I am in such disbelief! I started my rebuilding journey in May of last year (very low to mid 500s). During that time, two collection accounts popped up that really put a hitch in my momentum. One was deleted when I paid an old medical bill that had never been sent to me. I paid the other one (a 2014 collection account), but Cavalry refuses to remove it from my reports. Thankfully, Cavlary only reported to Experian and Equifax. Never Transunion. (You’ll understand why this matters later on.) Anyway, I kept receiving preapprovals for the Delta Skymiles Card. I applied at the end of last year and after a lot of back and forth with Amex requesting proof of my income, it was ultimately denied. I had received a recent raise and my W2 from the year before was based on my previous salary. In addition, I was on unpaid maternity leave for 3 months that year. Though I provided proof of this, they said there was nothing they could do. I even reached out to the EO and they tried to push it through given my circumstances to no avail. The representative I spoke with was so encouraging. She told me she could tell I was going in the right direction and to apply a few months later.
Fast forward to the end of January. I received ANOTHER preapproval. I raised my scores some, so I figured why not. I thought they would do a double pull because my scores are borderline. (surprisingly they pulled only TU for me and I’m in NY) I applied and after one day “in progress” it was approved with a SL of $1,000. I did not expect more than that really. I was just so happy to get in!
Anyway, because I read that the charge cards are sometimes easier to get and because I thought it would be a soft pull since I already had anAMEX account (WRONG), I decided to apply for the AMEX Green. I regretted it shortly after I applied because after reading some more on it, I realized I might be able get the PRG as the underwriting requirements are the same. I then get a call from a CSR asking me to unfreeze my TU (again they attempted to pull TU). Luckily, due to my TU being frozen (I froze all of my accounts to stop the itch to apply for any more cards and forgot) they reached out and asked me to unfreeze then call back. I’m the meantime, they denied the application. I figured, this is great. Now I can just forget that application and apply for the PRG! That’s exactly what I did. I unlocked all of my reports and applied. Again, “in progress.” In the meantime, I received a notification from CK that I had a new inquiry on my TU report. My TU score is 652!!! Nothing yet on EX or EQ. I thought maybe they were holding the application due to my Green application being denied or that it would just be a denial, so I decided to call. I was asked a few verification questions then congratulated on my approval!!! I can’t even tell you how loud I screamed! (Poor CSR)
You guys, this forum has been a God send!!!! I’ve learned so much and I have so much more to do, but these little victories mean the world to me! I went from not being able to be approved for anything other than a secured card, to now have TWO AMEX cards! Now that my husband has seen my progress, he’s even more determined to improve his credit!
Now, I’m just being greedy and I am SO tempted to apply for another revolver just because it will be a SP. Is this true? Should I chance it?
Frankly, I’m satisfied thus far with the cards I have. AMEX has been my Credit dream since I can remember and I am in!!!
