Amex PRG preapproval to apply?

[Anonymous]

So, I was recently looking through offers available for my Amex BCE, and noticed that there was an offer for the PRG with a signup bonus of 50,000 MR points for a minimum spend of $2,000 in 3 months (twice as many points as the regular sign-up bonus at the moment).

A little background:

• 20 y/o
• College student
• Income is <$20k
• Had my Amex BCE since August 2017
  • $2k limit upon approval, bumped to $5k 6 months later
• AU on another PRG since 2015
• <10% utilization on BCE

My scores are 724 Exp., 763 TU and Exuifax (according to Credit Karma).

Amex recently asked me to update my income information, which I did. After that, I was preapproved for the PRG.

I also applied for a Chase Freedom and Slate on May 1, 2018 (same day, so it was just one hard pull), and was denied for both.

Based on my scores and good relationship with Amex (no baddies and low utilization via frequent payments, plus I have a new high-yield savings with Amex), I think I could get the card, but my relatively low income makes me doubtful that I'll actually be approved. If I could, I would love to get the card to use for a couple of trips I have coming up and start stacking up MR points.

Should I go for it, or wait a while until my income is higher?

[Anonymous]

Wait for someone else to confirm because I just got into Amex myself but they only soft pull for apps once your in.

If you really want the card go for it since there would not be any negative effects of trying besides a denial but I think you will get it — Amex wouldn’t pre approve you after the income update if they didn’t want you to have the card.

[Adkins]

I don't think your income will be an issue, but can you meet the minimum spend in three months? Amex has the once in a lifetime policy for their SUBs, so you really don't want to miss out. As a general rule, Amex pre-approvals are usually golden. If you want the card and it meets your spending habits, I say go for it!

[Anonymous]

Adkins,

Thanks for taking time to respond. Luckily, I live in a roommate situation where I use my credit card to pay upfront for everday expenses like groceries, and am later reimbursed. I used this tactic to pay the minimum spend on my BCE, and have been raking in cashback ever since. Looking at my monthly spend as of now, I could spend $2000 in three months fairly easily.

Also, I just got an email extending the preapproval offer to me. I think I'm going to wait until my FICO score refeshes within Amex (to take into account the Chase HP from May 1) to make sure the preapproval is still available, and then go for it.

I will update this thread with the results!

[Anonymous]

Juansito1,

Thanks for your response. I did some research on Amex topics within the forum and what you're saying holds up. While it's pretty much a guarantee that my application would be an SP - especially since I'm applying through a preapproval offer - I'm still going to anticipate an HP and let the SP be a pleasant surprise if that's how it turns out. Better to expect the worse.

Probably going to apply in the next few weeks to let my FICO score refresh within Amex and make sure the preapproval is still available after my May score is available (to take into account the HP from earlier this month). Will be back with an update as soon as I apply!

[Anonymous]

Update: Approved this morning! Excited to take advantage of this great sign-up bonus. Thank you all for your help.

[Adkins]

Congratulations! 

[Batsamandrobin]

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@Anonymous wrote:

Update: Approved this morning! Excited to take advantage of this great sign-up bonus. Thank you all for your help.

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Congrats on your approval!