Applying for a 2nd AMEX

[YoungMoney06]

About a month or two ago, I finally for the first time ever, got into the AMEX ecosystem with the approval of an AMEX Gold Card. I've been diligent with it, and as it's my first one, there's some unknowns.

I'm interested in applying for a second AMEX card, however, I'm curious when would be the best time when it comes to AMEX?

I've heard it's wise to follow the "Apply Now" button while logged in and see if you get the "you're pre-qualified (or approved, can't remember which)" message, but is this normal after a few months? A few statements? I will mention that I applied for two other cards (NFCU cashRewards in the last few months, and BOA Amtrak Guest Rewards a couple weeks after the AMEX.)

Any help is appreciated!!

[NaimeseOGK]

First how many credit cards were opened recently? How many recent inquiries do you have? I have heard amex will let you open a second account after a year has passed. Some has said 6 months instead.

[YoungMoney06]

---

@NaimeseOGK wrote:

First how many credit cards were opened recently? How many recent inquiries do you have? I have heard amex will let you open a second account after a year has passed. Some has said 6 months instead.

---

In total, I've opened about 5 in the last 3-4 months, roughly. And I believe I have about 6-7 inquires (I got a little too excited when I got approved for the AMEX)

Have been letting the ones I was approved for mature and age some, but would eventually in the future like to get another AMEX... either a core card or cobrand is fine. Also in the future will need a travel card though, so I've been eyeing the Marriott or the Hilton AMEX.

[NaimeseOGK]

I would say if you really want another card garden for atleast 6 months to give those accounts and inquiries some aging. If you can wait for a while I would go atleast a whole year gardening and you should definitely be good at that point.

---

@YoungMoney06 wrote:

---

@NaimeseOGK wrote:

First how many credit cards were opened recently? How many recent inquiries do you have? I have heard amex will let you open a second account after a year has passed. Some has said 6 months instead.

---

In total, I've opened about 5 in the last 3-4 months, roughly. And I believe I have about 6-7 inquires (I got a little too excited when I got approved for the AMEX)

Have been letting the ones I was approved for mature and age some, but would eventually in the future like to get another AMEX... either a core card or cobrand is fine. Also in the future will need a travel card though, so I've been eyeing the Marriott or the Hilton AMEX.

---

[coldfusion]

Ultimately things depend on your own credit profile but AMEX isn't inherently terribly sensitive to inquiries or new accounts for existing cardholders.  They do heavily weight your past usage and payment histories with them when you apply for additional cards and for determining whether or not you will qualify for a SUB - regular heavy usage followed by routine PIF is what they like to see.  It's quite possible to get 2 AMEX cards in a short span, even 2 in the same day if ones profile supports it.

In your case this won't have that much of a bearing because you're new to the AMEX ecosystem.  You might want to wait another 4-5 months in order to establish a bit of positive history with them before applying for another card, even if you were to get a preapproval before then. 

Preapprovals are solid but definitely are not sn ironclad guarantee of a subsequent approval, and even if you were approved now it's quite likely that the terms extended for SL and/or APR would be less favorable now than if you gardened for the next several months and then applied.

[AlanGJP]

---

@YoungMoney06 wrote:

I'm interested in applying for a second AMEX card, however, I'm curious when would be the best time when it comes to AMEX?

---

So in my case, I've been approved for 4 cards in less than a year. I did app for a Charles Schwab Platinum a few weeks back and was denied. The reason was "Not enough time as an American Express member" (or some such verbage). That would have been my fifth card. My understanding is they prefer to see your spending over a year before really opening up.

In my case, I'm pushing five figures through my cards every month with (sometimes) as many as 100+ charges a day on my business cards. (I use them for shipping customers items) So I'm likely the kind of customer they love which helped with my additional approvals.

With that said, and given where I stand, I'll be waiting a year from opening my Delta before app'ing for the CS Platinum again.

However... I've yet to have a hard pull since my initial. You have little to nothing to lose as it's extremely unlikely they'd hit you with a HP. I'd go for it in your shoes, but then - I like pushing my limits.

As an aside - I was only ever pre-qualified for my Delta. All the rest had the "Expanding your relationship" verbage.

Good Luck!

[YoungMoney06]

First off, thanks to everyone for your feedback.

Having said that, can anyone confirm what I've heard previously, and that's AMEX core cards (think Cash Magnet and BCE) are more challening to get than, say, their cobranded cards (Delta, Hilton, or Marriott to name a few.)

[jcooks]

I would just wait for pre-approvals when you click apply now.  If the verbiage says "......, you are pre-approved!" then you should be good to apply.  If the verbiage says "Applying to expand your card membership with us is easy..." then I would wait a little. Just to give some DP's on this, I applied for the Amex Gold and was instantly approved in March 2021.  In April, I applied for the BBP and was denied for being with Amex too short.  June I reapplied and was instantly approved, then July I was instantly approved for the Business Cash.  Since then I have been pre-approved for all cards, this month, the core cards are not pre-approved (I think it's because my score dropped 2 pts as my UTI jumped up to 6% instead of the normal 1%).

[OmarGB9]

---

@YoungMoney06 wrote:

First off, thanks to everyone for your feedback.

Having said that, can anyone confirm what I've heard previously, and that's AMEX core cards (think Cash Magnet and BCE) are more challening to get than, say, their cobranded cards (Delta, Hilton, or Marriott to name a few.)

---

I don't have any personal experience with that, but I've read plenty of DPs on here confirming that.

[Anonymous]

its a SP either way so it wont effect your CS get a rewards card that dont have an AF