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Remember that FICO is the first "qualifer" but the actual contents of your CR count equally or sometimes moreso.
Understood. I guess I'm questioning as I heard you can have 'decent or good' credit and get the card. I only have one baddie reporting right now that was PIF 3 years ago - a $92 Ameritech bill that for the life of me I can't get deleted. Other than that, all is clean and currently paying on time with no delinquencies.
However, after reading you can have decent or good credit, today I'm seeing you have to have scores of 750+ to get it, and I'm ashamed to admit I applied for it and am now worried I will be declined.
Ah, don't beat yourself up. And a single inquiry won't kill you.
Just make a plan though, almost like a financial budget, for credit. What credit do you need and want? Research what qualifies, then work toward that.
AMEX is a mixed bag anyway....I personally would suggest sticking to the other majors. And a CU would be a good place for you to get decent CL with your scores and history.
Alliant, PenFed, NFCU (if you qualify) and others might be worth a look.
Good advice. I guess I'm trying to dump some of my lower limit cards in favor of higher limit cards, and it seems I can't get CLI's at all.
Currently . . the decent cards are:
Macy's - 1500 CL
HSBC Discover - 3000 CL
Target Visa - 3000 CL
Capital One MC - 3800 CL
Zales - 2000 CL (i hate even having this one as I don't want to be buying jewelry all the time to keep it open).
I have a Wamu with 1750 CL (now Chase - and I abhor Chase - show no love)
Credit One - 900 CL (about to dump due to AF)
HSBC - 400 CL (about to dump as they show no love)
I should probably just leave well enough alone, right?
Edited - Have tried the CU route, but you always have to qualify by being a member of a partnered company or some affiliate. I don't qualify.
That is why I recently went to CU's.
I used to have Orchard $750 CL who would not CLI.....dumped the card.
I have an old CapOne $1k CL.....won't CLI
Discover gave me $2k
Alliant and PenFed gave me $10k each and approved for auto loan.
If you're a heavy Costco shopper, it may be worth it to you - they check your Costco spending history when you apply.
ETA - don't give up just yet, especially if you're a "good" Costco customer. Good luck!
Thanks txjohn - I just read your posts on Alliant. Can I ask what your scores were when you got approval for Alliant and PenFed?? My EQ just slipped to 664, and I should get a new TU score this Saturday - hoping it's at least in the ballpark of EQ. Should I wait for 680's before apping?
Did your scores go up a lot once you got the higher limit CC's through the CU's?
I'm sure I will take a few points for apping for the AMEX card.
If you want to be offered preapproved online credit, you should be above 680 and fairly clean. Otherwise, you will need to go through a Loan Officer, do income verification possibly, etc. But they are very friendly, very helpful and not intimidating at all!
My scores were above 800.
My significant other was approved for this card a few years back, with an Experian FICO of 790. Had one 6 yr old 30 day late reporting. Initial CL was 5K, but within a year, they raised to 20K.