First of all let me welcome myself to the forum…. thank you all! please, be seated now 
Right around the turn of the century I had an old Optima card. (“turn of the century”, HA! I love saying that). Anyways a few years afterwards I burned AMEX and others. No bankruptcy, just one of the many charge offs i was accumulating at that time.
After my treasure trove of charge offs, I lived in Asia for several years. In Japan, cash is king, and to an extent Hong Kong was similar. Credit cards there were just an afterthought. Didn’t need them, didn’t care at that point. After returning to the US I still didn’t bother applying for credit. I never really knew my score, or what exactly was/was not on my report, (until around 2014) but I knew it must be dirty, so i figured, “whats the point?”
Well anyways, mid 2015 my reports were clear of blemishes so I took the plunge. Picked up Cap One Quicksilver (a company that i also burned but they did let me back in with a QS1 credit steps in 2014), Chase Freedom and IHG, Discover, Citi DC, a few NASA cards, BBVA NBA, and a few others.
Ah but no love from AMEX. Whenever I would apply, instant denial followed by the “FOAD Pal! We remember you!” memo. From lurking here and the many other credit/points/frequent flyer site, I knew I was on the dreaded BL. Well, yesterday I give ‘er the ol’ college try again. App for the Platinum card. Hey why not? Lets go big! likely I’ll be denied anyways, and other than an ego bruise, no INQ will appear. But this time, I get the “We are excited that you've decided to apply for the Platinum Card®, and we're reviewing your application now. We promise to let you know when we're finished, or if we need more information.”
What??
Well at this point I have to believe they’re opening the door to me so I step into the foyer and app for the AMEX ED card.
Instant Approval!!
It’s only $1000, easily my lowest limit card, but at this point I would be happy with a $10 limit from them!
Oh and after setting up my online account I see a Member Since date of 1997, so yeah, they still remember me.
