AMEX PRG - How Selective Is Membership / Approval?

[Anonymous]

Hey Everyone,

I'm a new Amex cardholder, after having received a $2000 instant approval for the Blue Cash Preferred card in October (I know this is pretty low but I wasn't suprised, being new to Amex).  I didn't have any cards that were specifically geared towards travel rewards, so I applied for the PRG card while logged into my BCP account and was denied.

Data points are as follows:

EX: 760 at time of application

Income: $155k

Utilization: I pay all accounts in full each month, but UIT hovers between 2% and 10% depending on when statements cut.

I called for a recon about 4 days ago and haven't heard anything.  The woman on the phone was suprised I was denied, due to my score, income and that I have been using my BCP and paying almost weekly to keep UTI low.  She said it may result in a second HP, which I expected, but I haven't seen the second HP hit my score yet.

Anyone have any insight on the denial?  Is it to be expected, being new to Amex? Should I work the BCP for a while then go for the PRG?

Thanks In Advance!

[AverageJoesCredit]

The only thing i can figure is maybe because you are so new, less than 2 months, maybe they need more time to get to know you. Once Amex warms up im sure youll be getting dp approvals in no time

[Anonymous]

I'm in the same boat

My income is about half of yours but due to my job (sales) I am able to put spend on the Amex Platinum and get reimbursed (flights) .

I was approved for the Platinum on October 5th. I hit the minimum spend for the sign up in five weeks. Then I received "pre-qualified" for the PRG when checking for offers on the their website. I pulled the trigger and was declined. This occurred in November and they actually initiated a hard inquiry. Then this month I decided to try again, and bam was declined again. What shocked me the most is they did another hard inquiry.

Stated reasons were
"Time as an Amex customer too short"(something like that)

"current Amex balance is too high for the income stated on the application" (Both times my balance was $0)


Since Chase & USAA have been the most generous. I am now going to give my CSP most of the action now in hopes I get a CLI.

[Anonymous]

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@Anonymous wrote:

Hey Everyone,

I'm a new Amex cardholder, after having received a $2000 instant approval for the Blue Cash Preferred card in October (I know this is pretty low but I wasn't suprised, being new to Amex).  I didn't have any cards that were specifically geared towards travel rewards, so I applied for the PRG card while logged into my BCP account and was denied.

Data points are as follows:

EX: 760 at time of application

Income: $155k

Utilization: I pay all accounts in full each month, but UIT hovers between 2% and 10% depending on when statements cut.

I called for a recon about 4 days ago and haven't heard anything.  The woman on the phone was suprised I was denied, due to my score, income and that I have been using my BCP and paying almost weekly to keep UTI low.  She said it may result in a second HP, which I expected, but I haven't seen the second HP hit my score yet.

Anyone have any insight on the denial?  Is it to be expected, being new to Amex? Should I work the BCP for a while then go for the PRG?

Thanks In Advance!

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Your limit is low for your score and income. DW got her BCP starting limit at $15K score at application around 730. Income $125k  plus. 

We only asked for $5k raise brining limit to $20K  We have let utization run as high as 30% for 2 months while we repairing storm damage early in the year. We have no house payment or car payment.   We use this card a lot. We maxed out grocery and now have to use my plain Blue Cash til year end.  I would try for the 3X cli when the time is up for cli.   

[kilroy8]

You just need to wait until your Amex relationship is about 6 months worth of statements, and the offers will fill your screen. I have had a PRG offer out there with a nice bonus for a couple of months now. My score is a bit better than yours, but not much. I started my Amex relationship in April 2017.

[Anonymous]

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@Anonymous wrote:

Hey Everyone,

I'm a new Amex cardholder, after having received a $2000 instant approval for the Blue Cash Preferred card in October (I know this is pretty low but I wasn't suprised, being new to Amex).  I didn't have any cards that were specifically geared towards travel rewards, so I applied for the PRG card while logged into my BCP account and was denied.

Data points are as follows:

EX: 760 at time of application

Income: $155k

Utilization: I pay all accounts in full each month, but UIT hovers between 2% and 10% depending on when statements cut.

I called for a recon about 4 days ago and haven't heard anything.  The woman on the phone was suprised I was denied, due to my score, income and that I have been using my BCP and paying almost weekly to keep UTI low.  She said it may result in a second HP, which I expected, but I haven't seen the second HP hit my score yet.

Anyone have any insight on the denial?  Is it to be expected, being new to Amex? Should I work the BCP for a while then go for the PRG?

Thanks In Advance!

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What is your average age of accounts?  You don't have a credit card with a limit over 10k.  With your income and score that is suprising.   I got approve for BCE with only a 1k limit a week after getting the PRG. Got the Platinum and SPG a little over a month later. My score right around 700.  

[Shadowfactor]

Shocked that you didn’t get the card. I got one with a score about a 100 points lower then yours, collections ,just got a 2K revolver with Amex the month before and about a 3rd of the income. I’m only 26 so my credit profile is very short and I don’t make a ton of money yet.

Amex isn’t very good with recons but you may have some luck since your profile seems to be good.

My girlfriend has a 750ish credit score and 65K income. They gave her 13k off the bat and it now sits at 22K after 61 days.

Hopefully you get some love during recon.

[Anonymous]

Average age of accounts is 39 months on EX, which is about when I started to rebuild.

I didn’t start aggressively seeking LUV from any of my lenders until I joined myFICO and started learning the ins and outs of how it all works.

When I started rebuilding about 4 years ago I was getting approvals for $500, so getting a $10,000 instant from an pretty conservative lender like US Bank is pretty solid, from what I’ve read here. They gave me a $500 limit flex perks card 3 years ago.

[Shadowfactor]

Do you have any negative information on your reports ? Or did you send obtain a bunch of new accounts recently ? How many recent inquiries?

As others have said. Use the BCP for a couple months and then hit up Amex prequalified. Probably 2-6 months depending.

[BronzeTrader]

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@Anonymous wrote:

Hey Everyone,

I'm a new Amex cardholder, after having received a $2000 instant approval for the Blue Cash Preferred card in October (I know this is pretty low but I wasn't suprised, being new to Amex).  I didn't have any cards that were specifically geared towards travel rewards, so I applied for the PRG card while logged into my BCP account and was denied.

Data points are as follows:

EX: 760 at time of application

Income: $155k

Utilization: I pay all accounts in full each month, but UIT hovers between 2% and 10% depending on when statements cut.

I called for a recon about 4 days ago and haven't heard anything.  The woman on the phone was suprised I was denied, due to my score, income and that I have been using my BCP and paying almost weekly to keep UTI low.  She said it may result in a second HP, which I expected, but I haven't seen the second HP hit my score yet.

Anyone have any insight on the denial?  Is it to be expected, being new to Amex? Should I work the BCP for a while then go for the PRG?

Thanks In Advance!

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Nothing to do with your income & credit scores.  Creditors look at the entire picture.  A college kid can have 3-4 AmEx cards without substantial income.  You need to show them something and AmEx can make some $$ from you.