Applying for an amex card just to be an amex member even if I don't need the card?

[Anonymous]

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@myjourney wrote:

Do a little research IIRC 

Sallie mae pays 5% on food, gas and books (Amazon)

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Thanks again myjourney! This is certainly a perfect card to me I will go for more details and see if it is worth a hard pull. My only concern is I just got my Arrival in spring. I heard that Barclay hated those who applied for multiple cards within a short period. Perhaps will just wait for a while...

[Anonymous]

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@SunriseEarth wrote:

As for your friend's points...

1. True.   Any future AMEX will use the year of your MSD (Member Since Date).   For example, I got an AMEX when I was a college freshman in 1998 and closed it later that year, as the CL was smallish for me.  This year, I applied for the BCE on March 4th.  My CRs say that my BCE opened on 3/4/1998.

2. True. AMEX is certainly renowned for their customer service, as can be attested all over the boards.  Individual experience varies, but I know I'm very pleased with them.

3.  False.  Having CCs that use different processing networks has no direct affect on credit scores.  

Is there a reason for getting an AMEX for you? Yes, if you want to lock in your MSD to this year.   If you do spending at select department stores, you'd get 2% rewards with a BCE.  Aside from that, most of the rewards seem to line up with your BofA card.  But then again, you could get a CC and just SD it, too.  Or close it and see if you find something you like at AMEX 16 years later; that worked for me.  

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16 years later... It's like a movie.... Amex seems much better than I thought.

[myjourney]

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@Anonymous wrote:

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@myjourney wrote:

Do a little research IIRC 

Sallie mae pays 5% on food, gas and books (Amazon)

---

Thanks again myjourney! This is certainly a perfect card to me I will go for more details and see if it is worth a hard pull. My only concern is I just got my Arrival in spring. I heard that Barclay hated those who applied for multiple cards within a short period. Perhaps will just wait for a while...

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Barclay don't believe the hype 

and here's some good reading about them 

Only one case of AA and that person caused that and it wasn't Barclay's fault

I've had multiple cards since Barclay....But you be the judge Lol

Welcome to the credit info- highway as a member of the forum

http://ficoforums.myfico.com/t5/Credit-Cards/Barclay-CC-let-s-put-our-heads-together/m-p/2297693#M646150

[Anonymous]

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@SunriseEarth wrote:

As for your friend's points...

1. True.   Any future AMEX will use the year of your MSD (Member Since Date).   For example, I got an AMEX when I was a college freshman in 1998 and closed it later that year, as the CL was smallish for me.  This year, I applied for the BCE on March 4th.  My CRs say that my BCE opened on 3/4/1998.

2. True. AMEX is certainly renowned for their customer service, as can be attested all over the boards.  Individual experience varies, but I know I'm very pleased with them.

3.  False.  Having CCs that use different processing networks has no direct affect on credit scores.  

Is there a reason for getting an AMEX for you? Yes, if you want to lock in your MSD to this year.   If you do spending at select department stores, you'd get 2% rewards with a BCE.  Aside from that, most of the rewards seem to line up with your BofA card.  But then again, you could get a CC and just SD it, too.  Or close it and see if you find something you like at AMEX 16 years later; that worked for me.  

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@yudeology101 wrote:

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@myjourney wrote:

Welcome to the forum 

Not much I can add to your friends point of view other than do you buy gas at which you may want to look at an Amex 

But each person has to access whats the best fit for their portfolio and in fact Amex may not fit you....not all cards are meant for all people 

What cards do you have now and where is the majority of your spending?

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+1.  Every card has its purpose and if you don't need it, then don't go for it.    However,  if you are looking at the long term, getting an AMEX right now can help you w/ its backdating down the road when you apply for different AMEX card that may attract you.  BCE is a great card, it can supplement your current BOA 123 card for gas/groceries purchases.  With no AF, it makes it well worth it IMO. 

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Thank you SunriseEarth and yudeology101. Can you explain the benefits of backdating all the later cards to the date of the first one? Only because the MSD looks nicer? Does it help on my credit scores?

[Anonymous]

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@yudeology101 wrote:

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@myjourney wrote:

Welcome to the forum 

Not much I can add to your friends point of view other than do you buy gas at which you may want to look at an Amex 

But each person has to access whats the best fit for their portfolio and in fact Amex may not fit you....not all cards are meant for all people 

What cards do you have now and where is the majority of your spending?

---

+1.  Every card has its purpose and if you don't need it, then don't go for it.    However,  if you are looking at the long term, getting an AMEX right now can help you w/ its backdating down the road when you apply for different AMEX card that may attract you.  BCE is a great card, it can supplement your current BOA 123 card for gas/groceries purchases.  With no AF, it makes it well worth it IMO. 

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Just have to interrupt this message to remind you that BCE isn't a great card.  I'll let TheManWhoCan paste his chart comparing it to Sallie Mae and BCP!

But on topic: yes, backdating sounds good, but it is really only important in two cases:

1) At the beginning of your credit history, when you have a thin file.  Here for the first few years, if you are going slow, and one of your first cards is an Amex, adding a new Amex can help with AAoA.

2) Churning/Bonus chasing.   Much later on, if you choose to frequently get new cards for the bonuses, adding a new Amex each year, with a large amount of backdating, helps keep AAoA in acceptable ranges to keep getting acceptances.

Otherwise, as your number of open and closed accounts increases over time, the impact of backdating really decreases.   My Amex's backdate to 1987, but I have so many open and closed accounts that the impact is a few months at most.

But something like the new Amex Everyday is free, so it might be reasonable to get it anyway.  Just remember though that the inquiry potentially could be used for something else more valuable, so it's not quite free.

Also, Amex revises its backdating policy from time to time (ACM rules were changed recently for example) so it's possible that this will not actually work 16 years from now!

[Anonymous]

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@Anonymous wrote:

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Thank you SunriseEarth and yudeology101. Can you explain the benefits of backdating all the later cards to the date of the first one? Only because the MSD looks nicer? Does it help on my credit scores?

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The policy is a little hard to believe, but!   You get your first amex in month/year (say April 2014).   Then, whenever you get another Amex (even if you cancelled the first and it is years later) the card will be backdated to the month of application and the original year.   So if you apply in Jan 2017, that card will get the date of Jan/2014, making it actually older than the first card.

This impacts the Average Age of Accounts, which is one factor in the FICO score, so that is how it helps.  Nothing to do with MSD looking nicer, in many cases the card you get will have the wrong date (current year) but the date on the credit record will be correct, and that is what matters.   

So it can lead to a higher score, but on manual review (if it is less than 2 years old) people will know that it is "really" new.

[yudeology101]

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@Anonymous wrote:

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@yudeology101 wrote:

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@myjourney wrote:

Welcome to the forum 

Not much I can add to your friends point of view other than do you buy gas at which you may want to look at an Amex 

But each person has to access whats the best fit for their portfolio and in fact Amex may not fit you....not all cards are meant for all people 

What cards do you have now and where is the majority of your spending?

---

+1.  Every card has its purpose and if you don't need it, then don't go for it.    However,  if you are looking at the long term, getting an AMEX right now can help you w/ its backdating down the road when you apply for different AMEX card that may attract you.  BCE is a great card, it can supplement your current BOA 123 card for gas/groceries purchases.  With no AF, it makes it well worth it IMO. 

---

Just have to interrupt this message to remind you that BCE isn't a great card.  I'll let TheManWhoCan paste his chart comparing it to Sallie Mae and BCP!

But on topic: yes, backdating sounds good, but it is really only important in two cases:

1) At the beginning of your credit history, when you have a thin file.  Here for the first few years, if you are going slow, and one of your first cards is an Amex, adding a new Amex can help with AAoA.

2) Churning/Bonus chasing.   Much later on, if you choose to frequently get new cards for the bonuses, adding a new Amex each year, with a large amount of backdating, helps keep AAoA in acceptable ranges to keep getting acceptances.

Otherwise, as your number of open and closed accounts increases over time, the impact of backdating really decreases.   My Amex's backdate to 1987, but I have so many open and closed accounts that the impact is a few months at most.

But something like the new Amex Everyday is free, so it might be reasonable to get it anyway.  Just remember though that the inquiry potentially could be used for something else more valuable, so it's not quite free.

Also, Amex revises its backdating policy from time to time (ACM rules were changed recently for example) so it's possible that this will not actually work 16 years from now!

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Sallie Mae & BCP are great, i agree.  But you would have to consider OPs current background..OP is a college student who may want to avoid AF.  ED is a great card as well, but again, it all depends on if OP would choose cashback over points for reward. 

 :edited for typo::

[Anonymous]

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@Anonymous wrote:

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@Anonymous wrote:

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Thank you SunriseEarth and yudeology101. Can you explain the benefits of backdating all the later cards to the date of the first one? Only because the MSD looks nicer? Does it help on my credit scores?

---

The policy is a little hard to believe, but!   You get your first amex in month/year (say April 2014).   Then, whenever you get another Amex (even if you cancelled the first and it is years later) the card will be backdated to the month of application and the original year.   So if you apply in Jan 2017, that card will get the date of Jan/2014, making it actually older than the first card.

This impacts the Average Age of Accounts, which is one factor in the FICO score, so that is how it helps.  Nothing to do with MSD looking nicer, in many cases the card you get will have the wrong date (current year) but the date on the credit record will be correct, and that is what matters.   

So it can lead to a higher score, but on manual review (if it is less than 2 years old) people will know that it is "really" new.

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Thanks a lot for your explanation, longtimelurker! It's indeed incredible that a creditor does this for its customers! Will definitely apply for one once I think it's the time.

[Craaaig]

Sallie Mae is hard to beat when compared to the BCE (and since you're a college student you may have/most likely have a few Sallie Mae loans).

BUT. Having an Amex in your wallet is so nice (plenty of perks that are hard to quantify: prestige, extended warranties, free shop runner mempership, etc) that it's never a bad idea to have one.

[Anonymous]

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@yudeology101 wrote:

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@Anonymous wrote:

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@yudeology101 wrote:

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@myjourney wrote:

Welcome to the forum 

Not much I can add to your friends point of view other than do you buy gas at which you may want to look at an Amex 

But each person has to access whats the best fit for their portfolio and in fact Amex may not fit you....not all cards are meant for all people 

What cards do you have now and where is the majority of your spending?

---

+1.  Every card has its purpose and if you don't need it, then don't go for it.    However,  if you are looking at the long term, getting an AMEX right now can help you w/ its backdating down the road when you apply for different AMEX card that may attract you.  BCE is a great card, it can supplement your current BOA 123 card for gas/groceries purchases.  With no AF, it makes it well worth it IMO. 

---

Just have to interrupt this message to remind you that BCE isn't a great card.  I'll let TheManWhoCan paste his chart comparing it to Sallie Mae and BCP!

But on topic: yes, backdating sounds good, but it is really only important in two cases:

1) At the beginning of your credit history, when you have a thin file.  Here for the first few years, if you are going slow, and one of your first cards is an Amex, adding a new Amex can help with AAoA.

2) Churning/Bonus chasing.   Much later on, if you choose to frequently get new cards for the bonuses, adding a new Amex each year, with a large amount of backdating, helps keep AAoA in acceptable ranges to keep getting acceptances.

Otherwise, as your number of open and closed accounts increases over time, the impact of backdating really decreases.   My Amex's backdate to 1987, but I have so many open and closed accounts that the impact is a few months at most.

But something like the new Amex Everyday is free, so it might be reasonable to get it anyway.  Just remember though that the inquiry potentially could be used for something else more valuable, so it's not quite free.

Also, Amex revises its backdating policy from time to time (ACM rules were changed recently for example) so it's possible that this will not actually work 16 years from now!

---

Sallie Mae & BCP are great, i agree.  But you would have to consider OPs current background..OP is a college student who may want to avoid AF.  ED is a great card as well, but again, it all depends on if OP would choose cashback over points for reward. 

 :edited for typo::

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Thank you yudeology101. It's true all my cards are fee free. I might choose between Sallie Mae, BCE and the new Everyday as my next card.