I feel like I am always telling people this, but we are all just numbers in a spreadsheet to these large banks and financial institutions. An algorithm is deciding these things. I cannot tell you how many times I have been denied credit for one reason, got that reason fixed on my credit report, and then was immediately approved afterwards. As long as the conditions exist that their algorithm doesn't like, you will continually be denied.
Two recent examples:
I applied for the Apple Card several times, and kept getting denied for too many inquiries. I had 6. Well after 2 of them fell off, I tried again. I was approved!
I have been trying to get a CLI on my Discover Miles since I opened the card in 03/2020. Every time, I keep getting denied for "insufficient experience at current limit." I finally called in and spoke to someone and they said they are making new cardholders wait an entire year before they approve any CLIs. No amount of spending/paying in fulll will change their minds. However, they better come through with a good CLI once I hit that 1-year mark, because I have been using the card a lot for the 3% cash back.
I suspect that having any negative items on your credit file is the problem. I would focus on getting those fixed, especially now when credit standards are at their highest in a long time due to the pandemic. If the collections are small, I would work on a pay for delete. If the collections are inaccurate in any way, then I would dispute them and keep a good paper trail. You may just need to sue the data furnisher or credit bureau to get it fixed, assuming they don't cooperate with your dispute. I wouldn't hold this against AmEx, some lenders just do not tolerate negative items (paid or not) well. Likely, you'll get an approval as soon as you get the collections and charge-offs fixed or deleted. AmEx's main customer base is people with high credit scores who pay in full, who likely have never had any negative items on their report at all. So you (OP) and I are both outliers in terms of their base of customers. I would not recommend throwing away your progress this far until you have given the disputing process a much more thorough effort. What if getting just 1 collection fixed is the difference between getting a CLI or not? We don't know, which is my point.
