topic Re: What does it mean to be in the AMEX Family in Credit Cards

What does it mean to be in the AMEX Family

anderl — Thu, 16 Dec 2010 00:19:17 GMT

Apparently AMEX has its own internal scoring system when evaluating someone's creditworthiness-but does it mean that once you have been approved you definitley have GOOD or GREAT Credit?-Does it make it easier to be approved for, say Discover or other 'DIFFICULT' cards-does it look better if ur applying for a Mortgage/Loan,buying a car, etc. to have those certain cards/accounts-Also, how many accounts can one have w/Amex at one time? Sorry for all the questions-but after slowly rebuilding my credit, it seems that AMEX has opened its' gates and allowed me in-lol-I have been reading /studying this Forum for over a year and a half now,ever since I started over from scratch after paying off all my debt,began w/ the rebuilder cards(Premier-HSBC)-then on to some great CU's(NFCU-ADDISON-ALLIANT-NASA)-DENIED TWICE for AMEX, 3rd time was approved for Delta Skymiles Gold Amex-5k-danced around my apartment for a couple of days-lol. And in speaking w/ a CSR one day, mentioned that I once had a Delta Skymiles Gold CC about 18yrs ago but closed it after 6/8 mnths in good standing because I wasn't using it. She looked it up for me w/ an old charge that I had found in my junk desk drawer(!!!) and voila I then had an 18 year history w/ AMEX!!!! Fast forward to 2 weeks ago(6 mnths later) - received a pre-approval for Gold Amex Premiere Rewards-called in and BAM-APPROVED!!! And they even backdated this one as well So now 2 AMEX Cards w/ 18yrs of history- head is still spinning on this one. I'm very GRATEFUL for everyone's help w/ all the great info provided/ and all that u guys continue to provide!!!

Re: What does it mean to be in the AMEX Family

Anonymous — Thu, 16 Dec 2010 00:35:06 GMT

By the time I finished reading your post I was dancing too LOL!

Re: What does it mean to be in the AMEX Family

haulingthescoreup — Thu, 16 Dec 2010 00:41:44 GMT

lol at the dancing

Like any other bank/ CCC, American Express has cards that are easier to get than others. Being approved for an AmEx doesn't automatically mean that you're in a credit elite and that all other cards will leap into your lap, I'm afraid. Or mortgages either, for that matter. Mortgage lenders look at how long an account has been open and whether you've behaved yourself with it, and that's pretty much it.

I've always read that the AE Costco True Earnings and another one, maybe the Clear? are a lot harder to get.

It doesn't particularly matter anyway. All that counts is where you are and the progress you've made. Congrats on your cards, especially the drool-worthy 18 years on both!

Re: What does it mean to be in the AMEX Family

android01 — Thu, 16 Dec 2010 01:52:27 GMT

@anderl wrote:
Apparently AMEX has its own internal scoring system when evaluating someone's creditworthiness-but does it mean that once you have been approved you definitley have GOOD or GREAT Credit?-Does it make it easier to be approved for, say Discover or other 'DIFFICULT' cards-does it look better if ur applying for a Mortgage/Loan,buying a car, etc. to have those certain cards/accounts-Also, how many accounts can one have w/Amex at one time? Sorry for all the questions-but after slowly rebuilding my credit, it seems that AMEX has opened its' gates and allowed me in-lol-I have been reading /studying this Forum for over a year and a half now,ever since I started over from scratch after paying off all my debt,began w/ the rebuilder cards(Premier-HSBC)-then on to some great CU's(NFCU-ADDISON-ALLIANT-NASA)-DENIED TWICE for AMEX, 3rd time was approved for Delta Skymiles Gold Amex-5k-danced around my apartment for a couple of days-lol. And in speaking w/ a CSR one day, mentioned that I once had a Delta Skymiles Gold CC about 18yrs ago but closed it after 6/8 mnths in good standing because I wasn't using it. She looked it up for me w/ an old charge that I had found in my junk desk drawer(!!!) and voila I then had an 18 year history w/ AMEX!!!! Fast forward to 2 weeks ago(6 mnths later) - received a pre-approval for Gold Amex Premiere Rewards-called in and BAM-APPROVED!!! And they even backdated this one as well So now 2 AMEX Cards w/ 18yrs of history- head is still spinning on this one. I'm very GRATEFUL for everyone's help w/ all the great info provided/ and all that u guys continue to provide!!!

I just recently was approved for an Amex Delta Skymiles card (I unfortunately have to use Delta frequently). I've been a Platinum business customer for 10 years or so, and had an American Express Green dating back to 1986 that I closed around 1990. This old green card still shows up on my EX report as a closed account. If I am reading this correctly, my new Amex Delta Skymiles card will back dated to 1986? Is this something American Express does automatically or do you have to ask someone to make it happen?

Re: What does it mean to be in the AMEX Family

ArisGreek — Thu, 16 Dec 2010 02:00:15 GMT

It would date back to 1986, it may not automatically; but you can call them and ask. If they cannot find a record you just need to show them a statement or find your original card.

Re: What does it mean to be in the AMEX Family

joestay — Thu, 16 Dec 2010 02:08:45 GMT

@haulingthescoreup wrote:
lol at the dancing

Like any other bank/ CCC, American Express has cards that are easier to get than others. Being approved for an AmEx doesn't automatically mean that you're in a credit elite and that all other cards will leap into your lap, I'm afraid. Or mortgages either, for that matter. Mortgage lenders look at how long an account has been open and whether you've behaved yourself with it, and that's pretty much it.

I've always read that the AE Costco True Earnings and another one, maybe the Clear? are a lot harder to get.

It doesn't particularly matter anyway. All that counts is where you are and the progress you've made. Congrats on your cards, especially the drool-worthy 18 years on both!

Does that means if you have AE Costco True Earnings, then you have good to great credit?

Re: What does it mean to be in the AMEX Family

haulingthescoreup — Thu, 16 Dec 2010 02:28:39 GMT

@joestay wrote:
@haulingthescoreup wrote:
lol at the dancing

Like any other bank/ CCC, American Express has cards that are easier to get than others. Being approved for an AmEx doesn't automatically mean that you're in a credit elite and that all other cards will leap into your lap, I'm afraid. Or mortgages either, for that matter. Mortgage lenders look at how long an account has been open and whether you've behaved yourself with it, and that's pretty much it.

I've always read that the AE Costco True Earnings and another one, maybe the Clear? are a lot harder to get.

It doesn't particularly matter anyway. All that counts is where you are and the progress you've made. Congrats on your cards, especially the drool-worthy 18 years on both!
Does that means if you have AE Costco True Earnings, then you have good to great credit?

Define "good to great credit." I mean, seriously --this sort of thing is in the mind of the beholder, especially the mind (if there is one) of a lender. Some lenders think that a score right at 700 with no negatives in the last two years is good, even if everything before that looks like a credit minefield. Others rear up in horror at a couple-three 30 days from 5 years back. Very different credit, so which lender is right? Is either good credit?

I suppose that if you have a Costco TE card, you must have had pretty good credit, at least at the time that you applied. Although AE is funny in terms of approvals, especially with existing customers who've been good customers. I've seen plenty of posts by long-term AE customers with scores in the 600's due to high util and some other scary things going on, but they've always been happy users of their AmEx plastic, and they were approved for all sorts of things.

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

Seriously, everyone (not addressing this to joestay), I don't get all the anxiety about prestige cards and all. I don't mean to sound critical, but honestly, in my three years on the forums, I have never seen such an ongoing doo-dah about which card is better or more impressive or more prestigious or whatever. (Well, other than the thread two years ago about which card was prettiest. I didn't think that thing would ever die out.)

CC's are just tools to be used. If someone is impressed by seeing that you have a certain card, that person doesn't particularly impress me. It's getting to be a bit too much like the first day of school in fourth grade, when everyone's comparing binders, competing to see whose is "best." Heck, if it holds all my paper and doesn't fall apart in the first month, it's a good binder!

Anyway, just IMO. I'm feeling old and cranky today.

Re: What does it mean to be in the AMEX Family

smc733 — Thu, 16 Dec 2010 02:30:18 GMT

Explicitly? Being in the Amex family means nothing special.

Otherwise? Access to some nice benefits.

Re: What does it mean to be in the AMEX Family

android01 — Thu, 16 Dec 2010 02:33:42 GMT

@ArisGreek wrote:
It would date back to 1986, it may not automatically; but you can call them and ask. If they cannot find a record you just need to show them a statement or find your original card.

Wow. They will actually report it to the CRA's that way? I don't have the statements or the card, but My Experian report shows the full account number from back then. My AAoA is 11 years, but adding a 25 year old line to my credit report doesn't hurt. I guess sometimes being old isn't such a bad thing!

Re: What does it mean to be in the AMEX Family

trumpet-205 — Thu, 16 Dec 2010 02:44:15 GMT

I wonder why people think AMEX so special? Do they apply AMEX because of,

* Charge card?

* Rewards?

* Extended warranty?

* Customer service?

* Social status?

Just how good is extended warranty for AMEX?

Re: What does it mean to be in the AMEX Family

haulingthescoreup — Thu, 16 Dec 2010 02:47:24 GMT

@android01 wrote:
@ArisGreek wrote:
It would date back to 1986, it may not automatically; but you can call them and ask. If they cannot find a record you just need to show them a statement or find your original card.
Wow. They will actually report it to the CRA's that way? I don't have the statements or the card, but My Experian report shows the full account number from back then. My AAoA is 11 years, but adding a 25 year old line to my credit report doesn't hurt. I guess sometimes being old isn't such a bad thing!

If for no other reason, this is why I always recommend getting some sort of (ahem) bare-bones AE card to young people, even if they turn around and close it a year or two later. As long as they hang on to the account number, they can jump back in a decade later, and unless AE changes their policies, they'll have an old new card. Hanging on to that old opening date can do amazing things for your credit history. And it affects AAoA, too --one card with 25 years on it makes it older, two makes it a lot older, and three...

Of course, I'm a "member since" 2008.

If you already have an AmEx and you want to add another, wait until January. For instance, if I got another card today, it would have an opening date of Dec 2008. But if I wait two weeks until the new year, it will have an opening date of January 2008. That's 11 extra months of history in exchange for waiting two weeks.

By the way, for the newer members reading this thread, American Express is the only bank we know of that does this. And it doesn't work for AmEx branded cards that are issued by USAA, or BofA, or Macy's, or anyone else. It only works for cards that actually come from American Express.

Re: What does it mean to be in the AMEX Family

Anonymous — Thu, 16 Dec 2010 03:50:55 GMT

@haulingthescoreup wrote:
Of course, I'm a "member since" 2008.

So am I. And I know I won't find any old and forgotten Amex card in any of my drawers.

Plus, i feel old and cranky, too .

Re: What does it mean to be in the AMEX Family

haulingthescoreup — Thu, 16 Dec 2010 15:53:58 GMT

@Anonymous wrote:
@haulingthescoreup wrote:
Of course, I'm a "member since" 2008.
So am I. And I know I won't find any old and forgotten Amex card in any of my drawers.

Plus, i feel old and cranky, too .

We'll need to get together and compare how far we walked to school and up how many hills, barefoot, in the snow.

Re: What does it mean to be in the AMEX Family

Walt_K — Thu, 16 Dec 2010 19:15:06 GMT

" I don't have the statements or the card, but My Experian report shows the full account number from back then."

The number on your EX report isn't the same as your account number, but it can be used to locate your account. They use some other number on your credit report. If you can provide them with this full number, they should be able to locate the account. Depending on the CSR you get, they may not understand this, but they should be able to investigate and find the account. I had an account opened in 1998, closed in 2004, and I didn't have the account number. When I asked to have it backdated, they couldn't find me in the system searching on my social. I gave the rep the number from my EX report and he told me it wasn't my account number because it had too many digits and he didn't know what to do with that number. He said they would investigate and see if they could locate the account.

A few days later, they updated my online account with member since 1998, I received a new card, and it reported as opened in 1998 on my credit report. If you search the forums, there are some other posts that discuss the full number on your EX report in more detail and I believe they discuss a different department within Amex to speak to if you are having trouble.

Re: What does it mean to be in the AMEX Family

Creditaddict — Thu, 16 Dec 2010 19:21:26 GMT

to answer the original question how many Amex cards you can have... you can have 1 of each of Amex's cards if you qualify. My father has 7 (2 charge, 5 credit cards)

Re: What does it mean to be in the AMEX Family

OnWayUpinTexas — Thu, 16 Dec 2010 21:04:00 GMT

Great post, OP. Congratulations! Thanks for sharing.

Re: What does it mean to be in the AMEX Family

android01 — Thu, 16 Dec 2010 21:41:55 GMT

@haulingthescoreup wrote:

@Anonymous wrote:
@haulingthescoreup wrote:
Of course, I'm a "member since" 2008.
So am I. And I know I won't find any old and forgotten Amex card in any of my drawers.

Plus, i feel old and cranky, too .

We'll need to get together and compare how far we walked to school and up how many hills, barefoot, in the snow.

And don't forget that WE LIKED IT....

Re: What does it mean to be in the AMEX Family

android01 — Thu, 16 Dec 2010 21:51:47 GMT

@Walt_K wrote:
" I don't have the statements or the card, but My Experian report shows the full account number from back then."

The number on your EX report isn't the same as your account number, but it can be used to locate your account. They use some other number on your credit report. If you can provide them with this full number, they should be able to locate the account. Depending on the CSR you get, they may not understand this, but they should be able to investigate and find the account. I had an account opened in 1998, closed in 2004, and I didn't have the account number. When I asked to have it backdated, they couldn't find me in the system searching on my social. I gave the rep the number from my EX report and he told me it wasn't my account number because it had too many digits and he didn't know what to do with that number. He said they would investigate and see if they could locate the account.

A few days later, they updated my online account with member since 1998, I received a new card, and it reported as opened in 1998 on my credit report. If you search the forums, there are some other posts that discuss the full number on your EX report in more detail and I believe they discuss a different department within Amex to speak to if you are having trouble.

Thanks! I'm going to give that a shot if my new card doesn't show the back date from the get go. I still find it amazing that AMEX would do this. This gesture alone is almost enough to earn my business!

Re: What does it mean to be in the AMEX Family

trumpet-205 — Thu, 16 Dec 2010 22:52:00 GMT

Wow, never knew AMEX would do this. This kinda of makes me want to get Zync. Any credit requirement for Zync? I just started building my credit and I currently have a Capital One CC (unsecured) for about 1 month. Think they'll approve me once I have a six months history?

Re: What does it mean to be in the AMEX Family

Anonymous — Fri, 17 Dec 2010 08:35:20 GMT

"Just how good is extended warranty for AMEX?"

I can't speak for the extended warranty, but the purchase protection saved me about $180 for a new silver Tiffany's necklace and key charm when DW wife got it snagged on her seat belt less than two weeks after receiving it for her birthday. The necklace broke and she lost the key as she was getting out of the car.

I called up Amex and after a 10 minute call -- and a one business day wait -- they called me up to notify me that they crediting my account the purchase price -- no photos, items mailed, etc.

The funny thing was that when I went back to Tiffany's and they were like, didn't you just purchase this two weeks ago. After I explained the situation, the saleswoman apologized and said they'd exchange the broken necklace or credit me for the broken chain. The worst part is that after Tiffany's exchanged the broken necklace, I called Amex on my way home and tried to have them remove the $100 credit for the necklace, but the rep wouldn't remove the $100 credit for the necklace. I gave up trying to give Amex their $100 back after that.