topic What income should I put on app? in Credit Cards

What income should I put on app?

Anonymous — Sun, 26 Oct 2014 21:35:01 GMT

I finally got my credit score up over 700! Experian shows a score of 727 and TU at 739!

Because of the credit score, i've decided to try and pull the trigger on opening my third CC, an Amex card. Which if approved, I will end up gardening for the foreseable future.

Question 1:

What income should i state on the Amex app? I am currently a full-time student while also working part-time at a hedge fund. The same hedge fund has offered me a full time position as soon as i gradute (may 2015). On the app, should I put what my yearly income would be if i stayed part-time or should I put my income as if i was full time? The main reason i ask is because the part-time income is considerably less (almost half) of what it will be full time and I do know what I will be making as soon as i start full time.

Question 2:

What amex card should i go for? Currently I have a Discover Card and the Chase Freedom. I enjoy the cash back with the freedom but really only use it for statement credit. I am torn between:

-Everyday

-Blue Sky

-Blue

-Delta Skymiles

Also, should I just go for the basic card or the preferred card with the annual fee? Any tips or recommendations greatly appreciated! Hopefully I get approved and I can sit tight for a long time as i'll have the 3 cards I want!

Re: What income should I put on app?

Anonymous — Sun, 26 Oct 2014 21:37:13 GMT

Put your income as what you can currently prove it is (via pay stubs), not what you expect it may be in the future; however, you can update your income in the future. Remember, employment is only one source of income. You can also include annuities, investments, etc.

Re: What income should I put on app?

Anonymous — Sun, 26 Oct 2014 21:42:52 GMT

@Anonymous wrote:
I finally got my credit score up over 700! Experian shows a score of 727 and TU at 739!

Because of the credit score, i've decided to try and pull the trigger on opening my third CC, an Amex card. Which if approved, I will end up gardening for the foreseable future.

Question 1:
What income should i state on the Amex app? I am currently a full-time student while also working part-time at a hedge fund. The same hedge fund has offered me a full time position as soon as i gradute (may 2015). On the app, should I put what my yearly income would be if i stayed part-time or should I put my income as if i was full time? The main reason i ask is because the part-time income is considerably less (almost half) of what it will be full time and I do know what I will be making as soon as i start full time.

Question 2:
What amex card should i go for? Currently I have a Discover Card and the Chase Freedom. I enjoy the cash back with the freedom but really only use it for statement credit. I am torn between:
-Everyday
-Blue Sky
-Blue
-Delta Skymiles

Also, should I just go for the basic card or the preferred card with the annual fee? Any tips or recommendations greatly appreciated! Hopefully I get approved and I can sit tight for a long time as i'll have the 3 cards I want!

Re: Question 1, you need to put down what income you can currently prove that you are receiving. If you run into a financial review or are denied and they request proof of income, you need to be able to prove it to them with tax documents or bank statements proving history for your stated income.

For question 2, it's really up to you. You can calculate if the AF cards are worth it for you based on where you spend your money. If you don't spend much, they probably aren't worth it. The SkyMiles Delta Gold is known for being the easiest AMEX revolver, so if you're worried about approval, you could try for that. If that's not really the card you want, try for what you do or wait a little while to increase your AAoA and pay down any balances you might have. Good luck!

Re: What income should I put on app?

Anonymous — Sun, 26 Oct 2014 21:58:08 GMT

Thanks guys! I'm going to go ahead and figure out what my yearly income would be with my current part-time pay and go from there.

Just as a general opinion, does the BCE card make sense since I already have the Discover and Chase Freedom which i use the cashback/rewards for statement credit? Would the Everday Card be a better compliment to my two cards I already have?

Re: What income should I put on app?

Anonymous — Sun, 26 Oct 2014 22:08:09 GMT

@Anonymous wrote:
Thanks guys! I'm going to go ahead and figure out what my yearly income would be with my current part-time pay and go from there.

Just as a general opinion, does the BCE card make sense since I already have the Discover and Chase Freedom which i use the cashback/rewards for statement credit? Would the Everday Card be a better compliment to my two cards I already have?

AMEX Everyday is good for groceries (and gas on preferred). It also has a good bonus if you use your card 20 times in a billing cycle (30 times for Preferred). It's good to have if those categories are big for you. It's always nice to have a card which can get you more cash back when the 5% categories aren't groceries or gas. The BCE may be better for you depending on how you want to redeem your points and which categories you spend in. The BCE has 3% on supermarkets and 2% on gas and department stores when the Everyday is just 2% on supermarkets and has the 20% bonus after 20 uses.

Re: What income should I put on app?

chrisw1968uk — Sun, 26 Oct 2014 22:14:47 GMT

There is no rush, I would wait to app until you are fully employed, that 5 or so extra months will improve your credit score if you behave yourself between now and then, you will be earning a lot more then too - i think you would get much better terms then, rather than now - just my 2c

Re: What income should I put on app?

wacdenney — Sun, 26 Oct 2014 22:38:06 GMT

If you file a joint tax return with someone you can put down household income unless the app specifically requests personal income and I do not believe the AMEX apps do. There may be some exception to this if you are under 21, but I'm not sure. Generally you can put down whatever income you have access to.

Re: What income should I put on app?

KneelBeforeZod — Sun, 26 Oct 2014 22:46:25 GMT

Just be honest and don't overinflate it.

Re: What income should I put on app?

Chris679 — Sun, 26 Oct 2014 23:04:36 GMT

I would go with BCE, the Everyday doesn't have much value if you don't use it 20x per month. Go ahead and apply now. If you get denied (doubt it) you should be able call and recon. Explain your employment situation and m willing to bet they approve you.

Re: What income should I put on app?

tjones9234 — Mon, 27 Oct 2014 00:59:38 GMT

read the card act, you dont have to file taxes "jointly" to have reasonable access to other income. I think there is seruous confusion on the boards when it comes to this..Include all sources of income that are available to you "including income of other you can reasonable access to pay bills" ... This means a joint bank account or an account a domestic partner, gf bf, parent etc makes regular transfers to... Be able to show this income via bank statements etc... Most all applications state the wording this way, they must allow you to provide documentation of it other then IRS returns.. I know many people living together that file seperate, dont lie but do not understate income

Re: What income should I put on app?

tjones9234 — Mon, 27 Oct 2014 01:01:50 GMT

I should add this only applies if you are over "21" ..That is important, if you are under 21 you can NOT use parents income they transfer to your accounts

Re: What income should I put on app?

wacdenney — Mon, 27 Oct 2014 01:20:50 GMT

@tjones9234 wrote:
read the card act, you dont have to file taxes "jointly" to have reasonable access to other income. I think there is seruous confusion on the boards when it comes to this..Include all sources of income that are available to you "including income of other you can reasonable access to pay bills" ... This means a joint bank account or an account a domestic partner, gf bf, parent etc makes regular transfers to... Be able to show this income via bank statements etc... Most all applications state the wording this way, they must allow you to provide documentation of it other then IRS returns.. I know many people living together that file seperate, dont lie but do not understate income

I stated that the way I did because the application in question was AMEX. I'm not sure how you would prove the income for a FR if you didn't file taxes jointly. Maybe you could and if so then by all means claim the income. I always put down HHI when I app.

Re: What income should I put on app?

tjones9234 — Mon, 27 Oct 2014 04:27:14 GMT

The amex fr needs some serious re thinking from the Eo

Re: What income should I put on app?

Anonymous — Mon, 27 Oct 2014 05:06:47 GMT

@Anonymous wrote:
I finally got my credit score up over 700! Experian shows a score of 727 and TU at 739!

Because of the credit score, i've decided to try and pull the trigger on opening my third CC, an Amex card. Which if approved, I will end up gardening for the foreseable future.

Question 1:
What income should i state on the Amex app? I am currently a full-time student while also working part-time at a hedge fund. The same hedge fund has offered me a full time position as soon as i gradute (may 2015). On the app, should I put what my yearly income would be if i stayed part-time or should I put my income as if i was full time? The main reason i ask is because the part-time income is considerably less (almost half) of what it will be full time and I do know what I will be making as soon as i start full time.

Question 2:
What amex card should i go for? Currently I have a Discover Card and the Chase Freedom. I enjoy the cash back with the freedom but really only use it for statement credit. I am torn between:
-Everyday
-Blue Sky
-Blue
-Delta Skymiles

Also, should I just go for the basic card or the preferred card with the annual fee? Any tips or recommendations greatly appreciated! Hopefully I get approved and I can sit tight for a long time as i'll have the 3 cards I want!

It depends how MUCH of a difference there is between the two.

If it's say... $15,000 to $30,000.....I don't see an FR biting you in the butt.

However $20,000 to $80,000..

Well. You'd better have a HELL of an excuse and pray and hope they don't close you down.

I would just be completely honest with them and update your Income when you get your new position there.

Re: What income should I put on app?

takeshi74 — Mon, 27 Oct 2014 13:19:25 GMT

@Anonymous wrote:
Question 1:
What income should i state on the Amex app?

Same as with any creditor -- whatever income you can prove if verification is requested. AmEx uses 4506-T's for income verifiation so whatever's on your tax returns is what matters.

@Anonymous wrote:
Just as a general opinion, does the BCE card make sense since I already have the Discover and Chase Freedom which i use the cashback/rewards for statement credit? Would the Everday Card be a better compliment to my two cards I already have?

The BCE rarely makes sense. Refer to the charts floating around comparing the BCE, BCP & Sallie Mae. It's not about general opinion or complementing cards. It's all about finding cards that specifically suit you and you need to look at your spend and what you need/want from a card.

As for the ED cards you need to determine if MR points are useful to you. If not, go for the BCP unless you don't have enough spend in the appropriate categories for the BCP. The old Blue Cash would make sense if you have very high amounts of category spend.

Again, look at your spend and crunch the numbers versus just polling people with different spend and priorities.

Re: What income should I put on app?

Imperfectfuture — Mon, 27 Oct 2014 13:34:46 GMT

Disagree. If spend is lower than certain percentage (you have another food category card like Sallie Mae), then you earn more on the BCE than the BCP. IF you subtract the membership fee.

Which is why I chose the BCE. No AF, and when I start to get my category spend cards, I use it as BACK UP (want to develop relationship with Amex first, plus they give out REALLY good starting limits).

BCP makes sense if it's your only grocery card, better for families. If I don't get the category spend cards, then I would definitely change (or add on) BCP, since the bill for me would be about $300 per month (I eat healthy, and also buy some pet supplies at Safeway). Multiply your groceries bill for annual spend, subtract the 75 AF, and then see which card is better (if you are using amazon for some things, or shop at walmart, etc, don't count that). Remember, if you plan on getting the sallie Mae, freedom and/ discover it, they also have groceries, so the BCE is generally better.

OP is student, and I'm singular w/cats.

Re: What income should I put on app?

Anonymous — Mon, 27 Oct 2014 17:03:45 GMT

So guys just a quick udpate, first thanks for all the responses! I ended up pulling the trigger last night with my Amex App and put a slightly hirer income than what part-time is but I am not truly worried about an FR. Hopefully if that scenerio does happen they'll understand the situation and even if they lower my CL I won't mind as long as they keep the account open so I can continue to build the relationship.

Anyway the juicy stuff:

I ended reading up and figuring out spending and what would be best and apped for the EDP as the $95 annual fee is not a big deal for me with my spending and reaching the 30 uses a month with the card.I also liked the perks of the MR toward travel use and there is the option towards statement credit so I felt the EDP would be perfect. I was approved for a starting CL of 4k!

Now I sit back and enjoy my cards and keep building my credit!

Discover Card - 1.3k CL

Chase Freedom - 1.2k CL

Amex EDP - 4k CL

So I am extremely happy and now that I am in with Amex I have no future plans of apping for anything anytime soon!

Now to pay off those pesky student loans and work my way towards the centurion

Re: What income should I put on app?

Anonymous — Mon, 27 Oct 2014 19:49:26 GMT

@Anonymous wrote:
So guys just a quick udpate, first thanks for all the responses! I ended up pulling the trigger last night with my Amex App and put a slightly hirer income than what part-time is but I am not truly worried about an FR. Hopefully if that scenerio does happen they'll understand the situation and even if they lower my CL I won't mind as long as they keep the account open so I can continue to build the relationship.

Anyway the juicy stuff:
I ended reading up and figuring out spending and what would be best and apped for the EDP as the $95 annual fee is not a big deal for me with my spending and reaching the 30 uses a month with the card.I also liked the perks of the MR toward travel use and there is the option towards statement credit so I felt the EDP would be perfect. I was approved for a starting CL of 4k!

Now I sit back and enjoy my cards and keep building my credit!
Discover Card - 1.3k CL
Chase Freedom - 1.2k CL
Amex EDP - 4k CL

So I am extremely happy and now that I am in with Amex I have no future plans of apping for anything anytime soon!

Now to pay off those pesky student loans and work my way towards the centurion

30 swipes is no big deal at all if it's your main card. The wife and I have swiped the CSP nearly 40 times in the last two weeks.