AmEx charge card advice

[hyprble]

Hi,

I'm still in the debt zone, but once I get out in the next 2 years, I was thinking of adding an American Express charge card to my mix with an eye on the platinum (of course only when I'm traveling/making enough to use the benefits and justify the AF).  I have a few questions:

- I currently have one AmEx credit card (JetBlue opened in 2006) that I charge about $600-1000 and PIF every month.  Do they consider my charging history with this card when I eventually do apply for a charge card?  if I apply for a Platinum charge card, will it backdate to the 2006 I opened my JetBlue credit card?  Do you recommend I apply initially for the Platinum card or should I start with a Gold?  By the time I am ready to apply for the card, I plan on having very little to 0 cc balance.  What are the general credit profiles of people approved for the Platinum charge?

My AAoA is about 8 years - earliest account from 98, but a few of my 99 closed accounts are going to fall off.  I used to let my AmEx card revolve (due to a good 3.99 interest balance transfer I had) but paid it off when they jacked up the APR and have been using it as a charge and PIF card for the last 6 months.

My other concern is that I have a lot of open credit cards, and am wondering if I SD them how badly I'll be affected if they start closing.  I'd make an effort to keep the oldest accounts active, and by the time I SD them I should have close to a 0 balance, so I'm not that concerned about debt to credit.

Any tips?  Should I just keep what I have and not bother getting an AmEx charge card?

[davidsawsparks]

They will pull your credit at the time of app and will also consider your current activity with them as an indicator of how you'll handle your new card. If you are approved, they will back date the new card to when you first opened your blue card as well. Your potential charge power is determined by how much you make and how much you charge and are capable of paying off in a month. If approved, you can go to the website and check to see how much they'll let you charge successfully in a given time.

[haulingthescoreup]

Just a note: having an American Express charge card does NOT affect your credit mix.

It is possible that having a store charge card (one that can only be used at that store and its affiliates, and that doesn't have a Visa/ MC/ Discover/ AmEx logo on it) helps credit mix, although I'm more and more skeptical.

But adding a Green, Gold, or Platinum card won't get you special points. Yes, it adds another tradeline, but it's no different than getting Visa or MC from somewhere or another.

That being said, the cards do make sense for certain people --frequent travelers and so forth.