So I'm STILL waiting on my Optima Card application to be "recieved" it's been nearly 3 weeks since I've mailed my application to them and I am starting to think they never received it since I called New Accounts and spoke with CSR and even she said it shouldn't take that long for them to atleast acknowledge receiving it in some form. I ended up overnighting another application that they mailed me and got confirmed signature for pickup, but still haven't seen anything update in my application statuses.
My EX8 score has jumped significantly over the past month, so I was gonna try and see if I could try apping for some cards because I guess its only a SP for me since I'm an "existing cardmember" even though my account is closed I guess??
So I applied for the Blue Cash Magnet card, to which I get a denied (as expected) but when I looked at the decision letter, they stated the reason for denial was "Your FICO score" (see attached image)
They also based my EX8 score of 607 from December 09, 2020 even though I applied on January 24, 2021! As of today my EX8 score is 664 with a 670 FICO8 Bankcard Score (which I'm not even sure AMEX looks at). I tried to apply for me cards because I thought that the SP wouldn't do anything on my CR, but I applied for several others and they say "Provide required information", even for the Hilton Honors AMEX that I was "pre-qualified" for from CardMatch. I spoke to a CSR and she said that if you supposedly app for multiple cards within 30 days it will be an auto-decline and the system processes it as a "duplicate application"
Do you guys think this would be applicable to try and recon this decision, since the letter reason only really mentioned my score? I'd rather be in a better card than the Optima if they still don't provide me with any updates.
EX
TU
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@BetterMoves wrote:I may be a little confused about this, but to me it seems that the odds you ask about are low. Even the denial letter as worded mentions FICO score, the FICO score seems to be based on factors including serious delinquency and number of accounts delinquent. I would think that AmEx would look at more than just the actual number.
Also, wouldn't you need to complete the Optima program before they would consider you for a Cash Magnet? Again, I may be misunderstanding something, but it looks like you need to get the Optima issue sorted out first. If things aren't moving along, ask to speak with a supervisor.
Well pretty much the letter was stating it was my FICO score but it was based on a later date, and if were any other reason wouldn't they also list those along with my low FICO score? I recently paid off a WF chargedoff account and that's what jumped my credit score. Current overall utilization is 37%, it might drop down to ~29% once some of the balances reflect in the first week of Feburary.
I still haven't officially been approved for an Optima card (I only have it on my signature because I thought it was a pretty much guaranteed approval once they receive it), but I know that once I have the card I will not be eligible for any other cards until the 1 year is up, but even some of the CSR I spoke with said that I could try my luck and apply for a different card.
@FinStar
Currently my total credit line is $9650.00 → with overall 37% utilization
I have a Cap1 QS $300 CL → $0.00 balance reported (0% usage though I do spend heavy on it)
Discover It Secured (recently opened) $2000 CL → $44.00 balance reported (2% utilization)
I'm an AU on my gf's cards (which I was added about a year ago which helped me rebuild to where I am now)
Chase Sapphire Preferred: $5000 CL → $2740 balance (54% utilization which I think is what is currently affecting my score in terms of utilization)
Discover It $2350 CL → $819.00 balance (34% utilization)
In terms of other "baddies"
I have a collections from PRA for $4020 which I am trying to dispute/settle
and on my EX report Affirm has a handful of lates (which are 2 yrs old) and 1 CO (that has been paid recently)
With all of what I've described with my credit profile, wouldn't that information be listed directly as a reason for denial, in additional to the low score? I know when I request for CLI with Cap1 they usually say denial reason(s) that include the low score, recent delinquencies, high utlization, etc. Unless, this is how AMEX usually writes out their decision letters.
@FinStar wrote:Thanks for providing a bit of some background.
As far as the reasons, they're only legally obligated to list 1. Every lender evaluates things differently and AmEx has been known to list more than one reason in a variety of cases.
Just gotta keep in mind that a FICO score is one of many elements they're looking at when algorithms are making these automated decisions. So, the presence of those negatives + the AU CCs with high balances are also going to be weighed. The other thing that I noticed, you applied for a "core" revolving card, which typically has higher UW criteria than some of their other non-core products - profile dependent of course.
Gotcha! Yeah I know what factors into my FICO score, I just wasn't sure if this type of denial letter looks like a "black-listed" or auto-denial type of response. If it's a matter of just allowing my FICO score to improve, I know what needs to be done to improve that. If I still haven't gotten any word about my Optima card, I was going to consider waiting 30 days and within that time I plan to bring the heavy utilization down on my AU accounts to bring me down to very low utilization and hope it brings my score up to above 670+ and try and reapply.
@randomguy1 wrote:
@bicboiOD wrote:
@FinStar wrote:Thanks for providing a bit of some background.
As far as the reasons, they're only legally obligated to list 1. Every lender evaluates things differently and AmEx has been known to list more than one reason in a variety of cases.
Just gotta keep in mind that a FICO score is one of many elements they're looking at when algorithms are making these automated decisions. So, the presence of those negatives + the AU CCs with high balances are also going to be weighed. The other thing that I noticed, you applied for a "core" revolving card, which typically has higher UW criteria than some of their other non-core products - profile dependent of course.
Gotcha! Yeah I know what factors into my FICO score, I just wasn't sure if this type of denial letter looks like a "black-listed" or auto-denial type of response. If it's a matter of just allowing my FICO score to improve, I know what needs to be done to improve that. If I still haven't gotten any word about my Optima card, I was going to consider waiting 30 days and within that time I plan to bring the heavy utilization down on my AU accounts to bring me down to very low utilization and hope it brings my score up to above 670+ and try and reapply.
It doesn't look like you are blacklisted as you did not receive the reason "Denied for previous relationship" or something to that effect. Did you receive a hard credit inquiry?
Nope no hard pull on my EX, and any of the others. That's what I was wondering if that was labeled under that category, or if it's just because my score is low.