American Express Delta cards... Do they all have the same underwriting criteria?

[Anonymous]

As the topic says. I've heard the Amex Green, Gold, PRG, and Platinum all have the same requirements to acquire. Is this also true for the Delta co-branded?

[NRB525]

You already have the Platinum. If that is more than a few months history, you should have no issues with any of the Delta cards.

[austinguy907]

Simple answer is no.  The difference is the cards you listed are CHARGE cards and the Delta lines are CREDIT.  Credit cards with Amex seem to be a little more conservative because of their revolving nature vs the charge and PIF of the charge cards.

[UncleB]

The general consensus is that Amex charge cards are a bit easier to get than the revolvers... personally this has been my experience as well. 

That being said, it's also believed that the various 'flavors' of the charge cards have similar underwriting, with the primary difference being the 'perks' and the annual fees, not the spending ability.  It's well-known that it's possible for someone to have more spending power with an Amex Green card than someone else with a Platinum, since spending power is driven by your profile, not the color of the card.

It's thought that the same should be true with the various Delta revolvers as well.  In other words, the difference in the Delta Gold and Delta Platinum is the perks, not the credit line you will get, which will likely be similar (if not the same) for either card you apply for.  I have the Delta Gold; had I applied instead for the Delta Platinum I am fairly confident it would have been approved, likely with the same credit line I have on the Delta Gold.

Hope this helps! 

[wasCB14]

Given the AF on the Delta Reserve, is Amex obligated to give a non-toy SL on that?

That is, some borderline applicants get $1k Delta Gold cards, but a $1k CL on Delta Reserve might violate the "25% rule" that led to the Ritz AF circus?

So, the criteria might be different for Reserve than Gold for borderline candidates, assuming Amex would decline a customer, rather than approve a $1k CL Reserve.

[UncleB]

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@wasCB14 wrote:

Given the AF on the Delta Reserve, is Amex obligated to give a non-toy SL on that?

That is, some borderline applicants get $1k Delta Gold cards, but a $1k CL on Delta Reserve might violate the "25% rule" that led to the Ritz AF circus?

So, the criteria might be different for Reserve than Gold for borderline candidates, assuming Amex would decline a customer, rather than approve a $1k CL Reserve.

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I have never thought about that, but that's an excellent point and it's very possible.  I've never seen an approval for a Delta Platinum with an extremely low credit line, and that might be why.  It would be interesting to see if they would simply bump up the credit line (from 'toy' to 'almost toy') or decline altogether. 

Good catch!