topic Re: AMEX Inquiry WARNING! in Credit Cards

AMEX Inquiry WARNING!

shane82388 — Mon, 22 Oct 2012 04:55:28 GMT

So ive been an AMEX Green cardholder for about a year now and i know that if you are an AMEX customer and apply online for another card, its only a soft inquiry if you are denied. Well, now thats not true.

My Experian report is showing a HARD INQUIRY on my credit report now on the same day I applied for the Green Business AMEX while signed in...It was the short app, and ive done it before in the past with no approval, but also with no hard inquiry!

What is going on? When did this change? Any ideas how to get rid of this inquiry or am i just screwed...?

Re: AMEX Inquiry WARNING!

android01 — Mon, 22 Oct 2012 05:04:03 GMT

@shane82388 wrote:
So ive been an AMEX Green cardholder for about a year now and i know that if you are an AMEX customer and apply online for another card, its only a soft inquiry if you are denied. Well, now thats not true.

My Experian report is showing a HARD INQUIRY on my credit report now on the same day I applied for the Green Business AMEX while signed in...It was the short app, and ive done it before in the past with no approval, but also with no hard inquiry!

What is going on? When did this change? Any ideas how to get rid of this inquiry or am i just screwed...?

It's a hard inquiry if you were approved. Were you denied for the Green business card?

Re: AMEX Inquiry WARNING!

distantarray — Mon, 22 Oct 2012 05:06:11 GMT

1 inquiry is not going to kill you, and it only affects you for 1 year. Your scores are ok are you looking for a big purchase soon? but then your scores aren't on the border of tiers in credit? so not sure why 1 inquiry is making you panick. Since you can't bump EX reports and that you legitimately applied for another line of credit I'm pretty sure your stuck.

Re: AMEX Inquiry WARNING!

shane82388 — Mon, 22 Oct 2012 05:06:43 GMT

@android01 wrote:
@shane82388 wrote:
So ive been an AMEX Green cardholder for about a year now and i know that if you are an AMEX customer and apply online for another card, its only a soft inquiry if you are denied. Well, now thats not true.

My Experian report is showing a HARD INQUIRY on my credit report now on the same day I applied for the Green Business AMEX while signed in...It was the short app, and ive done it before in the past with no approval, but also with no hard inquiry!

What is going on? When did this change? Any ideas how to get rid of this inquiry or am i just screwed...?
It's a hard inquiry if you were approved. Were you denied for the Green business card?

Yes, thats why there is the issue here...I was decline...yet hit with a hard inquiry. I got the decline letter in the mail and everything.

Re: AMEX Inquiry WARNING!

distantarray — Mon, 22 Oct 2012 05:09:29 GMT

Also why would you apply for another card now? Most Amex customers will apply for other lines of credit in January for the backdating. You stated the account was open for about a year, so assuming it was late 2011. If you open a card in January Amex works by using the Month you applied (jan in this case) + the year you became a member. So they would start reporting the new tradeline if you got one. January 2011 helping you with AAOA

also atleast you got a decline letter so you should've got a Amex EX Fico score right? not all bad what was it btw? =x

Re: AMEX Inquiry WARNING!

shane82388 — Mon, 22 Oct 2012 05:08:51 GMT

@distantarray wrote:
1 inquiry is not going to kill you, and it only affects you for 1 year. Your scores are ok are you looking for a big purchase soon? but then your scores aren't on the border of tiers in credit? so not sure why 1 inquiry is making you panick. Since you can't bump EX reports and that you legitimately applied for another line of credit I'm pretty sure your stuck.

Im not panicking, its just annoying that this "sure thing, tried and true method" stops working when i try it, lol. Now i have 4 inquiries on Experian...not too great.

Also, my Experian score is 658 now i believe...according to the denial letter. Gonna change my sig.

Re: AMEX Inquiry WARNING!

scottwagnon — Mon, 22 Oct 2012 05:09:46 GMT

from what i can vaguely recollect, this is only if you apply for a personal card and are declined. i could be wrong and they may have changed this.

Re: AMEX Inquiry WARNING!

shane82388 — Mon, 22 Oct 2012 05:11:12 GMT

@distantarray wrote:
Also why would you apply for another card now? Most Amex customers will apply for other lines of credit in January for the backdating. You stated the account was open for about a year, so assuming it was late 2011. If you open a card in January Amex works by using the Month you applied (jan in this case) + the year you became a member. So they would start reporting the new tradeline if you got one. January 2011 helping you with AAOA

also atleast you got a decline letter so you should've got a Amex EX Fico score right? not all bad what was it btw? =x

I got my personal Green AMEX last august...and i was under the impression any card from the inital card you get with AMEX will simply be backdated just the same as my original Green AMEX card...so 2011, regardless of when you apply.

Re: AMEX Inquiry WARNING!

shane82388 — Mon, 22 Oct 2012 05:11:55 GMT

@scottwagnon wrote:
from what i can vaguely recollect, this is only if you apply for a personal card and are declined. i could be wrong and they may have changed this.

Ive tried back in May/June i think and there was a denial but no inquiry...

Re: AMEX Inquiry WARNING!

distantarray — Mon, 22 Oct 2012 05:12:58 GMT

@shane82388 wrote:
Im not panicking, its just annoying that this "sure thing, tried and true method" stops working when i try it, lol. Now i have 4 inquiries on Experian...not too great.

Also, my Experian score is 658 now i believe...according to the denial letter. Gonna change my sig.

Well I just did a quick look through credit pull database at CB turns out that the score is too low , seems like most people get approved around 680+ and looks like last year approval scores were a little lower, but was your utility higher this time around?

Re: AMEX Inquiry WARNING!

nada9188 — Mon, 22 Oct 2012 06:08:25 GMT

Based of my thoughts here, a business app is completely different than your personal card. Since they would be checking the business credit as well, Im not surprised that you also had a hard pull on EX.

Re: AMEX Inquiry WARNING!

distantarray — Mon, 22 Oct 2012 06:18:03 GMT

@shane82388 wrote:
I got my personal Green AMEX last august...and i was under the impression any card from the inital card you get with AMEX will simply be backdated just the same as my original Green AMEX card...so 2011, regardless of when you apply.

That's what I thought as well at first, but then I found out the month of the new application + the year of member start date is what factors in. So if you got approved now you'll only be getting 14 months of history. In January you would only be upto 17months of history on the new card.

If you wait until January to apply you'll be getting 24 months of history off the new card from the start.

@nada9188 wrote:
Based of my thoughts here, a business app is completely different than your personal card. Since they would be checking the business credit as well, Im not surprised that you also had a hard pull on EX.

This sounds reasonable, is the business under sole prioitor proprietorship or registered as an LLC? Although sometimes it doesn't matter because some cards require personal guarenttee

Re: AMEX Inquiry WARNING!

xboxrunner — Mon, 22 Oct 2012 08:01:04 GMT

I assume if your applying for a CC you should be well prepared to take a inquiry hit. As with anything a SP is never a sure thing. I would try to recon though since you took a inquiry you might as well try to get approved.

Re: AMEX Inquiry WARNING!

youngandcreditwrthy — Mon, 22 Oct 2012 12:17:11 GMT

Yep... I'd say since it's a Business App; it doesn't work the same :-P

Re: AMEX Inquiry WARNING!

afbar1114 — Mon, 22 Oct 2012 12:55:19 GMT

i just apped for Blue cash about 2 weeks ago no INQ when i called they said it was a SP from like 2-3 months ago so only an SP no HP because i was denied. i wonder if a business app is always a HP?

Re: AMEX Inquiry WARNING!

shane82388 — Mon, 22 Oct 2012 16:42:20 GMT

It's not. I've done this with no hard inquiry about 3-4 times in the past 6 months. Never a hard inquiry until now.