topic Re: Amex vs. Chase question in Credit Cards

Amex vs. Chase question

Anonymous — Wed, 26 Jun 2019 14:52:42 GMT

Hey all!

This might be long but want to get all the details out to get feedback/thoughts so bear with me, and thanks in advance!

So I am getting ready to pull the trigger on a new card in a few months and doing my research now. Before I was pretty locked in on going the CSP or CSR route for some travel perks etc... to pay off the rest of my wedding expenses ($8k guarenteed spend that I already have cash to pay off now)

The more I look at it though it is seeming like AMEX makes so much more sense and here is my rational that I would love thoughts on:

FICO - 690-700 current (plan on letting this sit another 3 months)

Income - $170k annual

- I don't carry a balance and only buy if I have cash for it anyhow, so charge card vs credit makes no difference

- My spend is normally flights, hotels or food (So AMEX Platinum and then Gold seems like a smarter points play)

- There are no CSR lounges at my airport

- I tend to fly Delta (which is already a partner)

- There are two lounges at my airport I could get into with a Amex Plat (one delta lounge and one airspace lounge)

- All my travel is domestic (have left the country once)

I know this will punt me on some 5/24 if I went this route, so maybe grab like a CSP and then go for the Plat shortly after if I want to be in on chase? But honestly at this point thinking Chase isn't worth it that much rewards wise.

Also I have heard approval odds tend to be better with Amex than Chase even if you dont have a relationship with them yet. Could be wrong here.

Has anyone else thought the same? People here hard in on Chase? Would love some outside opinions!

Thanks!

Re: Amex vs. Chase question

Anonymous — Wed, 26 Jun 2019 14:38:20 GMT

It sounds like you've more or less already made the decision to go Amex. Good to see that you're considering the benefits and not just cold apping. How does your profile/scores look?

Re: Amex vs. Chase question

Anonymous — Wed, 26 Jun 2019 14:43:11 GMT

I am sitting at 690-700 across the board now.

I do have two 60 day lates on my account from over a year ago when my identity was stolen and I flubbed setting crap back up right. These are in constant goodwill request land.

Everything else is paid in full or I leave $1 to report and then pay it off after. Plan was to let everything sit for three more months to put everything in the low 700s and then pull the trigger.

Re: Amex vs. Chase question

Anonymous — Wed, 26 Jun 2019 14:48:19 GMT

I am not sure you can get CSP/CSR with that score though. Gold is more likely, Plat is a bit risky.

To figure out what combo nets you more value, do the math here https://www.thepointcalculator.com/Credit-Card-Comparison-Tool

Re: Amex vs. Chase question

Anonymous — Wed, 26 Jun 2019 14:51:35 GMT

@Anonymous wrote:

Everything else is paid in full or I leave $1 to report and then pay it off after. Plan was to let everything sit for three more months to put everything in the low 700s and then pull the trigger.

Have you implemented AZEO to see if that helps with your scores? From your statement above, it sounds like you may be allowing non-zero balances to report on multiple/many accounts, which relative to just one could adversely impact your scores which could be considered "on the cusp" for the products that you're considering.

Re: Amex vs. Chase question

Anonymous — Wed, 26 Jun 2019 14:58:24 GMT

For AZEO, not fully no.

Normally what I do is whatever my "spend" card is for the month is what I let report. But if I have a card that I dont use often like my store card or a low rewards card, sometimes those will get a report with my normal spend card.

So normally it looks like this:

Cap One - 0

Citi - 0

Comenity - 0

NFCU - $1

But if I havent used others in a bit (like this month)

Cap One - 1

Citi - 0

Comenity - 1

NFCU - 1

I will try and follow that AZEO method the next 3 months and see if it kicks up.

Thanks for that tip!

Re: Amex vs. Chase question

Anonymous — Wed, 26 Jun 2019 14:59:54 GMT

@Anonymous wrote:
I am not sure you can get CSP/CSR with that score though. Gold is more likely, Plat is a bit risky.

To figure out what combo nets you more value, do the math here https://www.thepointcalculator.com/Credit-Card-Comparison-Tool

I added my income to the main post as well which is $170k annual.

Which I have been told will make a big difference here.

Re: Amex vs. Chase question

xaximus — Wed, 26 Jun 2019 15:03:05 GMT

Definitely echo the statements above but also, to mention - the CSR does have a $300 travel credit, so effectively, the the AF is $150. I would definitely keep that bit in mind. I know the Plat has some benefits as well but would you use them?

Re: Amex vs. Chase question

Anonymous — Wed, 26 Jun 2019 15:08:45 GMT

@xaximus wrote:
Definitely echo the statements above but also, to mention - the CSR does have a $300 travel credit, so effectively, the the AF is $150. I would definitely keep that bit in mind. I know the Plat has some benefits as well but would you use them?

Doing the run down of these two I will definitely hit some -> most of them, I might have to actively use them more than the passive travel credit with CSR.

The lounges however I feel is where I would make back my money there as well as hotel status breakfast etc... since most my travel does stay at those hotels and is frequent enough where I feel that if there is much difference it is negligable. But I am defintely keeping that easier $300 play in mind when I look at these.

Re: Amex vs. Chase question

Anonymous — Wed, 26 Jun 2019 15:10:11 GMT

Didn’t you just get declined for an NFCU card? I’d sit and garden ALOT longer “income like that” doesn’t make a big difference when you have 30 and 60 day lates and biggest cl is 1500.

Re: Amex vs. Chase question

Anonymous — Wed, 26 Jun 2019 15:13:33 GMT

@Anonymous wrote:
I am not sure you can get CSP/CSR with that score though. Gold is more likely, Plat is a bit risky.

So you are saying that there is a difference between Gold and Plat? I thought conventional wisdom here was that all the charges have the same (or at least very similar) underwriting.

Re: Amex vs. Chase question

Anonymous — Wed, 26 Jun 2019 15:21:06 GMT

I did a bit over a month ago. But also go added to a 10k credit line and have now already got prequals for CSP.

So waiting, as stated, but can only garden so long as wedding dates dont move. So I can either try for something that nets rewards in September to make final payments or I end up paying cash.

And there is no sense in not trying.

Re: Amex vs. Chase question

jb1280 — Wed, 26 Jun 2019 15:27:14 GMT

If you fly Delta regularly through airports that have Sky Clubs, and make the airline, Uber, Saks, and dining credits work, the Gold/Platinum combo is absolutely the best
in terms of benefits and earning ability.

Re: Amex vs. Chase question

Anonymous — Wed, 26 Jun 2019 15:31:07 GMT

Check for pre-approval on the Amex site.

If you go for Amex, the $200 travel credit can be used more efficiently on Delta as follows:

Log on to delta on the Desktop site - not the mobile app. Buy one or more $50 Delta Gift Cards - not a higher value.

These will trigger the Airline credit AND you'll get 250 Rewards points for each card.

Re: Amex vs. Chase question

Anonymous — Wed, 26 Jun 2019 15:32:07 GMT

I think gold/plat is a good combo for you. You should be able to see if you’re prequal.

Re: Amex vs. Chase question

Anonymous — Wed, 26 Jun 2019 15:33:36 GMT

@Anonymous wrote:
@Anonymous wrote:
I am not sure you can get CSP/CSR with that score though. Gold is more likely, Plat is a bit risky.

So you are saying that there is a difference between Gold and Plat? I thought conventional wisdom here was that all the charges have the same (or at least very similar) underwriting.

no clue. I know you can get gold at 650, i don't know what's the minimum for plat.

Re: Amex vs. Chase question

Anonymous — Wed, 26 Jun 2019 15:35:03 GMT

@Anonymous wrote:
Check for pre-approval on the Amex site.

If you go for Amex, the $200 travel credit can be used more efficiently on Delta as follows:

Log on to delta on the Desktop site - not the mobile app. Buy one or more $50 Delta Gift Cards - not a higher value.

These will trigger the Airline credit AND you'll get 250 Rewards points for each card.

Thanks for this tip! I heard that in a video and wasnt sure how it worked!

Re: Amex vs. Chase question

Anonymous — Wed, 26 Jun 2019 15:36:55 GMT

@Anonymous wrote:
I think gold/plat is a good combo for you. You should be able to see if you’re prequal.

Is everyone checking prequals through Amex site? or Card Match? Or are these ultimately the same thing?

Re: Amex vs. Chase question

Anonymous — Wed, 26 Jun 2019 15:41:00 GMT

@Anonymous wrote:
@Anonymous wrote:
Check for pre-approval on the Amex site.

If you go for Amex, the $200 travel credit can be used more efficiently on Delta as follows:

Log on to delta on the Desktop site - not the mobile app. Buy one or more $50 Delta Gift Cards - not a higher value.

These will trigger the Airline credit AND you'll get 250 Rewards points for each card.

Thanks for this tip! I heard that in a video and wasnt sure how it worked!

The two real takeaways are desktop site only and $50 max. The $53 charge was actually the charges on a flight redemption with points - I didn't expect Amex to cover it, but it did.

Re: Amex vs. Chase question

Anonymous — Wed, 26 Jun 2019 15:54:08 GMT

@Anonymous wrote:
@Anonymous wrote:
@Anonymous wrote:
Check for pre-approval on the Amex site.

If you go for Amex, the $200 travel credit can be used more efficiently on Delta as follows:

Log on to delta on the Desktop site - not the mobile app. Buy one or more $50 Delta Gift Cards - not a higher value.

These will trigger the Airline credit AND you'll get 250 Rewards points for each card.

Thanks for this tip! I heard that in a video and wasnt sure how it worked!
The two real takeaways are desktop site only and $50 max. The $53 charge was actually the charges on a flight redemption with points - I didn't expect Amex to cover it, but it did.

it seems amex credit will cover anything that is less than 100 usd, and not explicitly labeled "gift card".