Apping FIRST AMEX. Long-time reader, first time poster. Stats look good for this?

[Anonymous]

Hi,

First time posting here, but have done quite a lot of reading.

Have taken my EX FICO 8 from 620 up to 720 currently (and VantageScore from 591 to 775, not that that matters too much) in the last three months, and have been preparing to get my first AMEX card. I'm looking for: 1 Personal Revolving (AMEX Everyday?), 1 Business Revolving (Business Blue Cash?),1 Personal Charge Card (AMEX Gold Card?) -- Ideally all apped on the same day for a single HP. Strategy being that I'd like to accumulate MR in my personal accounts, but could better use cash back at the moment with my business. Don't travel that much yet, but hoping to stack plenty of points between AMEX and CSP that I may travel extensively sometime within the next year. I'm namely looking for high SL cards, so that if I were to need to revolve 1 month of charges (as I'm revitilizing my business) it would not have a significant negative impact on my overall score.

I'd like opinions on whether this is a terrible idea considering the following info:

Stats:

Total open REVOLVING accounts (reported): 6

Accounts: 

USAA - $6000 Limit

USAA (AU) - $2600 Limit

DiscoverIT - $5400 Limit

Chase Sapphire Preferred  - $11,600 limit

Best Buy Card - $1200 Limit

CapitalOne VentureOne - $1000 Limit (killing me, not reported yet)

USAA AMEX (AU) - $15,000 Limit

Current Revolving Utilization (not including AU cards): 0.35%

Total Credit Limit (incl AU cards): $42,800

Total Credit Limit (NOT incl AU cards): $25,500 (although $1000 of this has not been reported to bureaus yet -- and this new account is a major factor into my AMEX decision)

DEROGS: 2 ever 30 days late (different cards) both 48 months (4 years) ago

Total INSTALLMENT accounts: 1

Due on Installment Account: ~$3938/$4000 (98.46% still owed), current

FICO8 AAOA: 5 years, 2 months

FICO8 Most Recent account: 2 months (as currently reported)

Now, INQUIRIES/NEW ACCOUNTS: The piece that has me most concerned regarding AMEX.

Inquiries: 

EX inquiries: 3

-May 3rd, opened up CSP - SL of $11,600

-June 5th - CC App denied

-June 6th - Opened up $4000 Personal Installment loan to pay off another card, bringing revolving utilization down

TU/EQ inquiries: 1/each, because:

-July 4th (1 month ago) Impulsively apped a Cap1 VentureOne card.....offered only $1000 SL, decided to take it (don't feel I should have) This card has NOT shown up in bureaus yet -- which I'm banking on when apping for an AMEX.

EX SUMMARY:

- 0.35% UTIL

- $3938/$4000 owed on 1 installment

- 3 EX inquiries

- 2 recently opened accounts (1 revolving, 3 months ago, 1 installment, 2 months ago)

- $24,400 Total Credit Limit (no AU), $42,800 Total Credit Limit (incl. AU)

- FICO 8 AAOA: 5 years, 2 months

- Income: $150,000 (base, prior to equity distributions/bonuses)

Please let me know if there's anything I'm leaving out, and whether this is a terrible plan/decent plan.

WORTH NOTING: The Cap1 VentureOne card has not reported to bureaus yet, and will not be reporting until (maybe) the 22nd of this month (Cap1 seems to be odd regarding their reporting -- with all of this in mind, I ensured not to post a single charge on the card until after I've apped/received AMEX - Just to (possibly?) reduce the likelihood that it were reported last month, when a statement had apparently closed.)

Previously, I have been AMEX pre-qualified for Platinum, Gold, Green, Blue Cash Everyday, Everyday Preferred, etc. Essentially their entire line. HOWEVER, after my installment loan posted to bureaus, it is now no longer showing any pre-qualified cards. FICO8 jumped from 691 to 720 yesterday/in the last two days, so I'm not sure if their pre-qual page has updated soft pulls yet or not (or how that really works with them).

Lastly, I know that each individual CR is unique, and that SLs can't be easily guessed -- but would anyone care to take a guess as to what range I might see for a SL on the AMEX revolvers I'm looking at? And please let me know if this seems like a dumb strategy!

I appreciate any possible help! Excited to join the forum here!

Edit: Last thing to add -- while rewards are exciting and all, my largest motivation at the moment is receiving a high overall limit, so that if I have to revolve an account while I'm growing my business, I'll be able to without negatively affecting my score too much. That -- and, do # of recent inquiries factor in (OUTSIDE of their direct effect on actual credit score) to receiving an installment loan like a car loan or mortgage? Or, are those types of loans really based on credit score alone?

[Anonymous]

And lastly: Chase.

My CSP card is my everyday card, and I would absolutely hate having that shut down for any reason due to credit seeking behavior. AFTER receiving an AMEX, my plan was to garden for 6+ months (though have considered getting a car loan or mortgage....) I don't feel like Chase has a significant amount of exposure with me considering my income, and the fact that I have PIF every month since having it for the last 3-4 months, but have run easily $22k worth of transactions through the card. 

But: Some of these charges were things like Venmo charges (it made sense financially at the time for me to eat the additional charge, but to apply it to my Chase card -- trying to show high use of the card/limit, while also showing my full responsible ability to pay it off in hopes I might receive an auto CLI.

[coldfusion]

My opinion (not gospel)

Odds are decent you'd get 1 card, you might get lucky if you applied for a revolver and a charge card on the same day,  3 cards in 1 day, no.

If approved for a revolver you won't get a high SL, if you get a charge card you won't start off with a high charge limit.   You'd be much better off if you waited a few months to apply for 1 card, wait 3-6 months before applying for a 2nd, and yet another 3-6 months for the 3rd.

Recent inquiries are huge when it comes to mortgage applications, best outcomes derive from not having any inquiries less than 12 months old if applying for a mortgage.   If a mortgage application is in your short term future you should hold off from applying for credit cards altogether.

[M_Smart007]

If thinking of a Mortgage?, would hold off any app's one year prior to.

[Anonymous]

Ah -- well perhaps let's exclude the mortgage option then, as considering my recent inquiries I suppose I'd consider myself still in the credit rebuilding stage anyway. I can wait a year for a mortgage. Most important interest at the moment is in acquiring credit in order to expand my business.

With a mortgage completely off the table for now -- what recommendations might you have for simply seeking to acquire additional credit/funding for business expansion?

[M_Smart007]

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@Anonymous wrote:

Ah -- well perhaps let's exclude the mortgage option then, as considering my recent inquiries I suppose I'd consider myself still in the credit rebuilding stage anyway. I can wait a year for a mortgage. Most important interest at the moment is in acquiring credit in order to expand my business.

With a mortgage completely off the table for now -- what recommendations might you have for simply seeking to acquire additional credit/funding for business expansion?

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@Anonymous, This might be the best place to look/read?

https://ficoforums.myfico.com/t5/Business-Credit/bd-p/businesscredit

[Anonymous]

Hello, I was just curious if you've received any pre-approved offers from Amex at all?

Also have you already tried the prequalify tool on the Amex website?

[Anonymous]

I've pre-qualified numerous times -- had a period where I was pre-qualified for some cards, then all pre-quals were gone for 2 weeks. Then recently--until my installment loan posted -- I was pre-qualified for every card. At the moment it's showing no prequalifications though, although everything *just* updated to credit bureaus (like my ~0.35% utilization)

[dogmeat]

Your file actually looks pretty good I think you have a good chance of scoring. You have good age and good income and a range of decent-smallish limits.  I think Amex might like you, but it's always a coin toss. I think there's a 30% chance you get a 10k+ SL on a revolver to match USAA/Chase, and a 30% chance you get a 5k+ SL revolver. And I guess that leaves a 30% chance that something else will happen.

I've never experienced the "only one HP if multiple apps on same day" thing, so I can't speak to that, but I'm thinking, "say what?" 

Sounds like 3 in one day is a no-go, though.