topic Re: Pre-selected for Blue Sky, but want BCE in Credit Cards

Pre-selected for Blue Sky, but want BCE

sakhalin070 — Wed, 21 Nov 2012 01:25:07 GMT

Hi everyone. I really want an AMEX. I recently received an offer in the mail for the AMEX Green, but I'm not really interested in it ($95 annual fee). I went to AMEX's website and did the pre-selection thing and it said I was pre-selected for the Green, Blue Sky, and Blue Sky Preferred. I wouldn't mind the Blue Sky as I do occassional traveling, but I wouldn't say travel rewards are my absolute priority right now. I want the BCE but I wasn't "pre-selected" for it. Is the approval criteria similar between the Blue Sky and BCE? Also, if I apply for the Blue Sky via the pre-selection page and am approved, if I spend $500 in the first 3 months, they will give me 22,500 points which equates to a $300 statement credit towards travel. I believe this bonus is only offered to pre-selected offers since the signup bonus is different on the main page (spend $1000 in the first 3 months to get 7500 bonus points). As of right now the signup bonus for the Blue Sky would be much better than if I applied and got accepted for the BCE (spend $1000 in first 3 months to get $100 statement credit). Should I just go for the Blue Sky? After all, the points don't expire. I already have a cash back card, but its one of those rotating 5% ones. I mostly want the BCE for groceries and gas.

Here's my credit profile:

AAoA: 2 yrs 1 mo (my Discover card that I got in October has NOT reported yet...trying to apply for AMEX before it reports so they'll see this AAoA instead of my "current: one, which will be lower)

Oldest Account: 3 yrs 1 mo

Utilization: 6%

On-Time Payments: 100%

Inquiries: 2 on EXP, 0 on EQ, 1 on TU

FICO: TransUnion 781 10/4/12, EQ and EXP unknown

Baddies: None

Thanks to anyone who can help.

Re: Pre-selected for Blue Sky, but want BCE

Anonymous — Wed, 21 Nov 2012 01:34:15 GMT

I don't have an Amex, but i'd guess that the approval criteria would be simular.

They may have pre selected you for the skys cuz that might be the flavor of the month the are pushing right now. As in, they may just want to make sure they are promoting the sky cards to ppl. My guess is the most popular are the BCE/BCP and the lagards are the sky cards. This is just guessing of course lol.

Anyways, If i were to recommend a card from those two, then I would suggest to get the one you would most benefit from (BCE 5%) rather than the one that sounds tempting. Nothing worse than having buyer's remorse.

Re: Pre-selected for Blue Sky, but want BCE

sakhalin070 — Wed, 21 Nov 2012 01:39:01 GMT

@Anonymous wrote:
Anyways, If i were to recommend a card from those two, then I would suggest to get the one you would most benefit from (BCE 5%) rather than the one that sounds tempting.

BCE is 3% groceries, 2% gas, and 1% everywhere else

Re: Pre-selected for Blue Sky, but want BCE

Anonymous — Wed, 21 Nov 2012 01:42:45 GMT

@sakhalin070 wrote:
@Anonymous wrote:
Anyways, If i were to recommend a card from those two, then I would suggest to get the one you would most benefit from (BCE 5%) rather than the one that sounds tempting.
BCE is 3% groceries, 2% gas, and 1% everywhere else

Oh okay. Typo. Happens to me a lot.

But my point still stands. You went in to the pre selection hoping to get pre selected for the BCE but then they dangled a carrot in front of you.

Re: Pre-selected for Blue Sky, but want BCE

Anonymous — Wed, 21 Nov 2012 02:05:00 GMT

I was pre-selected for the Amex Gold and the Blue.

I apped for the Zync and the Blue instead.

I've only had the Blue for about 2.5 months and I've been told that I can change it to a BCE if I want.

I assume underwriting for their Blue cards is pretty similar, just like underwriting for their charge cards are pretty similar.

Re: Pre-selected for Blue Sky, but want BCE

Anonymous — Wed, 21 Nov 2012 02:29:04 GMT

I was pre-selected for the Blue card and approved for the BCE with a 720 EX FICO.

Re: Pre-selected for Blue Sky, but want BCE

LS2982 — Wed, 21 Nov 2012 02:45:01 GMT

I would say you have a good shot at approval, I would also do it before discover reports.

Re: Pre-selected for Blue Sky, but want BCE

nicholasyud — Wed, 21 Nov 2012 03:30:33 GMT

worst thing if they denied you and you always can come back another time........Don't apps for card that you dont want and end up cancel in later time.....

Re: Pre-selected for Blue Sky, but want BCE

improvingmycredit — Wed, 21 Nov 2012 04:51:46 GMT

@sakhalin070 wrote:
Hi everyone. I really want an AMEX. I recently received an offer in the mail for the AMEX Green, but I'm not really interested in it ($95 annual fee). I went to AMEX's website and did the pre-selection thing and it said I was pre-selected for the Green, Blue Sky, and Blue Sky Preferred. I wouldn't mind the Blue Sky as I do occassional traveling, but I wouldn't say travel rewards are my absolute priority right now. I want the BCE but I wasn't "pre-selected" for it. Is the approval criteria similar between the Blue Sky and BCE? Also, if I apply for the Blue Sky via the pre-selection page and am approved, if I spend $500 in the first 3 months, they will give me 22,500 points which equates to a $300 statement credit towards travel. I believe this bonus is only offered to pre-selected offers since the signup bonus is different on the main page (spend $1000 in the first 3 months to get 7500 bonus points). As of right now the signup bonus for the Blue Sky would be much better than if I applied and got accepted for the BCE (spend $1000 in first 3 months to get $100 statement credit). Should I just go for the Blue Sky? After all, the points don't expire. I already have a cash back card, but its one of those rotating 5% ones. I mostly want the BCE for groceries and gas.

Here's my credit profile:
AAoA: 2 yrs 1 mo (my Discover card that I got in October has NOT reported yet...trying to apply for AMEX before it reports so they'll see this AAoA instead of my "current: one, which will be lower)
Oldest Account: 3 yrs 1 mo
Utilization: 6%
On-Time Payments: 100%
Inquiries: 2 on EXP, 0 on EQ, 1 on TU
FICO: TransUnion 781 10/4/12, EQ and EXP unknown
Baddies: None

Thanks to anyone who can help.

Well you do have a predicament don't you? . The bonus offer for the BlueSky is definitely a great bonus. $300 dollars is nothing to sneeze at and the spend requirement is much lower to get it. Really though- I always recommend getting the card that benefits you the most. In this case, the BlueSky can be PCed to the BCE in time if you want to reap the rewards of the sign on bonus. The lending standards are almost identical for both so I think you would be approved for either card if you can get approved for one. Good Luck on what ever you decide.

Re: Pre-selected for Blue Sky, but want BCE

Mustangfrank — Wed, 21 Nov 2012 05:37:07 GMT

This was my recent experience which might help:

I was Pre-Selected for the Blue Skys and I applied for the BCE and was instantly approved.

At the time I applied (Two Months Ago) I had Fico's in the low 700's and a thin credit History of only eight Months.

No Negatives on my record.

What I did was PIF and kepth usage under 10%

Re: Pre-selected for Blue Sky, but want BCE

sakhalin070 — Wed, 21 Nov 2012 07:12:39 GMT

Thanks for the input everyone. The only thing that's really bothering me right now is the targeted signup bonus. Oh, decisions, decisions, lol.

Re: Pre-selected for Blue Sky, but want BCE

creditnocash — Wed, 21 Nov 2012 07:17:52 GMT

@Mustangfrank wrote:
This was my recent experience which might help:
I was Pre-Selected for the Blue Skys and I applied for the BCE and was instantly approved.
At the time I applied (Two Months Ago) I had Fico's in the low 700's and a thin credit History of only eight Months.
No Negatives on my record.

What I did was PIF and kepth usage under 10%

hmm 8 months?

what were your inq's looking like?

i should be a shoe in in jan/ feb then for the bce =)

already have a zync so would be soft pull if denied.

but good look op on the app.

Re: Pre-selected for Blue Sky, but want BCE

Mustangfrank — Wed, 21 Nov 2012 15:09:24 GMT

@creditnocash wrote:
@Mustangfrank wrote:
This was my recent experience which might help:
I was Pre-Selected for the Blue Skys and I applied for the BCE and was instantly approved.
At the time I applied (Two Months Ago) I had Fico's in the low 700's and a thin credit History of only eight Months.
No Negatives on my record.

What I did was PIF and kepth usage under 10%

hmm 8 months?
what were your inq's looking like?

i should be a shoe in in jan/ feb then for the bce =)
already have a zync so would be soft pull if denied.

but good look op on the app.

I had 2 inq's with EX at the time I applied and was approved for the BCE

Amex pulled EX in NY

Re: Pre-selected for Blue Sky, but want BCE

Anonymous — Wed, 21 Nov 2012 17:18:04 GMT

I'm pretty sure the underwriting criteria for BCE vs. Blue Sky are very similar, if not identical.

I had a very similar situation to you OP - I had my eyes set on the BCE and just as I was about to pull the trigger I serendipitously received a targetted offer in the mail for the AmEx Blue Sky. They were offering me 40k bonus points (equivalent to $500) after a $500 minimum spend, which was just too good to pass up. So I applied, got approved for $10k (later did the 61 day CLI to $22.5k), then spent almost exactly $500 on a flight to NYC (so it ended up being free) and have had the card laying in my SD ever since. AmEx probably hates me.

I've been meaning to PC my Blue Sky to the BCE, but I think I'll just wait until next year to apply for a different card (to optimize backdating) and get another signup bonus.

You can read more details of my situation here: http://ficoforums.myfico.com/t5/Credit-Cards/Rec-d-Targeted-AmEx-Blue-Sky-Offer-Update-APPROVED/td-p/1477400

Re: Pre-selected for Blue Sky, but want BCE

sakhalin070 — Thu, 22 Nov 2012 08:50:04 GMT

So I decided to apply for the BCE like two minutes ago. I got this message right after I applied:

"Thank you for applying for the Blue Cash Everyday from American Express. Your application has been received and will be processed as soon as possible and we will notify you of the decision by mail within 14 days. Thank you for applying."

And then I went to the application status check thing immediately afterwards and...DAMN THAT WAS FAST! I still haven't even received an email confirmation, but hey, this all happened in the last two minutes, lol. And again, thanks for the input everyone! Despite the tempting bonus offer for the Blue Sky, BCE still benefits me the most at this moment.

11/22/12

BLUE CASH EVERYDAY(SM)

Approved

Congratulations! Your application has been approved and you should receive your new card within 7-10 days.
If you requested a balance transfer to this card, click here to view the status of that transfer

Re: Pre-selected for Blue Sky, but want BCE

koalablue — Thu, 22 Nov 2012 08:58:03 GMT

Congratulations!! Well done. You might consider a PC to the BCP at some point. 6 percent back for groceries can't be beat and would cover the AF for sure. At any rate, enjoy your card! Post the CLI if you get a chance.

Re: Pre-selected for Blue Sky, but want BCE

sakhalin070 — Thu, 22 Nov 2012 09:03:23 GMT

How does the CLI work? Was it 61 days before I can click the luv button? And its a soft pull for CLIs right?

Re: Pre-selected for Blue Sky, but want BCE

koalablue — Thu, 22 Nov 2012 09:15:52 GMT

Actually, I meant post the CL. But the CLI is a soft pull I believe. I haven't requested mine yet, so not sure exactly how its done.

Re: Pre-selected for Blue Sky, but want BCE

Mustangfrank — Thu, 22 Nov 2012 12:49:32 GMT

There you go.

Use it well.

Re: Pre-selected for Blue Sky, but want BCE

sakhalin070 — Fri, 23 Nov 2012 07:39:03 GMT

Holy cow, my Discover JUST reported today! Good thing I applied yesterday lol!