AMEX Approval Odds? Please Help.

[Anonymous]

Good Morning everyone! Hope everyone is staying safe during these crazy times. I was wondering what my approval odds would be with AMEX. It has been a goal of mine ever since i have been rebuilding my credit. My journey started back in 2017 when my score was a 458 and today as it stands My Experian is 675, Trans is 670 and EQ is 656. I have a Navy Fed Cash rewards with limit at 17K (currenltly have 6K util), Capital One 400 CL and Discover IT 1800 CL. I have been reading alot of different posts about people stating they were approved for AMEX charge cards. Stating they were easier to get approved for than the revolvers. I do have baddies in the past but since 2017 ive stayed clean and have had zero hiccups. IDK if annual income helps but im around 72K. Please if anyone could help me and give me some good feedback it would be much appreciated! My end goal is to get the AMEX Platinum but I just want to get my foot in the door.

[coldfusion]

What is your game plan to attack that $6K balance? 

Did you burn AMEX previously? 

[Anonymous]

My game plan is to continue to knock off the 6K within the next two months.

I have never burned AMEX. I have never had a card with them.

[K-in-Boston]

I would suggest paying the Cash Rewards card down by nearly $1000 and letting that report prior to asking.  Right now you're well over 30% on that card and over 30% of your overall revolving limits.  As long as you have no previous unsatisfactory relationship with American Express and no recent derogs, you are probably okay to get your foot in the door by going straight to Amex Platinum if that's the card that makes the most sense for you.

Edit:  Got distracted while typing that and didn't see your new reply come in.  Knock that balance down, don't apply for anything in the meantime, and once the lower balance reports to Experian you should be good to go.

[Anonymous]

Thank you. I wasnt even going to app Platinum until i was in the 700's just because I thought it was one of the harder cards to get. I will get my utilization down below 30% and wait to see what my credit score does then. Does all the charge chards have the same underwriting. The only reason why platinum makes sense for me is because I wont have to pay that annual fee for atleast the next 6- 7 years.

[Remedios]

Seems like no one is going to say it..again

They might approve you after your utilization goes down, but they've also tightened UW criteria, so I'd expect a denial. 

You have derogs, you are going to be a stepchild if approved. Once the initial excitement is over, the agony of "why my card wont grow when everyone else is" will start.

You will be told "they are getting to know you"  which will last till your file is clean. 

Derogs from only 3 years ago will land you in $1000.00  approval and tight Amex leash. 

I'd wait longer. 

[coldfusion]

---

@Anonymous wrote:

My game plan is to continue to knock off the 6K within the next two months.

I have never burned AMEX. I have never had a card with them.

---

Knock down that $6K balance in 2 months.  Wait a month to let the updated balance report as the utilization drop below 8.9% should trigger a modest boost in your scores.   Don't worry about revolver vs. charge card, think about what card would make the most sense for you and go for it. 

AMEX by default pulls Experian and perfers to see scores at least in the 680-690 range so you're on the right track.  Knocking down that NFCU balance and waiting for it to report - a balance of a few hundred dollars reporting is fine - so that AMEX sees it should put you in a pretty good position to be approved.

[K-in-Boston]

---

@Anonymous wrote:

Thank you. I wasnt even going to app Platinum until i was in the 700's just because I thought it was one of the harder cards to get. I will get my utilization down below 30% and wait to see what my credit score does then. Does all the charge chards have the same underwriting. The only reason why platinum makes sense for me is because I wont have to pay that annual fee for atleast the next 6- 7 years.

---

SCRA is a beautiful thing.  Yes, the charge cards all essentially have the same underwriting.

[Anonymous]

I really do appreciate the info. Its been a struggle trying to improve my score. 

[Anonymous]

Hey Polluckusn, here are a few random thoughts that come to mind and may be helpful here:

• Have you tried the Amex prequalification tool?  That's usually a solid indicator, and might give you an idea of what Amex thinks of your profile.  I believe Amex uses similar underwriting criteria for all of their charge cards, so if you see a prequalification for the Green or Gold, they will also likely approve the Platinum.  https://www.americanexpress.com/us/credit-cards/check-for-offers/
• Amex is apparently tightening down on their approval criteria for new members due to the current COVID-driven downturn, so a lot of existing data points on marginal approvals from a few weeks or months ago may no longer be reliable.  With that said, the rule of thumb I've generally seen is EX of 680+ having a high likelihood of approval with less than that being at a lower likelihood depending on profile specifics. 
• As you said, the charge cards and cobranded credit cards (Delta/Marriott/Hilton/etc) have historically tended to have lower underwriting requirements than their core credit cards (Blue Cash/Everyday etc).  Lower end products within the cobranded lines usually have better odds of marginal approval than higher end ones, as well, because by law the annual fee can't be more than a certain percentage of the limit so they have to issue a higher limit for the higher end products.
• If you do get a prequalification for the Green or Gold but not the Platinum and would rather stick with the sure thing, Amex will generally bombard you with provide upgrade opportunities after the first year, so that may also be a good path. 
• Amex product change rules only allow you to switch within specific "families", generally based on whether it's a charge or credit card and what currency is earned.  As a result, you can only change a charge card into a charge card, so something like a Blue Delta SkyMiles will never be able to convert to a Platinum charge card, for example.

One other thing - $6k/$17k is more than the 29% utilization threshold, so if you don't get any prequal offers from Amex you may want to pay down the balance on the Navy card and let it post, if you can.  That would give you a little bump that might push you over the top.