What does it take to get an (ANY) AmEx?

[dytch2220]

One of my original goals when I joined here in 2010 was to acquire an AmEx card, a ZYNC at the time. I know that card is now grandfathered but I'd still like to put that goal on the back end of my list.

So, what does it take to get approved?
Average score?
Do I need to eliminate all derogs?
Are there any other things I need to do so I can all but assure approval?

[mikesonthemend]

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@dytch2220 wrote:
One of my original goals when I joined here in 2010 was to acquire an AmEx card, a ZYNC at the time. I know that card is now grandfathered but I'd still like to put that goal on the back end of my list.

So, what does it take to get approved?
Average score? Probably 620 EX Fico 8 minimum
Do I need to eliminate all derogs? Worth a shot.
Are there any other things I need to do so I can all but assure approval?

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You are going to need to give more info as to why your scores are hurting, such as how old are the baddies, how old, are they closed, charged off, with collections, etc.

Good luck

[Jnbmom]

What negatives do you have, your scores seem to indicate you have some work to do.

I would say you would need at 650-675 for amex to approve you for any card..

I would continue to keep your current cards in good standing and work on your scores and negative items.

[Anonymous]

I got approved with an EX 742 for 10K back in 7/2015.

If you've been working on things since 2010 and you're still under 650 across the board there's some serious work to still be done.

Since they pull EX that's your focus on cleaning things up and the other 2 should get cleaned up using the same techniques.  Also, whatever is on your reports is hopefully about to drop since it's been almost 10 years and they should have dropped at 7 years based on your DOFD.  SOL should be even shorter if they were CO's.  

Even spotless scores sometimes get denials though too if you're too active with adding new accounts.  Once you're in though it's much easier to add and delete accounts w/ Amex.

[dytch2220]

To clarify, I signed up to the forums in 2010. As I grasped the bottom rung of the credit ladder I lost my grip, hit my chin on the bottom rung and fell into a two story deep pit (lost my job and things went to poo from there). Most of what was plaguing me at the time has aged over 7 years but all the new stuff is there. Much procrastination and denial later I am back as of a week or two ago to grab the bottom rung again.

Without being in front of my report, I have the following that I can recall off the top of my head which I think is close to everything:

A repo, 5k balance. 3 years old.
A broken lease 1500 balance, 3.5 years old.
An unpaid Conn's line of credit 1700 balance. Maybe 2 years old.
A Verizon account, 700 balance. Maybe 2 years old.
A couple of medical, under 1k. Unsure of age.
A previous cap one secured that went late and the deposit was used to satisfy the account.

Since attaining an AmEx was one of my previous goals I'd like to put it back on the bottom of my list. I realize there are things in the way and I have a long way to go. I'm just looking to get the score range and what other criteria are required for approval so I can begin working my way there.

I should mention that my scores don't yet reflect any of the recent accounts on my signature as they've all been started since my 6/26 pull.

[Anonymous]

Well, then w/ the new accounts not reporting yet it's going to hit a bit of a dive and then start to recover over the next 6-12 months.

Working on the negatives will be your priority to get to the bottom of the list where Amex is now.

PFD is preferred if you can get them to agree to it.  With them all being fresh within the last ~3 years or less they sting a bit more like a bunch of killer bees than a mosquito bite.  Medical hurts less under F8 but, mortgage scores would take a hit moreso.  

VZW / Conn's are a bit evil to deal with

Broken Lease could work out an agreement w/ their lawyers if they've filed paperwork or sued you on it.

Repo... not much to do there unless you can come up w/ the cash to satisfy things w/ the OL... 

I guess the best thing is to get all of the details together w/ a 3B from Experian for $1 and print them out to go over them w/ a highlighter / sharpie to match things up across all 3 to come up with a plan of attack.

You don't need a Self Lender w/ the Auto loan presenting as an installment loan either.  Give the auto loan 6 months of payments and start looking for a lower rate... shouldn't be too difficult to drop 1-2% off that rate once you have positive history reporting again.

I would give the cards a solid year before apping for anything else unless you're highly successful on getting rid of the negatives.

[dytch2220]

Thanks for the feedback. My main goal is to reduce and payoff the derogs and graduate the unsecured cards. I'll strap in for the year and we'll see where things are at that time...

I've gotten the advice from others to close the self lender account but am waiting for the auto loan to populate on my credit as the self lender boosted my score over 30 points on the two bureaus where it's showing up.

[Anonymous]

Yeah,, the auto loan should pop you 30 points or so on the 3rd.  The Self Lender depending on which place you went through might only report to 2 CRA... I have a CU CC that only reports 2 and doesn't report to TU because they opted not to pay TU or something along those lines.  

Yeah, it's hard sitting in time out from apping but, it will pay off when you work on the other homework and get things purged from your reports.  Just write it out like an affirmation and read it out loud every morning that you will get a good Fico if you work/wait for it. 

[SouthJamaica]

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@dytch2220 wrote:
One of my original goals when I joined here in 2010 was to acquire an AmEx card, a ZYNC at the time. I know that card is now grandfathered but I'd still like to put that goal on the back end of my list.

So, what does it take to get approved?
Average score?
Do I need to eliminate all derogs?
Are there any other things I need to do so I can all but assure approval?

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You need to get up to the high 600's in your FICO 8.

You probably don't need to eliminate all derog's, but do need to eliminate enough of them to get your scores up.

There's no such thing as "assuring" approval.

[Anonymous]

I can tell you that when my EX score was at 650 I could get the pre-approval offer for the Delta Gold. The next month I accidentally let a high balance report on one of my cards & my score dropped to 638, and my pre-approval went bye bye. Now I am back at 665 and lo & behold, the Delta Gold pre-approval offer is back. I’m in the garden until end of Feb so I am hoping for additional offers, as I should be over 700 by then.

Head on over the the rebuilding forum and we’ll be happy to help get you back on track. Remember, good credit is built like a good foundation on a house- good & solid. See you over there!