Help deciding whether I should apply for BCP

[Anonymous]

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@Anonymous wrote:

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@Shock wrote:

Hmmm..I would suggest applying in January. But, that's only if you already have a AMEX.

If you apped for one in December, your next one would be Month you applied/2014 instead of Month you applied/2015.

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I think that this means that you shuld apply in January for your first card. 

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No, the month doesn't matter for the fiirst card (as it is ignored on subsequent cards).  You want to get the first card in the earliest year that you can, so applying now sets 2014 as the MSD, doing it in Jan would set 2015.   Subsequent cards use the MSD YEAR, but the month of application.

[takeshi74]

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@slvrhwk wrote:

Now I'm beginning to think whether I'll be eligible for it? I just tried the Amex prequal website, and it gave me 3 offers - Platinum Delta Skymiles, Gold Delta Skymiles (I've received prequal for both of these in mail) and Amex Blue. Do they always give only 3 offers? Is there a way to check if I'm prequalified for a particular card?

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No on the particular card.  Don't rely on the offers as an indicator.

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@slvrhwk wrote:

Will they think that I'm fairly new to higher limits and either reject my application?

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We really don't know the specifics of their underwriting but I doubt that they track the details of everyone's CL history on every account on their reports.  IIRC your reports only indicate current limits.  It seems like you're overthinking it to me.  If you're going to worry I'd suggest worrying over the standard factors:

http://www.myfico.com/crediteducation/whatsinyourscore.aspx

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@slvrhwk wrote:

I doubt they'll reject my application, but I also don't want to be approved for a lower CL.

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Don't fret over this.  There's the 3X CLI so definitely read the guide if you have not already.

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@slvrhwk wrote:

I'm looking to get it up to 760+-780+ by June next year, since I'm planning on buying a house (one of the reasons I want to increase my CL). Do you think I'll take a big hit and it'll be difficult to improve the score?

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It's tricky to guess without the details and tricky even with the details.  You'll take an HP, your AAoA will drop.  The limit granted to you and how you use this card will determine how your utilization is impacted.  If you want to be extremely conservative then you may want to be more on the 1 year of no new credit prior to a mortgage versus the 6 month side.  I'd guess you would be fine applying right now but I'm not underwriting your mortgage so don't rely on what I say.

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@slvrhwk wrote:

I have 2 inquiries on my report - Jan 2014, application for BA+ and Oct 2014, request for CLI. I think it should be okay to have another one, but I would like to know what you guys think.

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Which report?  There's more than just one CRA.  The one (or ones if multiple pulls take place) that AmEx uses is the one that matters.  Less is better but we can't tell you where the line falls for inquiries for your credit profile.

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@Luscher wrote:
With that low of spending I would go with the BCE which has 0 annual fee. but thats just my opinion

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You might want to run the numbers when making an evaluation like this.

[techiegirl]

Go for it. 

[Luscher]

I would say go for it, its a good sign that you are getting any prequels at all on the site.

[Shock]

Yup got for it now. That way, your next card's MSD (lets say you applied in april 2015) will be 4/2014 instead of 4/2015

[VirtualCuriosity]

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@slvrhwk wrote:

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@yfan wrote:

If having an Amex is important to you, as it certainly appears to be, go for it.

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Now I'm beginning to think whether I'll be eligible for it? I just tried the Amex prequal website, and it gave me 3 offers - Platinum Delta Skymiles, Gold Delta Skymiles (I've received prequal for both of these in mail) and Amex Blue. Do they always give only 3 offers? Is there a way to check if I'm prequalified for a particular card?

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I only ever got the "Green Card" for several months on their pre-qual site and in the mail.  I apped for and received the BCE with no problem.  You are getting multiple suggestions on their site so you may be targeted more, and that might be good. 

[slvrhwk]

Thanks for the encouragement everyone and @takeshi74 for the detailed reply. I'm gonna go ahead and apply tonight itself. I'll post an update after the application.

One question - On the Amex website, the offer says $100 cash back after $1000 usage in the first 3 months, plus 1 year free of Amazon prime. Creditcards.com offer says $250 cash back after $1000 usage in the first 3 months. The latter is obviously the better offer, and I'll apply using that offer, but do you know if it's possible to combine it with 1 year of free Amazon prime?

[slvrhwk]

Hi guys,

I applied and got approved - http://ficoforums.myfico.com/t5/Credit-Card-Applications/Amex-BCP-Approval/td-p/3675143. Thanks to everyone here. How do I know about my CL? I have asked the same question in the other thread. Let me know if there's a way other than waiting for the card.

[Shock]

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@slvrhwk wrote:

Hi guys,

I applied and got approved - http://ficoforums.myfico.com/t5/Credit-Card-Applications/Amex-BCP-Approval/td-p/3675143. Thanks to everyone here. How do I know about my CL? I have asked the same question in the other thread. Let me know if there's a way other than waiting for the card.

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Congrats. Call the approval number 800-567-1083

[slvrhwk]

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@Shock wrote:

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@slvrhwk wrote:

Hi guys,

I applied and got approved - http://ficoforums.myfico.com/t5/Credit-Card-Applications/Amex-BCP-Approval/td-p/3675143. Thanks to everyone here. How do I know about my CL? I have asked the same question in the other thread. Let me know if there's a way other than waiting for the card.

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Congrats. Call the approval number 800-567-1083

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Thanks. Called the above number. They approved me for $4300. This becomes my highest limit card!