topic Re: denied a CC due to AMEX Backdating!! in Credit Cards

denied a CC due to AMEX Backdating!!

dddfresh — Mon, 02 Sep 2013 18:53:39 GMT

I just opened an account with San DIego County Credit Union last week and i figured I would apply for a CC since it was the same credit pull. I did it in the branch so I waited for a response. It took the underwriters over an hour and a half to reach a decision and they were asking me questions the whole time about my amex accounts.

I was an AU user on my moms amex account since 2000 and then this year I got my own green card Amex and they backdated it to 2001.

The problem is I was not 18 years old in 2001 so they are wondering how I got approved for credit before I was 18. I didnt throw AMEX under the bus and say it was because of backdating on my acccount that i just opened this year. I figured underwriters could see how long this account has been active, not just the opened date.

The final decision was DECLINED because they couldnt understand how I have had credit since before I was 18. They told me I will also not be able to get a mortgage because of the same confusion. I dont know what to do at this point. Should I ask amex to update the real opened date? I am not too upset about the credit card account, because I don't need it, however, if I cannot get a mortgage because of this confusing AMEX situation, that is not good.

Re: denied a CC due to AMEX Backdating!!

cashnocredit — Mon, 02 Sep 2013 19:07:00 GMT

@dddfresh wrote:
I just opened an account with San DIego County Credit Union last week and i figured I would apply for a CC since it was the same credit pull. I did it in the branch so I waited for a response. It took the underwriters over an hour and a half to reach a decision and they were asking me questions the whole time about my amex accounts.
I was an AU user on my moms amex account since 2000 and then this year I got my own green card Amex and they backdated it to 2001.

The problem is I was not 18 years old in 2001 so they are wondering how I got approved for credit before I was 18. I didnt throw AMEX under the bus and say it was because of backdating on my acccount that i just opened this year. I figured underwriters could see how long this account has been active, not just the opened date.

The final decision was DECLINED because they couldnt understand how I have had credit since before I was 18. They told me I will also not be able to get a mortgage because of the same confusion. I dont know what to do at this point. Should I ask amex to update the real opened date? I am not too upset about the credit card account, because I don't need it, however, if I cannot get a mortgage because of this confusing AMEX situation, that is not good.

Why didn't you just tell them you were an AU on your mom's account before you got your own? It's not like they don't know about Amex backdating. Being coy is not going to work when you were obviously under 18 at the time. It's perfectly OK to have been an AU on your mom's account and helped you establish good credit habits.

Re: denied a CC due to AMEX Backdating!!

dddfresh — Mon, 02 Sep 2013 19:12:33 GMT

I was an AU on the account with my mom from 2000. I did tell them thats why it is on my report. However, the card i just received this year says "opened 2001" but I am not an AU on this card, its only my name. So i told the truth about being AU on the first card. Even in 2001 i was still a minor.

Re: denied a CC due to AMEX Backdating!!

Pat94108 — Mon, 02 Sep 2013 19:14:58 GMT

Why didn't you just tell them you were an AU on your mom's account before you got your own? It's not like they don't know about Amex backdating. Being coy is not going to work when you were obviously under 18 at the time. It's perfectly OK to have been an AU on your mom's account and helped you establish good credit habits.

+1. The way the original post was written clearly shows that disclosing that information could have resolved the issue. :/

Re: denied a CC due to AMEX Backdating!!

Pat94108 — Mon, 02 Sep 2013 19:16:20 GMT

@dddfresh wrote:
I was an AU on the account with my mom from 2000. I did tell them thats why it is on my report. However, the card i just received this year says "opened 2001" but I am not an AU on this card, its only my name. So i told the truth about being AU on the first card. Even in 2001 i was still a minor.

And they were not satisfied with that? In this case, they are being difficult.

Re: denied a CC due to AMEX Backdating!!

dddfresh — Mon, 02 Sep 2013 19:17:59 GMT

I was honest about being an AU. They couldnt wrap their heads around why I had a card in my name only (without an AU) before I turned 18.

Re: denied a CC due to AMEX Backdating!!

Anonymous — Mon, 02 Sep 2013 19:50:09 GMT

dddfresh wrote:

I was honest about being an AU. They couldnt wrap their heads around why I had a card in my name only (without an AU) before I turned 18. 

explain the whole backdating thing to them.........Just tell them American Express changed your member date because that's when you first became an Amex member, and that's just how it is because it's their policy.
 
Most banks already know about American Express' policy. Small CUs, and/or new employees, however probably may not know of this. 
 

Re: denied a CC due to AMEX Backdating!!

dddfresh — Mon, 02 Sep 2013 19:44:26 GMT

OK thank you. I wasn't sure what to say. Ive never not been approved because of this. I am more concerned about the mortgage thing down the road, but I will definitely use that verbiage.

Re: denied a CC due to AMEX Backdating!!

dddfresh — Mon, 02 Sep 2013 19:45:42 GMT

SDCCU isnt a small credit union, but it could be a new underwrite or not knowledgable of the amex backdating. The mortgage office could not understand it either though. Not making me confident in their services thats for sure

Re: denied a CC due to AMEX Backdating!!

cashnocredit — Mon, 02 Sep 2013 19:49:14 GMT

Sorry, I assumed that since you "didn't throw Amex under the bus about backdating" that you hadn't told them the account age was because of an AU. Sounds like the underwriter is inexperienced so they just figured there was something wrong with your account rather than the result of Amex reporting policy.

You could have pointed out that Amex is different from other issuers and issues AUs with seperate account numbers and tracks them seperately. I think that is a big part of why they sometimes backdate old AUs and not just old member accounts. You are already in there system and your spending is tracked.

Re: denied a CC due to AMEX Backdating!!

dddfresh — Mon, 02 Sep 2013 19:56:14 GMT

no prob. i just meant "throwing under the bus" about my new card that is only in my name which could be considered "coy". I was totally honest about the first card, because In 2000, I was 14 years old and it clearly says AU on my credit report. I guess I should chalk this up to be an inexperience UW and move on. I was just curious to see what kind of limit they would offer me since it was a new credit union and they were using the same HP it was no harm done. I will now know what to say if this is ever an issue in the future. for now, the garden is begging for my attention.

Re: denied a CC due to AMEX Backdating!!

navigatethis12 — Mon, 02 Sep 2013 22:01:22 GMT

If this really is a small credit union I don't see how the underwriter would be inexperienced. Most likely they have never seen it before and even if they have, it wasn't for someone who was under 18 at the time. Most people who are backdated hae it backdated to a time they were over 18 and may not experience it. If the account reports like it was opened years ago, how is an underwriter supposed to know that it wasnt? I reckon most people who have the "benefit" of it don't even know about it.

Re: denied a CC due to AMEX Backdating!!

vanillabean — Mon, 02 Sep 2013 22:14:45 GMT

Here's some stuff you may be interested in reading, such as the minimum Amex AU age.

How early can I add my kids as AUs?
http://ficoforums.myfico.com/t5/Credit-Cards/How-early-can-I-add-my-kids-as-AUs/m-p/2406245#M681410

Making Your Child an Authorized User on Your Credit Card
http://credit.about.com/od/toughcreditissues/qt/Making-Your-Child-An-Authorized-User-On-Your-Credit-Card.htm

When all is said and done, building credit involves using credit responsibly and having an income.

And being forthright of course.

Re: denied a CC due to AMEX Backdating!!

youngandcreditwrthy — Mon, 02 Sep 2013 22:17:55 GMT

The underwriter probably just isn't as experienced as we are lol...
Just hit em up and tell em

Re: denied a CC due to AMEX Backdating!!

cashnocredit — Mon, 02 Sep 2013 22:23:47 GMT

@youngandcreditwrthy wrote:
The underwriter probably just isn't as experienced as we are lol...
Just hit em up and tell em

OTOH, that's their JOB, this is just our entertainment.

I'd bet 99% of underwriters know about Amex backdating.

That said, an Amex account is generally looked at very positively by underwriters.

Re: denied a CC due to AMEX Backdating!!

navigatethis12 — Mon, 02 Sep 2013 22:56:04 GMT

@cashnocredit wrote:

That said, an Amex account is generally looked at very positively by underwriters.

I see this said a lot and I am not sure where it comes from. American Express is not that difficult to obtain, so it's not like it's any indicator of financial wellness or future payment performance.

Re: denied a CC due to AMEX Backdating!!

cashnocredit — Mon, 02 Sep 2013 23:11:02 GMT

@navigatethis12 wrote:
@cashnocredit wrote:

That said, an Amex account is generally looked at very positively by underwriters.
I see this said a lot and I am not sure where it comes from. American Express is not that difficult to obtain, so it's not like it's any indicator of financial wellness or future payment performance.

This is true to an extent. I think it is looked at like Citi or Chase rather than, say, a 500CL Cap One. Amex turned me down for a charge card with a 710 FICO and I had a 25k Citi card at the time and was running a util of 5%. Amex is more picky than others if you have PRs, even old ones, which I think was my problem (paid lien).

Re: denied a CC due to AMEX Backdating!!

youngandcreditwrthy — Tue, 03 Sep 2013 12:50:54 GMT

Amex is higher up on the credit-chain. It took me like 5 years to get one, but once you're in, you're in!
"Blah blah blah membership"
As the commercial goes.
When I've reconned in the last, I always point out my huge Amex cl- Analysts always seem to go for that. Lol
Amex has to be handled properly as well.
NEVER make the min pmt. pay at least 10-20% of your balance, if not pif. They have some pretty bomb offers too...

Re: denied a CC due to AMEX Backdating!!

JonStur — Tue, 03 Sep 2013 13:10:31 GMT

Any particular reason why you chose to stick with this Credit Union.. If they can't understand this simple situation, I'd take my business to someone who does...

Re: denied a CC due to AMEX Backdating!!

navigatethis12 — Tue, 03 Sep 2013 13:19:34 GMT

@cashnocredit wrote:
This is true to an extent. I think it is looked at like Citi or Chase rather than, say, a 500CL Cap One. Amex turned me down for a charge card with a 710 FICO and I had a 25k Citi card at the time and was running a util of 5%. Amex is more picky than others if you have PRs, even old ones, which I think was my problem (paid lien).

Well American Express has granted me the lowest limits, even though I have nothing wrong the any reports.

@youngandcreditwrthy wrote:
Amex is higher up on the credit-chain. It took me like 5 years to get one, but once you're in, you're in!
"Blah blah blah membership"
As the commercial goes.
When I've reconned in the last, I always point out my huge Amex cl- Analysts always seem to go for that. Lol
Amex has to be handled properly as well.
NEVER make the min pmt. pay at least 10-20% of your balance, if not pif. They have some pretty bomb offers too...

Well I applied with 18 months of history and they gave me 10,000, so that doesn't seem very hard to me. No other analyst has hesitated in granting high limits even though American Express has given me 1000 and 6000. I just think the statement that analysts are going to try to get your business because you have an American Express card is not true. In my experience, it has had no influence on approvals at all.