Advice whether to apply for Amex

[Anonymous]

I have been in a rebuilding phase over the last year and a half.  I have 2 Capital One cards and recently was approved for a Discover.  My goal has been to increase my FICO score and to build a relationship with Cap 1, Discover and Amex.  I was checking the Amex site and am pre approved for either the Hilton or Delta card.  I've never had an amex before.  Will applying for the card significantly hurt my score?  Does anyone have any insight ont he "typical" starting limit?  I am trying to gain a card that has a higher limit to show that I can manage a high limit card.  My others are in the $2k range currently.  2 of my cards have been approved within the last 6 months.  My scores are now in the high 600s with my EX going over 700 this month.

[Anonymous]

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@Anonymous wrote:

I have been in a rebuilding phase over the last year and a half.  I have 2 Capital One cards and recently was approved for a Discover.  My goal has been to increase my FICO score and to build a relationship with Cap 1, Discover and Amex.  I was checking the Amex site and am pre approved for either the Hilton or Delta card.  I've never had an amex before.  Will applying for the card significantly hurt my score?  Does anyone have any insight ont he "typical" starting limit?  I am trying to gain a card that has a higher limit to show that I can manage a high limit card.  My others are in the $2k range currently.  2 of my cards have been approved within the last 6 months.  My scores are now in the high 600s with my EX going over 700 this month.

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If your Experian FICO 8 score is over 700 I would suggest applying for one of their core credit cards instead of the co-branded cards that you are pre-approved for.  Amex cards offer either cash back or reward points(Membership Rewards); chose a card that provides the rewards that suit you best.

Starting limits are influenced by your income and your credit profile so it would be impossible to predict without knowing those factors.

Amex only pulls Experian.  A hard pull will ding your scores but its impact depends on how robust your credit file is. ... it could be no points lost or even 10 points for an inquiry.  The good news is that you will recover those points over the course of a year.

[Anonymous]

Ok.  My EX score is only a few points over 700 and just happened this month.  I travel some for work and when traveling for work or personal; I tend to stay at Hilton brand hotels so the pre approval initally intrigued me.  Do you still recommend trying for one of the others?  As far as the starting limit; I guess my question was more about whether amex is know to give low starting limits in general.  I would consider income to be high.

[Anonymous]

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@Anonymous wrote:

Ok.  My EX score is only a few points over 700 and just happened this month.  I travel some for work and when traveling for work or personal; I tend to stay at Hilton brand hotels so the pre approval initally intrigued me.  Do you still recommend trying for one of the others?  As far as the starting limit; I guess my question was more about whether amex is know to give low starting limits in general.  I would consider income to be high.

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Amex is generous with starting limits; but again that depends on several factors like credit score, presence of derogatories on your credit report, income, prior credit history, etc.

If you are interested in the Hilton card in particular I wouldn't attempt to convince you otherwise.  The good thing about Amex is that once you're a member, you can apply for another card after 5 days (the rule is no more than 2 cards in a 90 day period) and subsequent approvals are generally by soft pulls.

[Anonymous]

Thank you for your insight!

[HeavenOhio]

Definitely apply when your score is above 700. That should safely remove you from the $500 and $1,000 starting limits that don't grow. Based on what I've seen here, even $1,200 is markedly better than $1,000 and will likely grow.

And feel free to apply for the card you want. Some will apply for co-branded cards because of potentially easier underwriting. A 700 score is fine for all of AMEX's products, which is why @Anonymous suggested the core cards. If you're choosing a co-branded card because it's the best fit for your spending, you're choosing it for the right reason.

[CramEiko]

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@Anonymous wrote:

I have been in a rebuilding phase over the last year and a half.  I have 2 Capital One cards and recently was approved for a Discover.  My goal has been to increase my FICO score and to build a relationship with Cap 1, Discover and Amex.  I was checking the Amex site and am pre approved for either the Hilton or Delta card.  I've never had an amex before.  Will applying for the card significantly hurt my score?  Does anyone have any insight ont he "typical" starting limit?  I am trying to gain a card that has a higher limit to show that I can manage a high limit card.  My others are in the $2k range currently.  2 of my cards have been approved within the last 6 months.  My scores are now in the high 600s with my EX going over 700 this month.

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How old are your Cap1 cards? How recent was your Discover? A new application could drastically cut down your AAOA. Therefor giving you a big score reduction for at minimum of 6 months to 1 year. With 2 of your 3 cards being approved in the last 6 months, I would wait until they hit the year mark myself. Ask for a SP CLI every 6 months while you are waiting for your accounts to age. If you have a thin profile and are in the $2k range on your current cards, I would guess you could be in the $2k-$5k range on your next card depending on length of open in good standing accounts and DTI. As far as relationships, IMHO Cap1 is straight algorithm and they could give a hoot about any sort of so called "relationship".

[Anonymous]

@CramEiko One of my Cap1 cards is about a year and a half and the other along with the Discover were approved within the last 6 months.  The Discover is a little over a month old.  As stated earlier; income is high and now all scores are high 600s and EX is just over 700.  Is this helpful?

[Anonymous]

You have identified an area of need, and identified a product that will fill that need. You received some helpful advice on how to proceed. Don’t get side tracked by the minutia. Use your cards responsibly and everything will take care of itself. American Express already knows your AAoA from the prequalify. It’s doesnt sound like you plan on going on some crazy app spree so I would get that card and proceed with your plans.