topic Re: AMEX Charge Cards in Credit Cards

AMEX Charge Cards

Anonymous — Sat, 25 Jun 2016 05:31:08 GMT

Hey everyone,

Regarding the AMEX charge cards (green, gold, premier gold, and platinum), are these cards easier or harder to get than their revolvers? Do they have a strict income requirement? I've been thinking about getting one in a few months when most of my debt is paid off.

I like how I NEED to pay off the card every month, and also all of the perks that come with them.

Re: AMEX Charge Cards

Anonymous — Sat, 25 Jun 2016 05:32:12 GMT

From my understanding, they are easier to get than credit cards.

Re: AMEX Charge Cards

UncleB — Sat, 25 Jun 2016 16:41:08 GMT

Anecdotally, there have been plenty of people on here who reported being able to get an Amex charge card (Green, Gold, etc) with no problem but were told no when they tried for a revolver, so it does seem the charge cards have a lower bar for approval.

That being said, if you look hard enough you will also find the opposite situation; I think I've read twice of somebody reporting not being able to get a charge card but being approved for a revolver (the exact opposite of what most people experience) but it's not common.

In other words, based on evidence here the charge cards are easier, but it's always YMMV.

The fast way to be made into a liar on here is to utter the words "always", "never", or "absolutely".

(with the notable exception of 'always YMMV' - that's generally pretty safe... LOL)

Re: AMEX Charge Cards

Anonymous — Sat, 25 Jun 2016 16:59:28 GMT

@UncleB wrote:
Anecdotally, there have been plenty of people on here who reported being able to get an Amex charge card (Green, Gold, etc) with no problem but were told no when they tried for a revolver, so it does seem the charge cards have a lower bar for approval.

That being said, if you look hard enough you will also find the opposite situation; I think I've read twice of somebody reporting not being able to get a charge card but being approved for a revolver (the exact opposite of what most people experience) but it's not common.

In other words, based on evidence here the charge cards are easier, but it's always YMMV.

The fast way to be made into a liar on here is to utter the words "always", "never", or "absolutely".
(with the notable exception of 'always YMMV' - that's generally pretty safe... LOL)

In my experience, the charge cards are probably slightly easier to get. The PRG/Gold/Green were the first to show up on the AMEX prequal site for me, and it was only after a while that the ED and BCE started to show up too.

I don't think that income is too much of an issue. It might have been in the past with AMEX, but with the loss of Costco etc., it seems like they are slightly lowering the underwriting criteria to increase the number of cardholders.

Re: AMEX Charge Cards

Anonymous — Sat, 25 Jun 2016 17:06:32 GMT

Yeah my nephew is in college and makes minimum wage. He was able to get a gold card. I'm sure his spending power is pretty low but his foot is in the door

Re: AMEX Charge Cards

Anonymous — Sat, 25 Jun 2016 17:15:58 GMT

I'll also add that there is no underwriting difference between the various charge cards. The Platinum is no harder to get than the green card for example.

Re: AMEX Charge Cards

Anonymous — Sat, 25 Jun 2016 17:17:25 GMT

Interesting that a minimum wage college student felt that he needed a Gold card? I barely had any amount of money in college lol!

Re: AMEX Charge Cards

UncleB — Sat, 25 Jun 2016 17:22:30 GMT

@Anonymous wrote:
Interesting that a minimum wage college student felt that he needed a Gold card? I barely had any amount of money in college lol!

I had a Green card while in college years ago... a few times it was a God-send.

Re: AMEX Charge Cards

thom02099 — Sat, 25 Jun 2016 17:24:45 GMT

@Anonymous wrote:
I'll also add that there is no underwriting difference between the various charge cards. The Platinum is no harder to get than the green card for example.

^^^^^ This. As previously noted, anecdotally the charge cards are easier to get. I've read on other forums (over a long period of time) where AMEX CSR's have commented (take this with a grain of salt ) that there are different underwriting criteria for the charge cards vs the revolving credit cards, and that charge cards are easier to get. But there's no difference in underwriting criteria for the charge card group of cards.

Always YMMV.

Re: AMEX Charge Cards

Anonymous — Sat, 25 Jun 2016 17:24:45 GMT

Ya I could see how it could come in handy in times! I just remember $195 being ALOT of money to me back then. Oh how times have changed

/memorylane

Re: AMEX Charge Cards

Anonymous — Sat, 25 Jun 2016 17:26:00 GMT

Yeah I was surprised he wanted the gold but he really likes it. He mainly uses it for gas pizzas and beer and has paid it in full each month without issue(so far).

Re: AMEX Charge Cards

Berk — Sat, 25 Jun 2016 17:31:16 GMT

@Anonymous wrote:
Yeah I was surprised he wanted the gold but he really likes it. He mainly uses it for gas pizzas and beer and has paid it in full each month without issue(so far).

I don't remember any other expenses in college.

Re: AMEX Charge Cards

UncleB — Sat, 25 Jun 2016 17:32:41 GMT

@Anonymous wrote:
Yeah I was surprised he wanted the gold but he really likes it. He mainly uses it for gas pizzas and beer and has paid it in full each month without issue(so far).

If you're going to have an Amex charge, you might as well go for the PRG. You can easily get $100 back right away in airline or Amazon gift cards, effectively making the AF $95 which is the same as the Green cards, but with better MR earning potential.

Re: AMEX Charge Cards

Anonymous — Sat, 25 Jun 2016 22:06:54 GMT

@thom02099 wrote:
@Anonymous wrote:
I'll also add that there is no underwriting difference between the various charge cards. The Platinum is no harder to get than the green card for example.
^^^^^ This. As previously noted, anecdotally the charge cards are easier to get. I've read on other forums (over a long period of time) where AMEX CSR's have commented (take this with a grain of salt ) that there are different underwriting criteria for the charge cards vs the revolving credit cards, and that charge cards are easier to get. But there's no difference in underwriting criteria for the charge card group of cards.

Always YMMV.

I wonder what the credit score requirements are for the charge cards, and I also wonder what AMEX weighs more heavily when making the credit decision.

Re: AMEX Charge Cards

Berk — Sat, 25 Jun 2016 22:08:49 GMT

@Anonymous wrote:
@thom02099 wrote:
@Anonymous wrote:
I'll also add that there is no underwriting difference between the various charge cards. The Platinum is no harder to get than the green card for example.
^^^^^ This. As previously noted, anecdotally the charge cards are easier to get. I've read on other forums (over a long period of time) where AMEX CSR's have commented (take this with a grain of salt ) that there are different underwriting criteria for the charge cards vs the revolving credit cards, and that charge cards are easier to get. But there's no difference in underwriting criteria for the charge card group of cards.

Always YMMV.
I wonder what the credit score requirements are for the charge cards, and I also wonder what AMEX weighs more heavily when making the credit decision.

And those two answers are in the forums if you search for them.

Re: AMEX Charge Cards

RonM21 — Sun, 26 Jun 2016 13:49:53 GMT

And even then, you'll find the scores will vary.