Surprise approval, Amex Delta Gold

[Anonymous]

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@KJinNC wrote:

My profile only goes back to April, except for an old gas card on Equifax, and an AU added in June. I have severe credit-seeking behavior and numerous hard inquiries in recent months. So, I am excited that I got approved for the Amex Delta Gold, though it's not normally considered that hard to get, and my CL is only $1,000.

I didn't prequalify for anything except subprimes and secured cards (not even many of those) until about a week and a half ago, when the Delta Gold started appearing on my incognito prequalified offers list. It was the only card to appear there. I applied and was insta-declined. I called to get reconsidered, and today, received a letter in the mail saying they stood by their decision and still declined me.

Today, I noticed that when I clicked the Apply button for Marriott Bonvoy, it said "KJinNC, you are preapproved!" Surprised, I checked other cards, and noticed that I saw that language on all credit cards (though not on charge cards, perhaps because I had a charge card already). I am in the middle of planning a trip to Europe, which will be on Delta, so ... .... ... after staring at the words "you are preapproved" for half an hour, I went incognito and applied again. I was shocked to be approved, though for only $1,000.

Question, if I were to call and say I need a higher limit to buy plane tickets on the card, is that something they might do, or must I wait 91 days for a credit limit increase?

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Congrats on the Delta Gold... Great Card..

[CreditJourney007]

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@credit_is_crack wrote:
Amex has one of the best CLI systems. Whether you call, chat or do it online it will be painless. Some banks (like Synchrony) have a higher likelyhood of a SP CLI depending on how you ask for it, but Amex is consistent with theirs.

I’ve done every one of mine online and never had an issue. It will let you know quickly and let’s say you ask for 3k and it denies, then you can go back ask for 2800, 2700, 2600 and keep countering until it approves you. Several people have done this and get approved just fine

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I thought if you were denied, you have to wait 90 days?

[KJinNC]

I read somewhere that if you are denied because you haven't had the card long enough, you can still try after 61 days. And by the way, I was denied because I haven't had the card long enough

So, I'll try in 61 days ... meanwhile, I talked with someone at Amex who said I can use the card to buy plane tickets by overpaying right before the purchase. Say the CL is $1,000 and the tickets are $2,000 - if I push a payment of $1,000 or more, then buy the tickets, according to him, that would work. Not an ideal solution, but at least it's a solution that would let me use the card's perks for travel.

[dsotm76]

Welcome to the AMEX Delta Gold family!  I love mine!   Congratulations!!!!