Amex...you confuse me

[Anonymous]

So I applied for the AMEX Delta Gold Skymiles a few days ago and was declined for several factors. Basically delinquent accoutns(long time ago!), and proportions of balance to limits is high. But I forgot that I have been pre-selected in the past for the standard Gold. I remembered this after I'd been declined for the Delta card and went to AMEX site and checked and i'm preselected for the Gold,Silver,and Zync. So...do I apply? ? ? 

[AF_23]

I thought i saw other posts on here saying you couldnt apply again until 30 days later for AMEX ? Regardless, pre-selection doesnt guarantee anything

[crunching_numbers]

It is generally easier to get an AMEX charge card (Gold, Green, Zync)  than to get one of their revolvers (BCE, Blue, Delta).  If you want to begin a relationship with AMEX, a charge card is a good way to get your foot in the door.  It comes down to what kind of rewards and annual fee you want.  Gold and Green are equal as far as qualifying for them. Zync is easier to get. 

[Guava]

Agree with Crunching. It's tougher to get a revolver with AMEX than a charge card

[bichonmom]

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@Anonymous wrote:

So I applied for the AMEX Delta Gold Skymiles a few days ago and was declined for several factors. Basically delinquent accoutns(long time ago!), and proportions of balance to limits is high. But I forgot that I have been pre-selected in the past for the standard Gold. I remembered this after I'd been declined for the Delta card and went to AMEX site and checked and i'm preselected for the Gold,Silver,and Zync. So...do I apply? ? ? 

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Amex's policy is that any app will be voided for 30 days after you were declined. It's somewhere on their website. After 30 days, you could try for a Zync. The charges are easier to get because they're PIF monthly, and Zync is supposed to be easier to get than Green or Gold. It's a good way of getting your foot in the door and building a relationship with them. Then in a year or so, you could app for the revolver you want.

Before you app, you should pay down your util to <9% on ONLY ONE CC, all others reporting zero balance. Or as close to 9% as you can get. I got approved w/20% bal on one cc, but all others were zero.

Amex doesn't like high util or a lot of inq. If your util is high, then I'd wait for it to be paid down before apping -- even for Zync. And as others said, pre-selected doesn't mean you'll be approved. It only means you've met some minimum marketing criteria they get from the CRAs.

Also, I believe to be approved for a revolver, your FICO needs to be over 700 -- some have said over 720, but don't know for sure. In any case, 651 won't cut it for a revolver. After you pay down your util, you should see a score boost.

[haulingthescoreup]

Whichever way you go, get your balances down. That's a huge part of the denial, IMO, when combined with the lates, even though they're old.

You have to look at it from the lender's view: you had late payments in the past, and now you have high reported balances on multiple cards. Does this mean that you're getting in trouble making payments, and maybe you're going to start getting behind again, and maybe even walking away from your debts?

I'm certainly not saying that that's what's happening with you. You simply have to look at how you appear to potential lenders when they see your reports.

[LS2982]

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@Anonymous wrote:

So I applied for the AMEX Delta Gold Skymiles a few days ago and was declined for several factors. Basically delinquent accoutns(long time ago!), and proportions of balance to limits is high. But I forgot that I have been pre-selected in the past for the standard Gold. I remembered this after I'd been declined for the Delta card and went to AMEX site and checked and i'm preselected for the Gold,Silver,and Zync. So...do I apply? ? ? 

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Yes, those pre-approvals are for charge cards. The card you apped for was a revolver. Big difference. AMEX is stringent on approvals for revolvers.

[boomhower]

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@LS2982 wrote:

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@Anonymous wrote:

So I applied for the AMEX Delta Gold Skymiles a few days ago and was declined for several factors. Basically delinquent accoutns(long time ago!), and proportions of balance to limits is high. But I forgot that I have been pre-selected in the past for the standard Gold. I remembered this after I'd been declined for the Delta card and went to AMEX site and checked and i'm preselected for the Gold,Silver,and Zync. So...do I apply? ? ? 

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Yes, those pre-approvals are for charge cards. The card you apped for was a revolver. Big difference. AMEX is stringent on approvals for revolvers.

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Agreed.  WIth Amex charge cards and revolvers are a whole different deal.  Get your UT down and a charge card should be doable, wait 30 days from your last app.

[pizzadude]

I was approved for the ZYNC with very high overall utilization ~ over 80%, although they did give me the $200 hard limit variety

[Anonymous]

Charge cards = pay in ful = less risk.