Getting Back With AMEX

[tallchick]

Waaaaaaay back in 92 I had a  Amex card and a few years later I defaulted on about 3k.  Fast forward and I am rebuilding my credit and would love to get back in their good graces, or am I already???  I have a Gold Amex Business NPSL card through my husbands business and I just noticed that mine is back dated to 1992 and his is 1995 when he started the business.  Have they backed dated my business card to my previous account?  I really only want one more card in my wallet and that is a personal Amex card and I will wait till my scores are in the high 700s to apply so perhaps the next year or the year after that but I would hate to waste a hard pull to find out that I am still on their black list.  Has anyone had any luck with being forgiven from Amex?? 

[Creditwiser]

From what others on here have said, those who know better than myself, if you are Blacklisted by AMEX, they wont even do an HP. Thats the litmus test people use when they believe theyre blacklisted.

[FinStar]

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@Creditwiser wrote:

From what others on here have said, those who know better than myself, if you are Blacklisted by AMEX, they wont even do an HP. Thats the litmus test people use when they believe theyre blacklisted.

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Correct.  Especially if you still owe them and/or if they were IIB.  Of course, result will vary for lots of folks who may be on the AMEX "black list".  Some are able to get back in after 8-10 years, others have been trying for over 20+.  So, YEMV and the only way to know is when you apply.  If you get an immediate declined decision without HP, then you'll know.

[Anonymous]

Hello, I don't know if you have applied for AMEX yet, but I will tell you the short version of my great experience with American Express and what many on this site refer to as the AMEX black list.

I had an AMEX Gold Card and an AMEX Optima card from 92 until 2001.  When the tech bubble burst in 2001 I lost everything, and charged off nearly $9,000 in debt to AMEX.  AMEX made several good faith offers over the years to restore my accounts if I entered into a payment plan, but regretfuly I was just not able to do so.  In 2007 my wife was diagnosed with a terminal illness, and again my attempts to rebuild credit were derailed. 

In 2013 I got a job with a company that required a lot of travel.  At that time I had no credit card at all, so with a 520 credit score and in need of a card I applied for a Capital One secured card and maxed out the available credit with a deposit of $3,000.   For two years as a frequent traveler of Delta Airlines I jelously watched others who had a Delta AMEX card recieve great benefits from their travels.  Finally in January of 2015 after working with many creditors to resolve debt issues, I checked my credit score on MyFico and saw that I was in the low 700s on all three scores.

Knowing that I may be on a blacklist, I took a chance one morning in January of 2015 and applied for the Platnium Delta Airlines AMEX.  About a minute went by as the application was evaluated, and as I feared a notice appeared that said my application would be evaluated further and I would be contacted by mail within two weeks.

I left for work that day with the expectation that I would be denied because of the charge off in 2001.  By the time I  got to work I received an email notice stating that the application was approved with a credit limit of $3,100.00.  I suspect that limit is very low for this card, but I feel lucky to have been approved because of my history.

For those who feel they may be on the blacklist because of chage offs wtih AMEX, the only thing I can say for sure is that you need to rebuild your credit, and give it time.  Specifically for me it was to raise my scores to between 720 - 736 and wait 15 years.

Good luck!

[ojefferyo]

Amex seems to be a hit or miss when it comes to them letting you back in after a CO or BK which they are included. 

[Anonymous]

In January of this year they let me back in after I burned them in a bankruptcy 33 years ago.

[gdale6]

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@Anonymous wrote:

Hello, I don't know if you have applied for AMEX yet, but I will tell you the short version of my great experience with American Express and what many on this site refer to as the AMEX black list.

I had an AMEX Gold Card and an AMEX Optima card from 92 until 2001.  When the tech bubble burst in 2001 I lost everything, and charged off nearly $9,000 in debt to AMEX.  AMEX made several good faith offers over the years to restore my accounts if I entered into a payment plan, but regretfuly I was just not able to do so.  In 2007 my wife was diagnosed with a terminal illness, and again my attempts to rebuild credit were derailed. 

In 2013 I got a job with a company that required a lot of travel.  At that time I had no credit card at all, so with a 520 credit score and in need of a card I applied for a Capital One secured card and maxed out the available credit with a deposit of $3,000.   For two years as a frequent traveler of Delta Airlines I jelously watched others who had a Delta AMEX card recieve great benefits from their travels.  Finally in January of 2015 after working with many creditors to resolve debt issues, I checked my credit score on MyFico and saw that I was in the low 700s on all three scores.

Knowing that I may be on a blacklist, I took a chance one morning in January of 2015 and applied for the Platnium Delta Airlines AMEX.  About a minute went by as the application was evaluated, and as I feared a notice appeared that said my application would be evaluated further and I would be contacted by mail within two weeks.

I left for work that day with the expectation that I would be denied because of the charge off in 2001.  By the time I  got to work I received an email notice stating that the application was approved with a credit limit of $3,100.00.  I suspect that limit is very low for this card, but I feel lucky to have been approved because of my history.

For those who feel they may be on the blacklist because of chage offs wtih AMEX, the only thing I can say for sure is that you need to rebuild your credit, and give it time.  Specifically for me it was to raise my scores to between 720 - 736 and wait 15 years.

Good luck!

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Sweet, grats on overcoming the BL and welcome to My Fico