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Amex Hilton Honors approval - after some finagling

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8bitmachinegun
Regular Contributor

Amex Hilton Honors approval - after some finagling

I'm currently facing some moving expenses and decided that I could use some extra CL to cover things and pad my utilization a bit. My first target was an NFCU card, because of their awesome interest rates. Unfortunately I was denied a Flagship card, though perhaps I should have been less ambitious. A couple of days later I got a flyer in the mail with a Hilton Honors card with a nice sign up bonus - 0% APR for 12 months and 100K reward points. I went to Amex's website and ran their prequal tool, which said "NOPE!" to the HH card. 

 

I thought about that for a couple of days, and then decided to take the direct approach. I made a $1300 payment on my Amex BCE and waited for the payment to post. I tried the prequal tool again, and this time got a pre-approval. At this point I knew my odds of getting the card were actually good. But as I went back to the main Amex webpage I saw an invitation to apply for the HH Surpass card. I debated that for a moment, but found the 0% APR more appealing. So I went ahead and applied for the (basic) HH card and was approved with a $9400 SL. The only fly in the ointment is the APR - 24%. But I get a year of 0%, so it should be all OK.

 

A few data points to consider: utilization was at about 14% when I applied, with ~US$35K in total CL. My DTI (if I remember correctly) is about 11/22, FICO 8 scores were between 700 and 725 when I was approved. The only negative(s) on my credit report are several late payments over 2 years ago on my car note (none over 30 days.) I already had an Amex Blue Cash Everyday with a $15K SL.

 

Anyone think I should've sacrificed 0% APR for a year to go for the Surpass?

FICO8 - Aug 2020
FICO9 - Aug 2019
Message 1 of 14
13 REPLIES 13
Anonymous
Not applicable

Re: Amex Hilton Honors approval - after some finagling

Congrats on your Amex Hilton approval! 

 

 

Message 2 of 14
Credit4Growth
Senior Contributor

Re: Amex Hilton Honors approval - after some finagling

Congrats o  the HH approval!

The sacrifice is all used dependent so do worry about that.  It is your valuation that counts and you already have plans to use this card for your expected expenses in a way that you can benefit from.

So, do not worry and Rock-on my friend! Plus if you wish, go ahead (now and in between December but preferably before you moving expenses post to your new HH card) go ahead and get your Navy card.   You did pay down your expense/utility and I  January you should receive BT promo's for both cards.   This is just my thoughts  ✌

Hooray!Hooray!

Message 3 of 14
M_Smart007
Legendary Contributor

Re: Amex Hilton Honors approval - after some finagling

Congratulations on your Approval..

Message 4 of 14
TSlop
Valued Contributor

Re: Amex Hilton Honors approval - after some finagling

Congrats on your approval!

Message 5 of 14
gdale6
Moderator Emeritus

Re: Amex Hilton Honors approval - after some finagling

Grats on your basic Honors approval Smiley Happy

Message 6 of 14
coreyb80
Super Contributor

Re: Amex Hilton Honors approval - after some finagling

Congrats on the approval!

Message 7 of 14
AllZero
Mega Contributor

Re: Amex Hilton Honors approval - after some finagling

Congratulations on your approval!
Message 8 of 14
mrcraft
Valued Contributor

Re: Amex Hilton Honors approval - after some finagling

Congratulations on your approval!!



Message 9 of 14
CreditAggie
Community Leader
Super Contributor

Re: Amex Hilton Honors approval - after some finagling

Congratulations on your Amex Hilton Honors approval!

Current Cards (in order of approval):

         
Current FICO 8 | 9 (February 2024):  
Credit Age:  
Inquiries (6/12/24):  
Banks & CUs:

Message 10 of 14
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