I have to say, all of you contributing to this community are amazing, Everyone has just been so knowledgeable, encouraging, and eager to help. I truly had no idea how very little I knew about Credit Scores/Reports until I started reading this forum. All of the great information I've been able to harvest from these threads and, in turn, apply to my personal credit file has allowed me to raise my score by roughly 60 points in less than 3 months. Thanks you all very much; I learn something new every day.
And today is no different... So I spent sometime searching any AmEx threads I could find, and finally figured out why their pre-qual site never got me anywhere. So their pre-qual page does only require a SP, BUT they only generate a new one if you haven't applied recently. If you have, they just use the information from the HP they already have for you. What I'm not sure of is how long they continue to use the same report before pulling a new one. So basically every time I was going to their site looking for pre-quals, I was under the impression that they were initiating a SP of my current report from Experian, when in reality they were just reviewing the same old information over and over again. I mean, like I saiid, I'm sure there's some limit on how long they do that, but I'm pretty sure, for me anyway, that's been the problem, because when I applied for the ED card (12/15) and was denied, I pulled my full Experian report for myself and found numerous errors. I've since disputed each of them and all but 1 has been deleted - a "collection" for an old hospital account that the collection agency has apparently been falsely/inaccurately reporting since 2011. Ugh... Anyway, that's the only negative item remaining in my file and it's still in dispute. So, in the time since AmEx pulled my report last, I've paid my balances down by $3000+, been granted a $3000 CLI on my Wal-Mart MasterCard (SP), and was approved (with no HP!!!) for an Overstock card with a SL of $4300. The CC payments alone brought my UTI down to 20%. My Wal-Mart account will reflect the higher credit limit when it updates next month and the Overstock card will start reporting as well. Once both of those things occur, my UTI will be down to 14%. Even considering it's only down to 20%, between that improvement and the removal of all but 1 "derogatory remark", my FICO score has increased by 40 points since 1/31 (1/31 = 639, 2/21 = 679).
So, given that new and AMAZING information, I felt much more confident pulling the trigger on the AmEx app. I applied over the phone and, naturallly, their "Express Approval" system went down literally during our phone call. The agent was very nice, though, and assured me not to be concerned, and that it had nothing to do with my credit-worthiness and truly was just a system issue. His exact words were "A person could have a perfect 850 score and they wouldn't be able to get an instant approval, either. He advised me to wait an hour, then go to the application status page. So I did, and it gave me this message:
We will notify you once your application has been processed, or if we need additional information. If you wish to view an electronic communication of your decision details once we have made a decision, click here
I waited the hour before I checked it, I promise. I guess maybe they're just still having system issues?? So, naturally, I've just been checking it every 15 minutes for the past 3 hours like a lunatic. Has anybody else been given that message when checking on their app? And how long should I wait to call in and check on it?
Sticking to your plan and taking it day by day should be applauded. Definitely keep checking that site and choosing what works for you.
