AMEX BCE Application Questions - No Pre-Approval

[Anonymous]

I'm very sensitive to denials and don't have my much credit experience so I wanted to ask this forum for advice or data points before I apply. I am interested in applying for the AMEX BCE card. I am an AU on an AMEX platinum since 2013 and have my own business AMEX Plum card since February 2021.When I login to AMEX and click Apply, it says "Applying to expand your card membership with us is easy" which I understand means that I am not pre-approved. Every single AMEX card says that.

My credit history is thin but no negatives:

Citibank Mastercard since 2007

Amex platinum Authorized User since 2013

Amex plum business card since February 2021 (just a bit more than 3 months ago)

No mortgage, no loans.

I applied for a Chase Business Ink Cash Back card for my business in February also and was denied. I was instantly approved for the AMEX plum a few days later. I changed my car insurance last month and may have had a hard pull for that. So I think Chase Hard Pull and AMEX hard pull in february and then Allstate in May.

My Equifax score is 789 from 4/27/21 and my Experian score was 802 when Chase did their hard pull in February. The dings I see are:

Too few accounts currently paid as agreed

Lack of recent installment loan information

I wanted to wait 3 months after getting my AMEX Plum before applying for a personal card again. But now that I don't see any pre-approvals I'm hesitating. I understand I can apply and AMEX won't do a hard pull if I'm denied - but will that reset any counter before I can expect an approval? Any other advice - wait 6 months? Pull the trigger?

Thanks!

[coldfusion]

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@Anonymous wrote:

I understand I can apply and AMEX won't do a hard pull if I'm denied

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 No.  The only senario where that would apply is that if you were currently blacklisted - you would be denied without a hard pull being performed.   Since you currently hold a Plum card you obviously aren't blacklisted. 

Because you're an existing cardholder the odds are that you would not take a hard pull if you applied regardless of the outcome but taking one is a realistic possibility.   If you think about it, the rationale for the hard pull is to establish your creditworthiness, and they need to establish your creditworthiness before they decide to approve or deny the application. 

It's also true that even if you were preapproved you could still be denied, and even without a preapproval you can be approved. 

There are specific counters that AMEX has regarding card applications - not all of which are hard rules - but since your AMEX approval was in February it's been long enough that none of them would apply. 

If you are truly risk-adverse to denials your best option is to wait for a preapproval, but as I outlined above a preapproval does not guarantee an approval.   You may want to consider waiting another 3 months and then trying for a preapproval with the intent of applying even if you aren't preapproved and in the meantime continue to use the Plum regularly and PIF monthly so that AMEX has 6 months of pristine payment history to take into consideration. 

[FinStar]

So, is the Citi MC your only personal revolving card at the moment?  You mentioned no mortgage or installment loans -- any in the past or none at all?

Since your profile may still be on the thin side, you can wait (if you prefer to go this route) until you build more internal history with AmEx with the accounts that you're the primary user, in this case Plum.  That said, if you decide to apply and the application is denied for some reason, you'd only need to wait 30 days to reapply.  

[simplynoir]

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@FinStar wrote:

So, is the Citi MC your only personal revolving card at the moment?  You mentioned no mortgage or installment loans -- any in the past or none at all?

Since your profile may still be on the thin side, you can wait (if you prefer to go this route) until you build more internal history with AmEx with the accounts that you're the primary user, in this case Plum.  That said, if you decide to apply and the application is denied for some reason, you'd only need to wait 30 days to reapply.  

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Tagging you, @FinStar, on bolded section for relevant question here

[Anonymous]

Yes, the Citi MC is my only personal revolving card. I have never had any mortgage or installment loans. I've been fortunate that I haven't needed them yet but it has always shown up as a negative in my credit report.

I've always paid the Citi MC in full each month and on the AMEX Plum I have 3 months of statements and have paid early (for the early pay discount) every time. So far it has been about $1,500 per month on the AMEX for some business expenses. I can wait another 3 months to get a full 6 months of history with the amex plum if that helps - I'm just not sure. Thanks for your reply.

[Anonymous]

I'm bumping my thread from a few months ago with an update if it can be helpful to anyone. I decided to wait 6 months and applied online for the AMEX BCE today. My application was instantly approved and the card will arrive next week. This is my second personal credit card and I probably don't want anymore for a long time.

The application still said  "Applying to expand your card membership with us is easy" so I don't think I was pre-approved but there you have it.

[FinStar]

As the OP has provided an update with an approval, this thread is now locked and closed to ne messages. Congrats on the approval OP.

Feel free to start a new thread in the Approvals section with any relevant DPs for the community, if you wish.