topic Re: Is Dillards AMEX an actual AMEX? in Credit Cards

Is Dillards AMEX an actual AMEX?

creditisbetter2 — Wed, 06 Apr 2011 14:19:07 GMT

I am having a bit of confusion here. I was shopping at dillards and I really like some of the things they have in their store so when the sales associate asked if I wanted to open an account, i said sure. I wasn't aware that they had an AMEX co branded card, I assumed i'd get a store card because that's all I was interested in. I found out that I got approved for the Amex card with a $1200 CL. I guess my question is, is this a real amex card or is this a dillards card with an amex logo on it? If it's not an amex card, what's the purpose of the amex logo?

Re: Is Dillards AMEX an actual AMEX?

Smerri1029 — Wed, 06 Apr 2011 14:25:48 GMT

It is issued through a different bank but transactions are processed on the American Express Network. It is not issued through American Express Bank like the Green/Gold/Costco TE/Blue Cash.

Re: Is Dillards AMEX an actual AMEX?

Walt_K — Wed, 06 Apr 2011 14:28:02 GMT

It uses the Amex payment network which is why it has the Amex logo on it but is not offered by Centurion Bank. When people refer to a real Amex, they generally mean one that is offered by Centurion Bank. One way to look at this is that all Visa/MC are co-branded in a sense because Visa/MC are payment networks (and I'm not aware of any Visa/MC bank). They partner with different banks to offer their cards. Amex happens to have its own bank.

Re: Is Dillards AMEX an actual AMEX?

creditisbetter2 — Wed, 06 Apr 2011 14:31:14 GMT

I gotcha. You would think I would know this considering I used to work for Chase CC division but I've never used an amex so I wasn't sure if the rules were the same with their logo. Sounds good to me.

Re: Is Dillards AMEX an actual AMEX?

Anonymous — Wed, 06 Apr 2011 14:44:14 GMT

@creditisbetter2 wrote:
I gotcha. You would think I would know this considering I used to work for Chase CC division but I've never used an amex so I wasn't sure if the rules were the same with their logo. Sounds good to me.

Congrats!

I also applied for one last Friday. Like you, I expected to get the store card, only to find out that I had been approved for the AMEX version. The new account has already posted to all three CRAs and according to one of my credit monitoring services it's showing as a major credit card as opposed to a store card. If I understand correctly, according to some scoring models this is actually a good thing. Does anyone else here have any insight on this?

ETA: Another way of putting this is that while the Dillard's AMEX is not issued by Centurion bank, it's an actual AMEX in the same sense that a Best Buy RZ MC is an actual MasterCard -- they are for scoring purposes, and they are accepted by merchants as the respective major credit cards.

Re: Is Dillards AMEX an actual AMEX?

creditisbetter2 — Wed, 06 Apr 2011 14:53:56 GMT

Thanks tinuviel, you and I have some similar things going on here. I also have a credit monitoring service that alerted me when they did the pull and it would be great if this is a credit booster. In fact I think that's the same day I applied lol.

Re: Is Dillards AMEX an actual AMEX?

Anonymous — Wed, 06 Apr 2011 23:42:20 GMT

@Walt_K wrote:
It uses the Amex payment network which is why it has the Amex logo on it but is not offered by Centurion Bank. When people refer to a real Amex, they generally mean one that is offered by Centurion Bank. One way to look at this is that all Visa/MC are co-branded in a sense because Visa/MC are payment networks (and I'm not aware of any Visa/MC bank). They partner with different banks to offer their cards. Amex happens to have its own bank.

VISA originates from Bank of America (BankAmericard). Citi started Mastercard. American Express started AMEX network.. Discover started Discover network.

All the networks are too big for a single bank.

Re: Is Dillards AMEX an actual AMEX?

tntexans72 — Thu, 07 Apr 2011 01:12:34 GMT

I just applied online for a Dillard store card and it came back with: we'll get back to you in 7-10 days and provided a reference number. This is my 1st time applying for any department card. Is this normal? Does it mean I was denied or approved? I thought it was common to for them to approved right away online?? Should I call them any reference their reference # to see if I was approved?

Has any one here applied for a Dillards store card encounter the same thing??

Re: Is Dillards AMEX an actual AMEX?

Anonymous — Thu, 07 Apr 2011 01:16:50 GMT

@tntexans72 wrote:
I just applied online for a Dillard store card and it came back with: we'll get back to you in 7-10 days and provided a reference number. This is my 1st time applying for any department card. Is this normal? Does it mean I was denied or approved? I thought it was common to for them to approved right away online?? Should I call them any reference their reference # to see if I was approved?

Has any one here applied for a Dillards store card encounter the same thing??

That's EXACTLY what happened to me when I applied online last Friday. I thought that meant that I had been denied. But, they called me at the phone number that I had provided and asked me a few security questions to verify my identitiy. After the CSR finished with the questions, she informed me that I had been approved for the Dillard's AMEX. If an unfamiliar number comes up on the caller ID of your phone, that may well be them calling. Good luck!

Re: Is Dillards AMEX an actual AMEX?

tntexans72 — Thu, 07 Apr 2011 01:19:17 GMT

Thank you, I will keep my fingers crossed.