Amex Delta Skymiles Gold - Apply or hold off?

[Anonymous]

I recently applied for the Amex Blue Sky and was flat out denied over the web. I kind of jumped the gun with this card and just got the Amex stars in my eyes and probably should not have applied for it to begin with.

I have quite a few trips planned for the spring and summer of 2015 and I am extremely interested in the Skymiles Gold card so i can start wracking up the miles with delta as well as build a relationship with amex. My question is, come september, should I apply for the Delta Skymiles Gold card or just hold off? Also if i do go through with applying and am denied, should i recon?

I am currently 21 and a college student and generate ~20k in yearly income.

I have student loans totalling ~18k but are deferred until May 2015.

CK Shows my credit score as 696

My FICO provided by Discover is 681

Experian showed it as 654.

On my denial letter from Amex it listed the following reasons:

1) High Credit Card Utilization 

2) Too short of credit history

3) High Loan balanace 

4) Too few accounts paid as agreed

-My discover card was recently at 90% utilization but I paid it off and its currently at 8% (use it for commuting)

-My AAoA is 2.6 Years with my oldest being 2 yr 10 month and newest 2 yr 1 month. 

-I am also not sure how to go about addressing #4 because according to Experian there are 0 negative marks on my account.

I was also recently approved for the Chase Freedom with a 1.2k CL. 

The only 2 HP on my report now should be Amex (Blue Sky Denial) and now the Chase Freedom. My Credit Score is also factoring in my high utilization even though it is below 10% now and as soon as i get my Chase Freedom and activite it, it'll be below 3%. 

Based on this information, should I go ahead and apply for the Delta Skymiles in September? It is a card I "desperately" wish to have and if approved, I will probably sit tight with 3 cards for a while.

I also read on these forums that it may be benefit me more to apply through Delta rather than the acutal Amex website.

Thoughts? Suggestions? Thanks for any info and glad to be new member of these forums!

[B335is]

Have you thought about applying for one of the charge cards to get your foot in the door? The underwriting isn't as strict and if approved immediately app for Delta? Are you loyal to Delta? The redemption value is not the best.

[Anonymous]

I havnt considered it seriously, as in applying to one of their charge cards. But I guess it wouldnt be such a bad idea to possibly apply for their charge card and just use that for commuting costs (gas and train/metro tickets) which would be easy to pay off every month. 

I usually only fly Delta so thats primarily the reason i'd go for the Amex Delta over say the BCP or their new Everyday card.

[Closingracer99]

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@Anonymous wrote:

I havnt considered it seriously, as in applying to one of their charge cards. But I guess it wouldnt be such a bad idea to possibly apply for their charge card and just use that for commuting costs (gas and train/metro tickets) which would be easy to pay off every month. 

I usually only fly Delta so thats primarily the reason i'd go for the Amex Delta over say the BCP or their new Everyday card.

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If you were open to flying on others the CSP is a good choice but you might have to wait till your scores are higher for it.     CSP points are 1 to 1 to partners 

[seflowers]

I was recently approved for this, my EQ and EX scores are right at about 690 but with many more inquiries and I was approved but with only a 1000 CL......so you very well could get approved but CL may not be what you hope for!

[Closingracer99]

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@seflowers wrote:

I was recently approved for this, my EQ and EX scores are right at about 690 but with many more inquiries and I was approved but with only a 1000 CL......so you very well could get approved but CL may not be what you hope for!

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Amex only pulls EX CR's I believe 

[Anonymous]

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@Closingracer99 wrote:

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@Anonymous wrote:

I havnt considered it seriously, as in applying to one of their charge cards. But I guess it wouldnt be such a bad idea to possibly apply for their charge card and just use that for commuting costs (gas and train/metro tickets) which would be easy to pay off every month. 

I usually only fly Delta so thats primarily the reason i'd go for the Amex Delta over say the BCP or their new Everyday card.

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If you were open to flying on others the CSP is a good choice but you might have to wait till your scores are higher for it.     CSP points are 1 to 1 to partners 

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CSP as in Chase Saphire Preferred? If so, the only reason I would stay away from that over the Amex at this point is that i recently was approved for the Chase Freedom and I will primarily be flying Delta, especially internationally. I would much rather prefer building a relationship with a 3rd company rather than having 2 cards with the same company as this point since I'm still relatively young in building credit and relationships with companies. 

[Anonymous]

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@seflowers wrote:

I was recently approved for this, my EQ and EX scores are right at about 690 but with many more inquiries and I was approved but with only a 1000 CL......so you very well could get approved but CL may not be what you hope for!

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$1,000 CL would be fine with me. At this point I am more concerned with being approved even with a low CL just to build a relationship. I was extremely happy with eh 1.2k CL i recieved with my Chase Freedom, especially considering I am still in school and have a relatively low yearly income even though I am a full time student.

[Closingracer99]

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@Anonymous wrote:

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@Closingracer99 wrote:

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@Anonymous wrote:

I havnt considered it seriously, as in applying to one of their charge cards. But I guess it wouldnt be such a bad idea to possibly apply for their charge card and just use that for commuting costs (gas and train/metro tickets) which would be easy to pay off every month. 

I usually only fly Delta so thats primarily the reason i'd go for the Amex Delta over say the BCP or their new Everyday card.

---

If you were open to flying on others the CSP is a good choice but you might have to wait till your scores are higher for it.     CSP points are 1 to 1 to partners 

---

CSP as in Chase Saphire Preferred? If so, the only reason I would stay away from that over the Amex at this point is that i recently was approved for the Chase Freedom and I will primarily be flying Delta, especially internationally. I would much rather prefer building a relationship with a 3rd company rather than having 2 cards with the same company as this point since I'm still relatively young in building credit and relationships with companies. 

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I was approved a month after my Freedom along with other chase cards but that is just me .... You can transfer the Freedom UR points which can be earned at 5% or possibly higher depending if you use the UR mall and 5% CB depending on categories to the CSP which then can be transferred to the Flight rewards program of your choice assuming they are part of it .  United, Southwest, British and some others are there.   I understand why you don't and that is up to you but the CSP is a decent card because of the point transfers and with the Freedom

[09Lexie]

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@Closingracer99 wrote:

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@seflowers wrote:

I was recently approved for this, my EQ and EX scores are right at about 690 but with many more inquiries and I was approved but with only a 1000 CL......so you very well could get approved but CL may not be what you hope for!

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Amex only pulls EX CR's I believe 

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Amex has been known to triple pull too