AMEX PRG without a hard pull

[Anonymous]

Newbie here! I've been lurking for a month or so. My credit journey is less than two years old, so I'm still learning, and I might have more questions in the future.

To begin, I've been an AU on my father's AMEX green card since June of 2014. That was my first CC of any kind. Two weeks ago I started getting offers for the PRG with the 50k points on $1k spent. Applied. Instant approval. This was the card I wanted the most, and now I have it!

Here is the question: There is no hard pull on my credit reports. AMEX only shows up once, and it has the date of my AU account. Is this normal? I would prefer to drop the AU card and only use the PRG. My Dad doesn't need my points, and he is more likely to miss a payment or be late than I am, particularly now that I'm not watching it with him. Will that crush my age of accounts? Mine is a thin file still.

[jbsea]

Well first welcome to the forms and Congrats on your PRG.  This is my go to card.  I can't imagine that amex did not do a hard pull so my guess is that you will see it soon.  As far as being a AU, it should stay on your reports for ten years after you close it.  If there is any possibility that it can hurt you yes I would take yourself off.  (I would also explain to your dad how important credit is and to never let it be late).  Great start on your credit journey!!!

[Anonymous]

---

@Anonymous wrote:

Newbie here! I've been lurking for a month or so. My credit journey is less than two years old, so I'm still learning, and I might have more questions in the future.

To begin, I've been an AU on my father's AMEX green card since June of 2014. That was my first CC of any kind. Two weeks ago I started getting offers for the PRG with the 50k points on $1k spent. Applied. Instant approval. This was the card I wanted the most, and now I have it!

Here is the question: There is no hard pull on my credit reports. AMEX only shows up once, and it has the date of my AU account. Is this normal? I would prefer to drop the AU card and only use the PRG. My Dad doesn't need my points, and he is more likely to miss a payment or be late than I am, particularly now that I'm not watching it with him. Will that crush my age of accounts? Mine is a thin file still.

---

where do you access your reporst?  Amex pulls experian strictly so theres a chance your credit karma/sesame wouldnt show that.

Glad you got the 50k points! its been harder to get these days without a VPN.  The Au card will stay there until you remove yourself from it.  I don't think it will make much of a difference really, as its not factored into your utilzation.  Maybe having it removed might give you a small boost in your average age of accounts but I am not certain.

Make sure you take advantage of the bonus, spend 1k in 90 days, and you can buy two $50 airline gift cards after you select your airline on your account, then you can get 2 more after January 1st.  And if you decide that memership rewards arent for you, just pay a few bucks to have them transferred to delta, or get an ED card to park them for no AF.

Dont use them for amazon as you will only get .7 cents a point in value, and I believe statment credits are 0.6.  Mc donalds you get 1 cent per point, gift cards should be easy to get for 1 cent per point. But you should have no problem getting more than 1 cent if you transfer to delta, or to BA when there is a transfer promo.

[Anonymous]

Thanks for the welcome and quick replies!

I do use Credit Karma, so that is probably the reason then. I know they use FAKO scores, but I had another hard pull later the same week, and it showed up, so I was perplexed.

As for the MR, my plan all along was to use them for travel. I fly Delta almost exclusively. The timing of this offer couldn't have been better. I already booked a flight with the card and hit the $1k for the bonus. The airline credit will cover my checked bags.

Getting that approval was like crack. Trying to make myself garden this one and my older cards. Long term I'd like to add the Citi DC, CSP, and AMEX BCP.

[Anonymous]

---

@Anonymous wrote:

Thanks for the welcome and quick replies!

I do use Credit Karma, so that is probably the reason then. I know they use FAKO scores, but I had another hard pull later the same week, and it showed up, so I was perplexed.

As for the MR, my plan all along was to use them for travel. I fly Delta almost exclusively. The timing of this offer couldn't have been better. I already booked a flight with the card and hit the $1k for the bonus. The airline credit will cover my checked bags.

Getting that approval was like crack. Trying to make myself garden this one and my older cards. Long term I'd like to add the Citi DC, CSP, and AMEX BCP.

---

Very nice!  I do like that delta streamlined their points and cash bookings but I have never used them.  Hopefully the 50/60k bonus will come around again for the Delta Gold, just keep checking your emails for offers.

I don't know if I would say the approval feeling for the PRG was that euphoric for me,  but the bonus paired with 2 day delivery time was fantastic and it helped my utilization.

Just consider all of your options before you apply. I would high suggest the CSP while its at 50k, add an AU and its even more.  And I believe if you add someone as an AU to your chase account that does not have the same address it probably wont show up on their reports. So you can send them a message and have it removed pretty painlessly.

What other cards do you have now?  I would get CSP and Freedom right away, and if your profile supports it throw in a $200 bonus with the 3% gas/dining AARP card from chase.  That would be 50k ur plus 5k for the AU on the CSP, and 17.5k UR with the freedom au.  Thats a lot of URs!

Aside from a few bonuses I would check your monthly/annual spending and make sure you get the cards that give you the most rewards.  All of this would depend upon your credit profile, scores, inquiries, aaoa, utilization.....the PRG is pretty easy to get approved for compared to the CSP.  Tread carefully if you are needing a home loan or refi in the next year. So long as you arent adding debt you should be fine.

http://ficoforums.myfico.com/t5/Credit-Cards/Cash-Back-credit-card-charts/td-p/4004725 this is a good starting point to figure out cash rewards cards, low APR cards, which cards include free fico scores, etc.

[Anonymous]

The Fico score AMEX gives me shows 724. My other cards are the REI mastercard with a $5k limit and a Belk card with $3450. I just closed a secured Capitol One card because an annual fee was kicking in, it gave no rewards, and only had a $550 limit.

All the cards I mentioned are showing preapproval for me online at their websites right now. I got a car loan last August and shouldn't need anything that major for a few years. Going for that CSP bonus is appealing. I'd have to spend a bit more than planned to hit the $4k mark though. Is that offer unlikely to last?

[kdm31091]

OP is just starting off w credit. Not sure we need to go hogwild and add CSP, freedom, AARP all at once.

I'd carefully look into CSP transfer partners for travel and make sure they'd benefit you first. You're just starting with Amex MR points. Will you really spend enough to benefit from MR and from chase UR separately? There's no hurry. Evaluate your options.

If you just want bonuses you can disregard this advice if you want. I just see a lot of people rush into CSP or similar cards and then discover they can't make great use of the points. Take your time and build slowly. The cards aren't going anywhere.

[Anonymous]

---

@Anonymous wrote:

The Fico score AMEX gives me shows 724. My other cards are the REI mastercard with a $5k limit and a Belk card with $3450. I just closed a secured Capitol One card because an annual fee was kicking in, it gave no rewards, and only had a $550 limit.

All the cards I mentioned are showing preapproval for me online at their websites right now. I got a car loan last August and shouldn't need anything that major for a few years. Going for that CSP bonus is appealing. I'd have to spend a bit more than planned to hit the $4k mark though. Is that offer unlikely to last?

---

Any denials or excessive inquiries?  Chase preapprovals are pretty solid from their stie so it looks like you are good.  The normal CSP offer I believe is 40k.  Chase always pulls 1 to 2 bureaus, so thats up to you if you want to apply for a 2nd/3rd card and have the inquiries combine. That is never a guarantee though.

You can easily hit the 4k just pay every bill you can with CC, and you can even overpay a few if you have to. Just remember paying interest on rewards cards doesnt usually make sense past a month or two.  You can always buy gift cards for places you shop at, giftcardgranny is a great place for deals.

REI is with US Bank, I wonder if that increases approval odds having that card, you may want to look into the Cash+ although its not a guaranteed thing, they often give folks the lesser quality version without the dual 5x categories, and I'm not sure how easy that is to get  upgraded.  Just be sure you freeze these http://millionmilesecrets.com/2015/05/12/increase-your-chance-of-us-bank-card-approval-by-freezing-idaars-bureaus/  ( would save this for later)

You wont get rich from card bonuses, but it will help with travel costs.  And besides if you arent actively seeking loans you are better off taking advantage of these inquiries that fall off, so long as you dont carry debt, pay everything in full, etc.  But yes, slow and steady is always the best.

If you can do the 4.5k spend in 90 days, I would app for the CSP, use a second browser and apply for the freedom (add au's for both)

Just be aware of how many accounts including AUs on your report because of chase's 5/24 rule.  It may start applying to hotel/airline cards soon so keep that in mind.  You will probably want to consider a United, AA, IHG, Hyatt, and AARP in the future if it makes sense for your profile.