AMEX odds and options

[Anonymous]

Wanting to apply for my first AMEX. My EX F8 is 762, TU F8 is 662 (yes, wide range, dunno why). 

Current cards are:

Cap1 secured $800 (2018)

Cap1 $500 (2018)

Discover $2300 (May 2020)

Kohls (Cap1 backed) $1700 (2018)

Fingerhut $1400 (2018)

All current, never any lates, aggregate utilization 8%.

1 hard pull in last 12 months, 2 in 24 months.

Also have car loan through Cap1, always paid on time and with extra towards principle. Income 75k. There is one derogatory, an old First Premier card, charged off with DoFD approaching 7 years.

Using the AMEX pre qualify site, it shows 3 offers. AMEX Gold, AMEX Green, and Hilton Honors. 

Questions:

1. How do you feel my odds are on getting approved? I know the pre qualify is a good sign but no guarantee.  Would feel better once the one derogatory falls off.

2. What does the HH limit start at?

3. I have read about people applying for both an AMEX charge and credit card within X period of time and only get 1 hard pull. How common is this? Do I stand a chance? How do you know if they do a soft or hard for the second card?

4. Do multiple hard pulls for cards grouped together in a certain time only weigh as one? Like they do when applying for a car or home loan. What if it is different companies, such as AMEX and Discover?

5. Any other input or options to consider?

[FinStar]

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@Anonymous wrote:

Wanting to apply for my first AMEX. My EX F8 is 762, TU F8 is 662 (yes, wide range, dunno why). 

Current cards are:

Cap1 secured $800 (2018)

Cap1 $500 (2018)

Discover $2300 (May 2020)

Kohls (Cap1 backed) $1700 (2018)

Fingerhut $1400 (2018)

All current, never any lates, aggregate utilization 8%.

1 hard pull in last 12 months, 2 in 24 months.

Also have car loan through Cap1, always paid on time and with extra towards principle. Income 75k. There is one derogatory, an old First Premier card, charged off with DoFD approaching 7 years.

Using the AMEX pre qualify site, it shows 3 offers. AMEX Gold, AMEX Green, and Hilton Honors. 

Questions:

1. How do you feel my odds are on getting approved?  Fairly reliable, but as you're aware, not 100% guaranteed. I know the pre qualify is a good sign but no guarantee.  Would feel better once the one derogatory falls off.  The more optimized the profile, the better the odds for a decent approval and/or terms.  So, if you can hold off until the derogatory mark from FP is removed from CRs, the better.

2. What does the HH limit start at?  Typically $1,000

3. I have read about people applying for both an AMEX charge and credit card within X period of time and only get 1 hard pull. How common is this?  Results will vary. Do I stand a chance? How do you know if they do a soft or hard for the second card?  You won't know so temper expectations of 2 potential HPs.  If one HP occurs, then great.

4. Do multiple hard pulls for cards grouped together in a certain time only weigh as one?  No, multiple HPs do not weigh as one - these aren't treated the same way as when applying for Auto Financing or Mortgage.  Like they do when applying for a car or home loan. What if it is different companies, such as AMEX and Discover?  They will be weighed and counted separately.

5. Any other input or options to consider?  If this is your first AmEx card, consider the benefits that will be a good fit your spending patterns.  My suggestion is not to apply to just get your foot in the door.  There's plenty of options given the number of AmEx cards available, so research the card that would work for you in the long term.

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Some responses above @Anonymous 

[Anonymous]

@FinStar 

Wow, fantastic input, thank you so much.

I do know waiting for the one derog to fall off would be best. But I am also looking at future plans of applying for a mortgage in about a year or so. Having researched,  it seems no accounts newer than 1 year or so is best for that. Hence,  hoping to get a new, grow able card and car refi done to work with that time frame.

Not sure how to figure out what would be most beneficial to me among all the options. We do dine a good bit, but don't travel a whole lot. Most spending is on day to day stuff, groceries,  gas, household etc. 

A while back the prequal gave me offers of Delta Sky Miles, a Cash Magnet,  and something else. These seemed to have better benefits to me. My score did increase a good bit recently,  so not sure if that made the pre qualify offers different, maybe better? TBH, the plethora of AMEX offerings is a bit much for me to wrap my head around.

[Anonymous]

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@Anonymous wrote:

@FinStar 

Wow, fantastic input, thank you so much.

I do know waiting for the one derog to fall off would be best. But I am also looking at future plans of applying for a mortgage in about a year or so. Having researched,  it seems no accounts newer than 1 year or so is best for that. Hence,  hoping to get a new, grow able card and car refi done to work with that time frame.

Not sure how to figure out what would be most beneficial to me among all the options. We do dine a good bit, but don't travel a whole lot. Most spending is on day to day stuff, groceries,  gas, household etc. 

A while back the prequal gave me offers of Delta Sky Miles, a Cash Magnet,  and something else. These seemed to have better benefits to me. My score did increase a good bit recently,  so not sure if that made the pre qualify offers different, maybe better? TBH, the plethora of AMEX offerings is a bit much for me to wrap my head around.

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I think they usually pop up 3 card in the prequalify, when you actually prequal for more. Click on "all cards" above the 3 cards, go through each card and they will say if they are "preapproved for you" or just say "special offer for you" (which is not the same as preapproved).

[Anonymous]

@Anonymous 

OK, doing that, most cards do say "prequalified offer". So any of those I should have a decent chance of approval with? If so, then I will search for one that has rewards that appeal to me. 

The only ones that don't say that are the Green (says New Launch Offer) and the Bonvoy. 

[Ficoproblems247]

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@Anonymous wrote:

@FinStar 

Wow, fantastic input, thank you so much.

I do know waiting for the one derog to fall off would be best. But I am also looking at future plans of applying for a mortgage in about a year or so. Having researched,  it seems no accounts newer than 1 year or so is best for that. Hence,  hoping to get a new, grow able card and car refi done to work with that time frame.

Not sure how to figure out what would be most beneficial to me among all the options. We do dine a good bit, but don't travel a whole lot. Most spending is on day to day stuff, groceries,  gas, household etc. 

A while back the prequal gave me offers of Delta Sky Miles, a Cash Magnet,  and something else. These seemed to have better benefits to me. My score did increase a good bit recently,  so not sure if that made the pre qualify offers different, maybe better? TBH, the plethora of AMEX offerings is a bit much for me to wrap my head around.

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If you don't travel a whole lot, you may want to really think long and hard about the charge cards, as they may not yield you the best value for your spend when redeeming their rewards.  Cards that earn MRs can have an outstanding earning potential, however to get any useful value they need to be redeemed through specific portals and/or transferred out to partners at a high return rate. Delta Gold is actually a good option if you can fly Delta at least once per year. Free first checked bag plus priority boarding makes the AF worth it right out of the gate IMO. You may want to look at their cash back cards too, such as Blue Cash Preferred/Blue Cash Everyday. Do the math and see what works best with your spend toward groceries/gas/streaming. The core cards like the BCP/BCE have slightly tougher underwriting, so definitely hold off until that derog falls off like you and the other wise members were already talking about. The credit game is always about patience! Good luck on your AMEX quest, and keep us posted along the way. We all love DPs around here!

[4sallypat]

@Anonymous If you don't travel much, consider applying for the Blue Cash.

I am looking at the BCP it because it would give me the best (6% on groceries, 6% on my streaming, and 3% on gas) - much better than my Platinum, Apple Card, Cap 1....

Plus they have a $300 statement credit cash back after #$3K spend.