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Hi everyone. I have wanted the Costco AMEX for a while but didn't want to waste an inquiry without knowing my facts. I pulled my EX FICO score through myFICO last month, and I'm about 700. I didn't pay to pull the TU score, but all 3 of my CRs read the same, so I'm guessing the scores are all in the same neighborhood. I checked the AMEX preapproval site today, and I'm "preapproved" for the Gold, Green. I know that having offers from this site doesn't mean I would be approved by AMEX. I was wondering if I applied for the Costco AMEX and was declined, if I could call AMEX and have them put through an application for the Gold, Green cards with the previous Costco AMEX credit pull - so I wouldn't be hit with another hard inquiry. Has anyone tried this? From what I've read on this board, it seems like the Costco AMEX is a harder card to get, with FICO scores in the mid-700s (among other factors).
I had also thought to just apply for one of the Gold, Green cards to get my foot in the door with AMEX, and when my 1st annual fee came due next year, switch to the Costco card then as my scores/UTIIL should be better. I know that would, most likely, involve another hard inquiry, but at least my AAoA wouldn't change.
Any thoughts on this?
I have 0 inquiries over the past 12 months, and the only baddies I have on any of my CRs are a couple of late payments from 6+ years ago (due to drop off this summer). My UTIL is a bit high, in the high 30s right now, as I'm finishing school and had to put some charges on a card. I, unfortunately, won't be able to significantly pay this down until May of this year.
Thanks a bunch!
EX FICO has not been available through myfico since Feb 2009.
Are you sure on the score and source?
CWBBVI wrote:Hi everyone. I have wanted the Costco AMEX for a while but didn't want to waste an inquiry without knowing my facts. I pulled my EX FICO score through myFICO last month, and I'm about 700. I didn't pay to pull the TU score, but all 3 of my CRs read the same, so I'm guessing the scores are all in the same neighborhood. I checked the AMEX preapproval site today, and I'm "preapproved" for the Gold, Green. I know that having offers from this site doesn't mean I would be approved by AMEX. I was wondering if I applied for the Costco AMEX and was declined, if I could call AMEX and have them put through an application for the Gold, Green cards with the previous Costco AMEX credit pull - so I wouldn't be hit with another hard inquiry. Has anyone tried this? From what I've read on this board, it seems like the Costco AMEX is a harder card to get, with FICO scores in the mid-700s (among other factors).
I had also thought to just apply for one of the Gold, Green cards to get my foot in the door with AMEX, and when my 1st annual fee came due next year, switch to the Costco card then as my scores/UTIIL should be better. I know that would, most likely, involve another hard inquiry, but at least my AAoA wouldn't change.
Any thoughts on this?
I have 0 inquiries over the past 12 months, and the only baddies I have on any of my CRs are a couple of late payments from 6+ years ago (due to drop off this summer). My UTIL is a bit high, in the high 30s right now, as I'm finishing school and had to put some charges on a card. I, unfortunately, won't be able to significantly pay this down until May of this year.
Thanks a bunch!
As a previous poster mentioned, you can't pull your Experian scores anymore (not since Feb '09). So, you probably pulled your Equifax score if you pulled from myFICO.
At any rate, I'd hold off on the Costco Amex until you can put a big dent in your utilization, getting it down below 10%, and getting above 700. That seems to be the winning formula for Amex. Another thing that might help is applying at the customer service desk inside a Costco, as oposed to applying online or over the phone.
Sorry everyone for the confusion. I meant Equifax, not Experian -- my brain wasn't working at that moment.
I would edit the original posting, but I'm not quite sure how...
Thanks everyone for the info and advice. Does my idea then to apply for the Gold or Green charge card, and then before the fee-free year's up, apply for the Costco AMEX, hold any water with my current financial stats?
I definitely want to apply in the store, as opposed to online, and I was thinking that I wasn't where I needed to be yet to apply for the Costco AMEX. Thanks for the tips!