topic Re: is American Express worth it? in Credit Cards

is American Express worth it?

TheRealJosh94 — Wed, 12 Jun 2013 02:56:39 GMT

So about a month ago, I think, I've noticed an American Express card on my waiting list. However, researching their charge cards, and non-charge cards I figured out that my thin file <1 year of credit history that I won't get approved for their regular credit cards. So it brings me down to their charge cards with fee, and it looks like a great card for me, but what makes AMEX so great? I was looking into either their green card, gold card, and PR gold card. What would would suit best for me that I'm a college student working full time at BB, so I might want to buy a tv soon What are the pro's and con's to them?

Thanks in advance!

Current:

AAoa 4 months

Credit history 8 months

6 inquires on EQ.

4 inquires on TU.

(PIF always)

Re: is American Express worth it?

Anonymous — Wed, 12 Jun 2013 03:00:24 GMT

The pros are the benefits, including extended warranty etc. but nowadays many other cards, ie discover have these features too.
MR points are very good for travel too, if you travel

For your case, if you don't spend that much, the card may not suit you as well because of the AF. It's really up to you. There's hardly any black and white answer.

It really depends on how much you spend, what you spend on, and what you are expecting your card to do for you.

Re: is American Express worth it?

myjourney — Wed, 12 Jun 2013 03:02:30 GMT

That's a lot of INQ's for such a short history IMO right now I would look at all the other student cards out there. Amex due to AF may not be right for you at present

Re: is American Express worth it?

red259 — Wed, 12 Jun 2013 03:03:12 GMT

I don't have an amex yet but it is on my list and something I really want, especially their revolvers. So far I see a couple of benefits to amex, one is that they backdate additional cards you get with them later on which helps with AAoA, second its easier to apply for CLI increases on their revolvers (see the sticky above re: amex CLI), three my understanding is they have great customer service (again I am not a member so can not vouch for this but it is what I heard) and finally after you are a member you can apply for other cards with them and they will do a SP first (most the time) and only if you get approved will they do the HP. I have no idea on the criteria for their charge cards other than the fact they are easier to get than the revolvers. I think many people get the charge card to establish a relationship with Amex so they have a much better chance at a revolver with a decent CL later on. Someone who has one would be able to tell you about the benefits and rewards, but these are just the reasons I would like one.

Re: is American Express worth it?

Anonymous — Wed, 12 Jun 2013 03:12:20 GMT

Red, few things to remember though.

AAoA is just a very small factor of your scores. The backdating feature is nice, but isn't going to help increase one's score by 50-100 points. Utilization and payment history are the biggest thing to focus on.

The 3x CLI is nice, but by no means guaranteed. Your approval odds is dependent upon your CR and whatever CL your income can support. For someone who has extremely high income and spotless CR, this feature will be a very nice benefit. Otherwise, still nice, but not so much.

And it's always never a good idea to keep applying just because its a SP if denied. There's an increased chance of AA, especially when Amex feels that this is being abused. It also makes them think that individual is being desperate for credit if he's putting in apps every 30 days just because he can.

Re: is American Express worth it?

cashnocredit — Wed, 12 Jun 2013 04:49:08 GMT

There is one aspect of Amex cards that I've found invaluable. The ability to charge far more than i could with regular CCs. I have a fairly short file since I didn't use credit at all for about a decade. Within three years I was able to leverage secured cards into unsecured and add an Amex charge card. Since I pif the value of CCs is purely a function of the CLs that cap individual spends. The Amex has enabled me to make charges exceeding 60k which is well above all my CLs combined. It's an advantage that I would be hard pressed to get on another card and is the singular most valuable feature of Amex cards. At least for my situation.

Re: is American Express worth it?

HiLine — Wed, 12 Jun 2013 06:53:54 GMT

@TheRealJosh94 wrote:
However, researching their charge cards, and non-charge cards I figured out that my thin file <1 year of credit history that I won't get approved for their regular credit cards.

May I ask where you read that? I know many counter-examples, just wondering how you got that information.

Re: is American Express worth it?

Open123 — Wed, 12 Jun 2013 14:41:39 GMT

@TheRealJosh94 wrote:
What are the pro's and con's to them?

Pros

1. Backdating - Most unique benefit which has value over a lifetime.

2. Only true NPSL with extremely high purchasing power and convenience.

3. Most pro consumer during merchant disputes.

Cons

1. Expensive.

2. Spend-centric geared to favor a certain demographic.

3. More scrutiny than any other lender, by far.

In my view, Amex is extremely valuable for those who are: (1) starting out with time to build a long relationship; (2) those who need large purchases with static lines can't accomodate quickly enough; (3) those who travel; (4) those with small businesses.

All things being equal, it takes time to build a good relationship with Amex. In my experience, they value the "membership since" more so than any other issuer; the longer you are with them, the better your experience. For very senior cardmembers, I've seen exceptions made that no other issuer will under similar circumstances.

The latter is far and away the single best benefit.

If they like and value your relationship, there is no better issuer to have when you're in a bind, especially when abroad.

Re: is American Express worth it?

Anonymous — Wed, 12 Jun 2013 15:06:50 GMT

And for a smaller subset, another more-or-less unique benefit is Global Transfer, the ability to get an Amex card in a new country of residence based on your existing Amex relationship. As credit records don't usually transfer from country to country, this is really valuable for those that need it.

Re: is American Express worth it?

p- — Wed, 12 Jun 2013 15:14:27 GMT

TheRealJosh94 wrote: Is Amex wirth it?

It's worth 25 a year for a NPSL line and a shiny white card with some sweet backdating. Otherwise, I'm not so sure.

Re: is American Express worth it?

ReaLiLJ — Wed, 12 Jun 2013 15:22:15 GMT

@Open123 wrote:
@TheRealJosh94 wrote:
What are the pro's and con's to them?
Pros

1. Backdating - Most unique benefit which has value over a lifetime.
2. Only true NPSL with extremely high purchasing power and convenience.
"3. Most pro consumer during merchant disputes."

I disagree lol CHASE is killing the game right now in that third categorey, hahahha

Re: is American Express worth it?

Anonymous — Wed, 12 Jun 2013 15:23:09 GMT

It can be worth it depending on one's needs. Like if you travel a lot. But the green, imo, doesn't seem to be worth it. But the revolvers like the BCE and the BCP yeah.

Re: is American Express worth it?

Open123 — Wed, 12 Jun 2013 15:26:55 GMT

@ReaLiLJ wrote:
@Open123 wrote:
@TheRealJosh94 wrote:
What are the pro's and con's to them?
Pros

1. Backdating - Most unique benefit which has value over a lifetime.
2. Only true NPSL with extremely high purchasing power and convenience.
"3. Most pro consumer during merchant disputes."
I disagree lol CHASE is killing the game right now in that third categorey, hahahha

I agree, Chase being run by Gordon Smith has certainly been "killing the game!" And, there's no doubt they'll continue to do so. At this rate, Chase will have "killed the game" soon enough.

However, Chase will always be confined by the rules set by Visa/MC, since they are the network. Unlike Amex who is both issuer and network, Chase isn't able to completely control the cardmember experience, which is a subtle but potentially signficiant difference, such as chargebacks.

Re: is American Express worth it?

ReaLiLJ — Wed, 12 Jun 2013 16:05:01 GMT

@TheRealJosh94 wrote:
"I figured out that my thin file <1 year of credit history, I'm a college student working full time at BB, so I might want to buy a tv soon.
AAoa 4 months
Credit history 8 months
6 inquires on EQ.
4 inquires on TU.
(PIF always) "

Josh play the waiting game! It's amazing how many people you find in your position, with close to the same cards and the same limits, but I guess today is that day!

-My advice, wait it out, I got denied with a thin file as well 6 months ago, and 90 days before then. To me even with Pifing, and having a credit score in the mid-high 600 hundreds, given your situation: secure job, most likely with a student loan in deferrment, and the thin file I say apply for a different major credit card, one that will give you a higher chance for approval and ignore going for a charge card/ paying a fee and better your odds by securing a credit card with someone else like chase (I'd say that chase freedom) -where you have way better odds with this one as they are more friendlier than amex when it comes to approvals (can't say the same about credit increases) god got to love AMEX!- or try getting a store card from BB either or, build on that for 6 more months and opt in for that amex revolver because you will have that added 6 months on your credit file, 1 more inquiry and since your Pifing a score; it should be right in that 700+ range and with a not as thin record going in for the app at the end of this year! (I only say this because you have about one year under your belt, in school with the loan, its not hurting, but (its not helping), 2 cards with limited history, and short lines as well! And a lot of recent inquiries that will surely all in all hurt you!

The route I think you should go: Stay away from amex for about 6-9 months, and get a card of your choosing from somewhere else for right now, that will give you a good limit to show you can handle it i.e. credit union, or a card from a bank that you can get an easy approval with (best bet is credit union) most likely will start you off with a decent limit 3k+ if your score are where I think they are (mid-high 600's). --> *****DCU is pretty friendly.****

Next check on that Cap 1 inc, if you started at 300, and just moved to 500, and its been 3 months, or you started at 500, move to 750 and in 6 months (end of this year --> follow p-'s guide to get a bigger limit from Cap 1 ( http://ficoforums.myfico.com/t5/Credit-Cards/How-to-get-a-PC-or-CLI-from-Capital-One/td-p/1690104 ) It will work!

So it's been six months, you either got the freedom card from chase with a measly 1 or 2k limit, or a credit card with your credit union with a 2-3k+ limit, or a store card, and now a cap1 card with a higher limit, and about a 1.4-1.5 of credit history, and your almost ready to put in that app! What I would do now, take which ever card has the higher limit, hopefully the freedom/ or cu card/ or discover card!?/ and try to up the limit for the last time, and if they deny you, its fine its a sp, won't hurt nobody, and then try to bring all of your cards to the card with the highest limit (if there offering to do manual reviews or with SP's), and once those cards report a month after (make sure with a 1% util) you should be ready to put in a app for either the BCE or a revolver that you want thats easy to attain! I think by then, you should be qualified to get approved since your over that year + some months of credit history, have 700+ score, 3 major credit cards with okay limits, nice utilization (1%), with your loans in def. and if my math is correct; since it should be right around a year since you had those old 5-6 inq's they won't be considered in the new app for amex only that new 1 for which ever card you go to, (since amex dislikes that crazy spree of apps right before you apply) you should be in top notch qualified shape! -But hey you don't have to, just my 2 cents, since I was in a similar situation 9 months ago, except without the advice, this forum, and no hesistation in hitting those submit buttons, not knowing what I was getting myself into! #Denial ;[ But whatever you do goodluck to you and let me know if you have any questions #Cheers -LJ

P.S.: I think the DCU route would be the easiest, as I said you should get a 3k+ limit, in addition a free eq04 score every month, for the rest of your life, or until the economy forces them to stop doing that, and their real genuine when it comes to lending, especially to people with thin files for only $10 that goes to charity, and withat least $5 in your savings. (So a at a $15 cost) And in this way you can try to have your cards matched to this limit!

Re: is American Express worth it?

TheRealJosh94 — Fri, 14 Jun 2013 15:18:16 GMT

Wow that pretty much sums it all up! And thanks to everyone's advice/help I feel very confident now; also the term credit is not a race, but a marathon is very true! I'm glad I'm not alone and they're other people in my situation. Very glad that this forum exists, and I'll keep you all posted if anything major happens (credit wise)