K-in-Boston wrote:
I have a big tax payment coming up and was looking at the best way to make it less painful. Since I've decided to marry SPG/Marriott anyway, I thought the bonus offer (essentially 35,000 Starpoints with $5k spend - will be done in a single transaction) made sense. FICO 08s are 720-730 right now, utilization rounded to 28%. Instant approval with $8k SL. I may reallocate some of my Blue to this since I no longer use that card but have no compelling reason to close it or PC to ED/EDP - nice to see that AmEx now lets you do this online!

What's a good FICO Score to apply for SPG. My EX is 655, and I'm trying to get on the ball with an AMEX card.

Re: Approved for AmEx Starwood Preferred Guest

BronzeTrader — Wed, 15 Mar 2017 22:41:38 GMT

Hard to say. But AmEx likes to give you a chance.

Re: Approved for AmEx Starwood Preferred Guest

AllCredit — Wed, 15 Mar 2017 22:54:32 GMT

Wow...if this is true it would be great! Congrats on the approval, SPG is on the list for me in the future!

Re: Approved for AmEx Starwood Preferred Guest

kidink1911 — Thu, 16 Mar 2017 02:59:12 GMT

Congratulations on your AMEX SPG approval!

Re: Approved for AmEx Starwood Preferred Guest

K-in-Boston — Thu, 16 Mar 2017 13:16:46 GMT

@Anonymous wrote:
@K-in-Boston wrote:
I have a big tax payment coming up and was looking at the best way to make it less painful. Since I've decided to marry SPG/Marriott anyway, I thought the bonus offer (essentially 35,000 Starpoints with $5k spend - will be done in a single transaction) made sense. FICO 08s are 720-730 right now, utilization rounded to 28%. Instant approval with $8k SL. I may reallocate some of my Blue to this since I no longer use that card but have no compelling reason to close it or PC to ED/EDP - nice to see that AmEx now lets you do this online!
What's a good FICO Score to apply for SPG. My EX is 655, and I'm trying to get on the ball with an AMEX card.

Just glanced at the credit pulls database and see 3 recent approvals in the $1k range for SPG in the 670s. I see several threads here where people got other cobrand AmEx cards (like Delta) in the 650s. 655 is your actual FICO 08? Judging by the cards in your signature, I think it's likely that AmEx would approve you but likely with a $1k limit which you should be able to triple after 61 days. If that's the case, to make the spend bonus you need to spend $3,000 in the first 3 months to get the 25,000 Starpoints and another $2,000 by six months to get the additional 10,000. That offer ends April 5th. With a lower SL, that will likely require more than 1 payment per cycle.

One thing about AmEx is that they are not extremely sensitive to FICO scores alone like some lenders - they certainly take income, your relationship with them and your overall payment history into account. They have been good to me over the years even though I had roughly 80-90% util for nearly a decade, never denied any large $5k+ purchases, never batted an eyelash at me carrying $20-30k in Pay Over Time (I know, I know...) balances on my charge cards for years, etc...

Best of luck and please let us know if you decide to go for it! If you use Starpoints effectively (domestic or short-haul international flights, points+cash), this is far more valuable than a 2% back card.

Also, still no HP reporting!