AMEX Platinum - Sent for Reconsideration & Denied *Student Loan ?*

[TDH0820]

Hi everyone, 

I applied for the AMEX Platinum Card and got denied. Over a year ago, I had two charge offs that were paid in full due personal family matters. Everything has since resolved and in great shape. 

FICO Experian - 708 

Annual Income  - $200K 

Credit Age - 10+ Years

Utilization: 3% (Pay everything in full) 

DTI - 17%

The decision was based off of the following: 

1. The number of accounts with high balances in relation to their credit limits or original loan amounts

2. The number of accounts with balances. 

3. Number of accounts delinquent 

Currently, I have $120K in student loans, which amount to 17 accounts. All of have been in deferment since 2011 from undergrad and currently in a PhD program. Besides the 2 charge offs from AMEX, my name legally changed which led to some accounts becoming delinquent. However, you are unable to get student loan aid private or federal if you are delinquent. I have been receiving student aid with no issue. I reached out to all of the credit agencys: Equifax, Experian and TransUnion -- mixed bag response where half of my student loans are corrected while the other half is not. 

Sent them supporting documentation explaining that every academic year I get 3-5 loans depending on the student loan type, the reason why the balances remain the same cause their in deferment. Also, I included University paper work showing enrollment verification and the half-ass dispute resolution from Experian and TransUnion. 

Called reconsideration line, she was super nice and totally understood everything I was explaining to her. Surpringsly I got her 2 times in a row (different days) and sent that back for further evaluation. 

Got the pending status, then letter in the mail saying they are standing by their decision. 

In addition, I am an authorized user on one AmEx card and a have AmEx Corporate Card too. Really wanted to take advanatage of the Corporate Advantage program to save money on the annual fee. 

Not sure what else to d!. Any insight or advise would be appreciated. Thank you so much everyone!!!

[CreditCrusader]

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@TDH0820 wrote:

Hi everyone, 

I applied for the AMEX Platinum Card and got denied. Over a year ago, I had two charge offs that were paid in full due personal family matters. Everything has since resolved and in great shape. 

FICO Experian - 708 

Annual Income  - $200K 

Credit Age - 10+ Years

Utilization: 3% (Pay everything in full) 

DTI - 17%

The decision was based off of the following: 

1. The number of accounts with high balances in relation to their credit limits or original loan amounts

2. The number of accounts with balances. 

3. Number of accounts delinquent 

Currently, I have $120K in student loans, which amount to 17 accounts. All of have been in deferment since 2011 from undergrad and currently in a PhD program. Besides the 2 charge offs from AMEX, my name legally changed which led to some accounts becoming delinquent. However, you are unable to get student loan aid private or federal if you are delinquent. I have been receiving student aid with no issue. I reached out to all of the credit agencys: Equifax, Experian and TransUnion -- mixed bag response where half of my student loans are corrected while the other half is not. 

Sent them supporting documentation explaining that every academic year I get 3-5 loans depending on the student loan type, the reason why the balances remain the same cause their in deferment. Also, I included University paper work showing enrollment verification and the half-ass dispute resolution from Experian and TransUnion. 

Called reconsideration line, she was super nice and totally understood everything I was explaining to her. Surpringsly I got her 2 times in a row (different days) and sent that back for further evaluation. 

Got the pending status, then letter in the mail saying they are standing by their decision. 

In addition, I am an authorized user on one AmEx card and a have AmEx Corporate Card too. Really wanted to take advanatage of the Corporate Advantage program to save money on the annual fee. 

Not sure what else to d!. Any insight or advise would be appreciated. Thank you so much everyone!!!

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I'll bet a buffalo nickel that these two areas are the culprit relative to this denial.

Regarding the student loans: While they may be in deferment, they still represent $120,000 that will have to be repaid. I imagine that once you begin to chip away at that balance and AMEX sees it decrease slowly, they may be more receptive to your desire to have their card.

[TDH0820]

Thank you for the fast reply. I obviously have bandwidth to pay towards the balance of the student loans -- currently trying to get to that 20% down payment on a house! Would you suggest I re-apply in 30 days like they said or just give it 3-6 months with payments on the loans?

[ccquest]

I don't think your situation will really change in 30 days so I would stick to a 6 month plan.

Since it wasn't a straight up denial right away, should indicate that you're not blacklisted from the charge offs at least.

[CreditInspired]

IMHO OP, I think you should forget about AmX or applying for any new credit for at least 12 months.

Work on getting your SLs paid down. $120K is a lot of debt that is being viewed as not decreasing, and possibly increasing. 

Banks are just not into us right now unless scores are super high and balances are super low; and even with that being said, approvals are still not guaranteed. 

[ccquest]

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@CreditInspired wrote:

IMHO OP, I think you should forget about AmX or applying for any new credit for at least 12 months.

Work on getting your SLs paid down. $120K is a lot of debt that is being viewed as not decreasing, and possibly increasing. 

Banks are just not into us right now unless scores are super high and balances are super low; and even with that being said, approvals are still not guaranteed. 

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I was approved for my cards with $130k of student loans,and 12k for auto, and 70k income. Mine were at the end of June though so it was before the latest quarterly destruction and just a single data point.

[Anonymous]

Just wanted to post and say I have about $150,000 worth of student loans and was approved with Amex (however, well before the current economic situation). However, Amex always mentions my account balances when checking my credit score as a way to improve it so it definitely is something they consider.

I'd think a lot of the denial has to do with the current economic situation. You'd be good waiting more time than less if possible. Amex has really tightened up on approvals. 

[OmarGB9]

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@Anonymous wrote:

Just wanted to post and say I have about $150,000 worth of student loans and was approved with Amex (however, well before the current economic situation). However, Amex always mentions my account balances when checking my credit score as a way to improve it so it definitely is something they consider.

I'd think a lot of the denial has to do with the current economic situation. You'd be good waiting more time than less if possible. Amex has really tightened up on approvals. 

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Agree with this.