topic Re: First AMEX? in Credit Cards

First AMEX?

Anonymous — Sat, 19 Dec 2015 23:29:07 GMT

Really want to join the Amex club....

Right now, the Amex Everyday Card looks like the best bet since it has no annual fee. But I'm welcome to hear any advice or insight on other Amex options that might be better for me...

According to Credit Karma, I'm at 696, and on Cap1 credit simulator, I have 720.

Thanks!! (and yay, first post ever!)

Re: First AMEX?

Anonymous — Sat, 19 Dec 2015 23:36:09 GMT

With those scores, I got a Blue Cash Preferred. It has an AF, but more than made up for it with my grocery spend. I think you have some options for which Amex cards you get.

However, you need to actually look at your spend and determine if the card is a good fit. If you just want a generic Amex card for the purposes of having an Amex card, Everyday is a good choice, although you might prefer Blue Cash Everyday. However, that isn't a great way to pick a credit card. Instead, look at the perks and see which is best for your spend.

Re: First AMEX?

Anonymous — Sat, 19 Dec 2015 23:45:52 GMT

Welcome to MyFico.

The first thing you need to do is get your Fico 08 Experian score because that is what Amex pulls. The scores you posted are Vantage scores and could be completely different than your Experian score. Once you have that you'll be in a much better position to know which card you might be approved for.

As for what card to apply for you nned to decide whether you are interested in rewards cards or cashback. The EveryDay cards are reward points cards while the Blue Cash family are cashback cards.

Re: First AMEX?

Anonymous — Sun, 20 Dec 2015 00:04:27 GMT

Thanks for the tip! Is the best way to get a Fico score thru this site?

Also, I think I would want rewards, since my Cap1 QuicksilverOne is cash back....so I think it would make sense to diversify a bit, right?

Re: First AMEX?

Anonymous — Sun, 20 Dec 2015 01:13:38 GMT

@Anonymous wrote:
Thanks for the tip! Is the best way to get a Fico score thru this site?

Also, I think I would want rewards, since my Cap1 QuicksilverOne is cash back....so I think it would make sense to diversify a bit, right?

You can get your Experian score thru here (will also give you other versions of your score like mortgage, bankcard enhanced and credit card enhanced) or directly thru Experian. If you can afford it, I would suggest you get your scores for all 3 CRAs thru here.

Diversification is good but before you apply for an Amex rewards card please make sure you look into their rewards program to ensure that you have a good understanding of the program and to make sure that it makes sense for you. The best value for their rewards program is redeeming the points for travel so if you don't travel for example it may not make sense for you.

One other thing. Please dont apply for an Amex card just to say you have one. I personally like Amex very much but their cards are not for everyone and they don't give you any special prestige just to have one. That's why it's so important to analyze your spending habits and future plans to make sure you are applying for a card you really can make use of. There might very well be another card that is better for you. Too often here I see people applying for cards that they know very little about and end with a credit card that has very little use for them.

Re: First AMEX?

Anonymous — Sun, 20 Dec 2015 00:40:38 GMT

@Anonymous wrote:
@Anonymous wrote:
Thanks for the tip! Is the best way to get a Fico score thru this site?

Also, I think I would want rewards, since my Cap1 QuicksilverOne is cash back....so I think it would make sense to diversify a bit, right?
You can get your Experian score thru here (will also give you other versions of your score like mortgage, bankcard enhanced and credit card enhanced) or directly thru Experian. If yu can afford it, I would suggest you get your scores for all 3 CRAs thru here.

Diversification is good but before you apply for an Amex rewards card please make sure you look into their rewards program to ensure that you have a good understanding of the program and to make sure that it makes sense for you. The best value for their rewards program is redeeming the points for travel so if you don't travel for example it may not make sense for you.

One other thing. Please dont apply for an Amex card just to say you have one. I personally like Amex very much but their cards are not for everyone and they don't give you any special prestige just to have one. That's why it's so important to analyse your spending habits and future plans to make sure you are applying for a card you really can make use of. There might very well be another card that is better for you. Too often here I see people applying for cards that they know very little about and end with a credit card that has very little use for them.

Thanks so much! Will do some more research and see what's right for me.

Re: First AMEX?

bldmt — Sun, 20 Dec 2015 00:55:11 GMT

Good points Irish.

OP for what it's worth, I chose the BCP even though it has an annual fee. I have more than made up for it with the following.

$150.00 statement credit after initial spend meet (not sure what they are offering now).

6% at grocery stores (I'm at at about $80 since March)

In December they offered $20 statement credit on a $50 spend at Advanced Auto

In December they offered $10 statement credit for $30 gas purchase Exxon/Mobil

Re: First AMEX?

Anonymous — Sun, 20 Dec 2015 12:48:08 GMT

I would go BCP they are offering $250 statement credit currently when 1k spend is met.

Re: First AMEX?

Anonymous — Sun, 20 Dec 2015 15:58:16 GMT

@Anonymous wrote:
@Anonymous wrote:
Thanks for the tip! Is the best way to get a Fico score thru this site?

Also, I think I would want rewards, since my Cap1 QuicksilverOne is cash back....so I think it would make sense to diversify a bit, right?
You can get your Experian score thru here (will also give you other versions of your score like mortgage, bankcard enhanced and credit card enhanced) or directly thru Experian. If you can afford it, I would suggest you get your scores for all 3 CRAs thru here.

Diversification is good but before you apply for an Amex rewards card please make sure you look into their rewards program to ensure that you have a good understanding of the program and to make sure that it makes sense for you. The best value for their rewards program is redeeming the points for travel so if you don't travel for example it may not make sense for you.

One other thing. Please dont apply for an Amex card just to say you have one. I personally like Amex very much but their cards are not for everyone and they don't give you any special prestige just to have one. That's why it's so important to analyze your spending habits and future plans to make sure you are applying for a card you really can make use of. There might very well be another card that is better for you. Too often here I see people applying for cards that they know very little about and end with a credit card that has very little use for them.

+1, particularly true with MR points. You need to put a lot of spend on the card to get a reasonable amount of MR points that you can redeem in a valuable way (transfer to partners) and in any case with the ED you want to make sure you do 20 transactions a month to get the bonus rate.

And equally BCP only makes sense with enough spend at covered grocery stores.

Re: First AMEX?

NRB525 — Sun, 20 Dec 2015 16:57:39 GMT

@Anonymous wrote:
@Anonymous wrote:

And equally BCP only makes sense with enough spend at covered grocery stores.

This gets mentioned, but can't be emphasized enough. In my experience, only really specific grocery stores get this AMEX coding. Fred Meyer does not, even though it's primarily groceries they sell clothing and housewares as well. On Freedom and Discover, no problem, FM is groceries. Not any of my AMEX cards with groceries category, PRG, EDP, nor Hilton.

The real downside to this is, the prices I see on the real grocery stores are more than a few percentage points higher than Fred Meyer, often 10% or greater price difference, so all the AMEX points would do is slightly close the gap, vs just using any non-catgory card at Fred Meyer, or a non-AF version of an AMEX for fewer MR points. It's going to be the same price gap or worse with Walmart, Costco, and others I'm sure.

Re: First AMEX?

Anonymous — Sun, 20 Dec 2015 17:50:38 GMT

Good points! Thanks, all. I don't think the amount of spending I do at grocery stores would really make this card make sense for me. I did some more research last night, and think maybe a BarclayCard Arrival would be best for me, since a lot of my spending is on dining out. But, that's a whole different conversation for a whole different thread

Re: First AMEX?

Anonymous — Mon, 21 Dec 2015 01:04:07 GMT

I really wish my local Walmart would code as a grocery store for my BCE. It would make my life much easier after I've maxed my Sallie Mae for the month.

Re: First AMEX?

Anonymous — Mon, 21 Dec 2015 11:53:29 GMT

It codes for supermarkets. Fred Neyers, Walmart, and Target are not supermarkets, even if they gave them attached.

Re: First AMEX?

Anonymous — Mon, 21 Dec 2015 12:34:19 GMT

I got the delta last night. My wife also has the delta but we do fly alot typically 4+ times a year mimimum. Its nice to get a little bit off when theres 5 of us flying.

Im waiting on my decision on the BCP, again it will be very rewarding for us being such a large family we will benifit from the 6%.

It feels good finally able to use my credit to get something in return. For once I feel like all the hard work I've put in is finally paying off. and it is literally paying me!!

Barclay, even tho I have it and use it alot. I have the apple rewards. wish I would have got the reward but barclay is pretty strict on giving 2 cards out until they get to see how your spending habits are, carry a balance etc. When i talked to the service rep he was straight forward with me. He said they generally wont give a second card until 6-12 mo of history with them. Theres really so many apple products i can buy lol. It is a very attractive card but have a feeling it's going to get SD if i get the BCP. My 2 most used cards are the AMEX ( AU on) and capital one. because of how they fit into my spending.

The Folks on MyFico have been very helpful with that.

Good luck OP!!!

Re: First AMEX?

takeshi74 — Mon, 21 Dec 2015 13:58:50 GMT

@Anonymous wrote:
Really want to join the Amex club....

Why? Don't select a creditor and then try to justify a card from that creditor.

Sort out your needs/wants. Use that as critieria to select specific cards that suit you. Don't put the cart before the horse.

@Anonymous wrote:
Right now, the Amex Everyday Card looks like the best bet since it has no annual fee.

Don't consider just the AF either. Consider total cost/benefit. Run the numbers for your spend. For rewards programs like Membership Rewards with the Everday card you also need to look at redemptions. The redemptions processes that you can use will have an impact on reward value.

@Anonymous wrote:
According to Credit Karma, I'm at 696, and on Cap1 credit simulator, I have 720.

Neither of these are relevant. If you're going to rely on scores then you need to know the score, model and CRA used by a creditor. AmEx does not use the VantageScores provided by Credit Karma. Nor does it use the TransUnion New Account score provided by Capital One.

Additionally, it's never just about score.

@Anonymous wrote:
Thanks for the tip! Is the best way to get a Fico score thru this site?

Best is always highly subjective regardless of topic. An EX FICO 8 is an EX FICO 8. It doesn't matter where you get it from. People can certainly have reasons for preferring one source over another. myFICO provides access to additional scoring models whereas other services may only provide FICO 8's. If that matters then one could prefer myFICO.

Just as with card recommendations, you need to provide your requirements for feedback.

@Anonymous wrote:
Also, I think I would want rewards, since my Cap1 QuicksilverOne is cash back....so I think it would make sense to diversify a bit, right?

Not necessarily. Don't just assume that having a cash back card means that you should then get a points/miles rewards card.

It doesn't make sense to spread your spend over different rewards programs if it means that you'll accrue rewards too slowly. This is why you need to run the numbers for your spend. Not only do you want to know how much MR points will be based on the redemption method(s) you use but you also want to know how quickly you'll acrrue MR points to redeem. How long will it take you to reach the number of points needed to redeem?

Re: First AMEX?

Anonymous — Tue, 22 Dec 2015 01:55:04 GMT

@takeshi74 wrote:
@Anonymous wrote:
Really want to join the Amex club....
Why? Don't select a creditor and then try to justify a card from that creditor.

Sort out your needs/wants. Use that as critieria to select specific cards that suit you. Don't put the cart before the horse.

@Anonymous wrote:
Right now, the Amex Everyday Card looks like the best bet since it has no annual fee.
Don't consider just the AF either. Consider total cost/benefit. Run the numbers for your spend. For rewards programs like Membership Rewards with the Everday card you also need to look at redemptions. The redemptions processes that you can use will have an impact on reward value.

@Anonymous wrote:
According to Credit Karma, I'm at 696, and on Cap1 credit simulator, I have 720.

Neither of these are relevant. If you're going to rely on scores then you need to know the score, model and CRA used by a creditor. AmEx does not use the VantageScores provided by Credit Karma. Nor does it use the TransUnion New Account score provided by Capital One.

Additionally, it's never just about score.

@Anonymous wrote:
Thanks for the tip! Is the best way to get a Fico score thru this site?
Best is always highly subjective regardless of topic. An EX FICO 8 is an EX FICO 8. It doesn't matter where you get it from. People can certainly have reasons for preferring one source over another. myFICO provides access to additional scoring models whereas other services may only provide FICO 8's. If that matters then one could prefer myFICO.

Just as with card recommendations, you need to provide your requirements for feedback.

@Anonymous wrote:
Also, I think I would want rewards, since my Cap1 QuicksilverOne is cash back....so I think it would make sense to diversify a bit, right?
Not necessarily. Don't just assume that having a cash back card means that you should then get a points/miles rewards card.

It doesn't make sense to spread your spend over different rewards programs if it means that you'll accrue rewards too slowly. This is why you need to run the numbers for your spend. Not only do you want to know how much MR points will be based on the redemption method(s) you use but you also want to know how quickly you'll acrrue MR points to redeem. How long will it take you to reach the number of points needed to redeem?

Super helpful, thank you!! I appreciate the insight. I may have gotten a bit ahead of myself in the beginning, and am starting to really look at my spending habits and what my needs actually are, to figure out which card is best for me and will give me the biggest return.

Re: First AMEX?

advocate1 — Tue, 05 Jan 2016 04:12:56 GMT

Your stated scores are slightly better than mine, and I got approved for BOTH the Blue Cash Preferred and the Everyday Preferred. Combined limits of $10,000. One big piece of advice: Don't do multiple apps to AMEX on the same day. Their computer system is only set up to accept one application per day. They don't mind you having multiple cards, but multiple applications in one day will slow things down. When I got the "in progress" message for the Everyday Preferred, I called in and the CSR said "Let the computer system catch up to you". That was on 12/29/15. I logged in today (1/4/16) and saw "approved". Both were auto approvals. Also, AMEX (at least in NY) only pulls Experian.

As of 1/4/16:

EQ 687, TU 647, EX 694.

Total non-store lines - $31,000

Utilization - 35%

High individual limit - $7,000 (AMEX Everyday) - Essentially no different than a VISA Signature

At this point, the goal is 720+ with all 3 bureaus, and just go for auto CLI's once every 6 months. A couple banks SP for CLI's so no damage to score. Additional applications prior to 720 across the board would accomplish nothing.