Looking to apply for AMEX Hilton Aspire. Have 5 AMEX cards with CL >$40k. Possible financial review?

[coldfusion]

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@Anonymous wrote:

So applying on the weekend is a bad idea then?

With regards to the 4506-T, if AMEX request it and one doesn't send it in, then they're essentially banned from future AMEX applications for life?

Thank you.

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No, you aren't banned from applying and your existing tradelines wouldn't be subject to CLDs but you should expect AMEX to refuse to grant you additional credit until you agree to a 4506-T request.

There is nothing to worry about with regard to a 4506-T request as long as the income you report to AMEX is consistent with the income shown on your tax returns.   Some people do refuse to approve them strictly on principle and they are comfortable with the consequences.

[coldfusion]

Oh, and you should have no concerns about applying on a weekend.  Just don't expect an underwriter to contact you outside of business hours if they're going to offer you the option of approval if you agree to close existing tradelines.

[K-in-Boston]

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@coldfusion wrote:

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Several comments:

While widely practiced the 5 card limit was never an official limit and while uncommon it was possible to acquire 6 or even 7 revolvers natively if ones profile, income, and previous history with AMEX warranted it.  There are also some AMEX cardholders with 6 revolvers that picked up that 6th one by virtue of already holding 5 revolvers plus a Citi Hilton card when the Hilton portfolio shifted over to AMEX a little over 2 years ago where all the Citi cards were converted to AMEX.

Don't confuse an AMEX financial review with an AMEX 4506-T request.

Requests to increase one's credit limit may trigger a 4506-T request (i.e. AMEX wants to see the last 2 years of your federal tax returns) but there are no penalties for non-compliance beyond denial of the existing and of future applications. The $35K figure often quoted here is an emperically derived one based on data points as the threshold at which a CLI request for a current card commonly triggers a 4506-T request although even that is not cast in stone.

AMEX FRs are typically done in response to suspicion of fraud or potential fraud, involves a deep dive into your financial information, are usually done in conjunction with the freezing of all accounts, and can trigger CL reductions on or closure of all credit lines. Compliance with a FR is not optional if you value your existing AMEX tradelines.

If you apply for the Aspire and you get a deferral you may get a call from an underwriter during weekday business hours who will first verify your information and that you had applied for the card, then tell you that you will be approved on the condition that you agree to close an existing revolver - closing the charge card will NOT be an option.  If you agree to do so they will first close out the existing card that you choose and then immediately approve the Aspire card and submit the approval for processing.   They may have a restriction on which credit card you can choose but usually you can pick a card you've held less than a year if you choose.

As a reminder, having existing AMEX cards does not guarantee you won't take another HP if you apply.  

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This.  Very much this.

To answer another question in the original post, waiting until August when the Delta Gold Business turns one year old to close it will prevent American Express from possibly recouping the Welcome Offer you received on your card and lower the risk of you not receiving future Welcome Offers on other American Express cards.  In regard to that latter statement, the risk of that happening is lower the longer you keep your cards open before closing or downgrading them; many of us here suggest waiting at least 2 years prior to closing American Express cards these days as those Welcome Offers can be worth a LOT of money.

Another thing that I noticed in the first post was the $3100 Delta Reserve card.  What is the order of the cards you have opened with Amex and their starting limits?  $3100 is a number we often see as the minimum starting line on a Delta Reserve, and if that was the most recent card approved from them, it's quite possible that you may be at or nearing your maximum revolving credit limit with American Express at this time.

[SouthJamaica]

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@Anonymous wrote:

I currently have 5 AMEX credit cards and one charge card. I know AMEX officially set the limit to 4 credit cards about two weeks ago. I'm really interested in signing up for an AMEX Hilton Aspire, but I'm a little scared that I might end up triggering a financial review.

4 of my AMEX credit cards are business credit cards and they have a credit limit of $10k each. So $40k in total for all of my business credit cards. I use 3 of them on a consistent monthly basis. The business Delta Gold card that I have is the one that I haven't used once I received my welcome bonus. Unfortunately I've had this card for a little less than a year so I can't cancel it at the moment unless I'm mistaken. I think I have to wait for the annual fee to be posted before I can properly cancel the card? If so, I'll have to wait until August 2020.

I have one personal Delta Reserve card with a $3100 credit limit. I also use this on a consistent monthly basis.

In total, I have $43,100 in total credit across 5 cards. Can I safely apply for the AMEX Hilton Aspire? I think I read on a blog that AMEX will do a FR if the total credit limit across all cards exceed $35k. Is this true?

Looking for some advice before I apply for the AMEX Hilton Aspire. 

Thank you!

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1. No it's not true that Amex will do a FR if the total credit limit across all cards exceeds 35k.

2. According to what I have read Amex is officially limiting users now to 4 credit cards. So an application for a credit card would probably be denied unless you drop some of your existing accounts.

[Anonymous]

I just applied and unfortunately I got declined. I clicked on the status and looked at the auto-generated letter. I'll just copy and paste the most relevant information. According to AMEX, these were the key factors in their evaluation:

• The number of creditors who have reviewed your credit report.
• The amount currently outstanding on your American Express account(s) is too high relative to the income you provided on your application.
• The revolving balance(s) on your American Express accounts is too high

The letter indicates my Experian Fico score is 739. It also cites too many inquiries within the past 12 months.

As for the revolving AMEX balances, it doesn't state if it's personal or business lines. For my personal AMEX lines, the reported balance should always be $0 because I always pay off the entire balance before the statement is generated. I don't carry a balance on my business lines. It's just that every month I have spending on it so there's always going to be a balance at the end of the statement cycle. I've always paid off the balance in full with no interest. For my Citi and Chase cards, I always pay off the balance in full before the end of the statement cycle.

So what can I do at this point and do I have a chance with reconsideration? If so, which number should I call and who do I speak with? Is AMEX inquiry sensitive?

TIA!

[Anonymous]

What should the decline message be if I exceed the number of credit cards that they'll give to me?

[Anonymous]

Thanks for the information.

Why keep my card for two years when I'll have to pay the annual fee starting this August? I thought the consensus was at least one year. I thought it was safe to cancel as soon as the annual fee is posted on the account?

Do you want me to include charge cards? I've already cancelled one of my charge cards when the annual fee posted and that was the Business Gold. For credit cards, I applied in the following order: Blue Business Plus, Business Bonvoy, Business Delta Gold, Business Delta Reserve, Business Delta Platinum, Delta Reserve.  BBP is already cancelled. Business Bonvoy was applied more than a year ago. Everything else is less than a year old.

The personal Delta Reserve is the most recent card. I didn't realized this is the sign that I'm now near the maximum amount of credit that AMEX will extend to me. What is the minimum credit limit for the Hilton Aspire? At this point, what is your advice to help me get the Hilton Aspire?

Thank you.

[Anonymous]

Help?

[SouthJamaica]

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@Anonymous wrote:

Help?

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If you want the Hilton Aspire card that badly, my advice would be to call them up, ask them if you can get the Hilton Aspire card if you drop  - or reduce the limit on - one of the other credit cards.

[Anonymous]

Which number should I call? Do you know what the minimum CL is to open a Hilton Aspire? Is it true that a Hilton Surpass or even Hilton Business is easier to apply for and be approved?