Just got approved for American Express Platinum. After 18 months of being in the US - thin file.

[HarlemBoy]

Dear forum and users,

you all were extremely helpful.

Your tips helped me a lot to pave my way into the US.

I began with a secured credit card from Discover in August 2017.

Got it unsecured after 7 months, first scores trickled in. I was lucky to not look for another lease of an apartment elsewhere so no new Inquiries of leasing agencies.

I have now a Chase Visa (United airlines), a Citi rewards+, a Discover IT, an American Express Platinum. Credit line for the first three $17,500 combined. The latter is a charge card, sure.

For me being of European origin I was weird to pay off credit card charges before the statement cuts, to make sure that Equifax does not state "too many accounts with balances". I tried to keep balances down to meet (that is my assumption because it reacted exactly like that)  Experian's requirement of not having too much credit owed changes. 

We in Europe we don't care about statements. We get a bill, not a statement, with your charges of a month and you pay it off to pay no interest, otherwise you will find interest on it. No credit agency looks for the amount of credit you use as long as you pay the bill every month (charge card) or at least the minimum payment.

Other cultures, other procedures. I am glad that with all your help I got now a usable wallet for the US. With a thin file, this is already good I think. My scores are now all around 730. Not spectacular I know.

[AverageJoesCredit]

Great job and very nice portfolio. Where i come from, the US, lol, a 730 is pretty good

[Cred4All]

Congrats on an awesome card and all the success!

[KLEXH25]

Congratulations on the new card, and welcome! You’ve done a great job building up a portfolio. Technically you don’t *have* to do all those things (like paying before statement cuts, etc.). We’re all just a little nutty here, and love to micromanage every little move we make 😆

[Anonymous]

Congrats on the Amex Plat. Just got a card with them myself and it feels good. Also, great going on your building credit in the U.S. And 730 is nothing to sneeze at for me. You're way ahead of me. Just take a look at my scores!

[tbque]

Congrats on the approval and welcome to the US!

[avp99]

Congrats!  730 is pretty respectable.  get that up another 30 points or so and it should help you qualify for lowest rates on a mortgage.

KUDOS!👍

[HarlemBoy]

I think 760 is difficult. As my thin file results in heavy fluctuating, it will need some years to stabilize.

I tried to use the "check spending power" button to see whether I can  buy a new laptop for my work and it said yes, I ordered it and it went through and appears as pending now.

I do not like credit. I do not have much stuff around me, and I use my credit cards like a debit card, I use them when I can afford it. The fact that it gets pulled from my account at statement due is just a small shift. I use the credit cards mainly to remain the accounts open.

The only stuff I spend too much money is photography, and my $2,000 B&H order went also through Amex Platinum, it was approved, so it makes now $3,800 pending for a fresh opened card. I will not touch it again and I pay it after statement cut time when it is due. 

I read horror stories about financial review here, it seems American Express is very strict on it, especially if you are not a long time customer.

Thanks again to you all. This is a great forum where I learned much on how that scoring in the US works and how you can "game" it.

[KLEXH25]

---

@HarlemBoy wrote:

I think 760 is difficult. As my thin file results in heavy fluctuating, it will need some years to stabilize.

You can absolutely get to 760 and higher - you just need to garden. I think if you keep utilization low and don't apply for any new cards for a year, you can hit 760.

[800FICOGoal]

Congrats on your new Amex!!!