Approval odds for Chase Freedom and AMEX BCE w/ a 6-year old CO?

[Lysergic]

Hi all,

I posted a while back asking about my chances of a good interest rate on an auto loan. Several members recommended DCU because of their low rates. Well I was approved for their lowest rate @ 1.99% (1.49 w/ relationship checking) with a 675 EQ score! I now have my awesome 2014 Mazda 3

Now I'd like to ask you all what my chances are of being approved for a Chase Freedom and AMEX Blue Cash Everyday based on my credit information. Do I stand any chance at all of getting either of these cards with a 6 year old charge off? Everything else is in good standing, paid in full. My first payment on the auto loan is 9/15.

myFICO has EQ, EX, and TU at 676, 675, 677, respectively. DCU monthly FICO is showing 702 but I'm not sure how accurate that is. I plan on waiting until my auto loan shows up on all of my reports as I'm assuming that will bump up my score a little.

Capital One Quicksilver One - $750 - 6 months old

Barclaycard Rewards Mastercard - $1000 - 6 months old

Bank of America Signature Visa (AU) - $30,400 - 18 years old

Capital One Platinum Card (Secured) - $400 - closed

Wells Fargo Visa - Charge off from 9/2008

DCU Auto Loan - $18,800

[B335is]

Congrats on the Mazda 3!!  Nice car!

Is your Wells Fargo charge off paid or unpaid?  Who do you bank with?  Those are two factors I believe Chase will take into consideration.  I had similar scores as yours when I applied for Chase (United) and Amex (Delta).  Chase required a recon call and Amex was approved after 24 hours.  

[Anonymous]

I can't speak for Amex but as far as Chase Freedom, i was recently instantly improved via web with a 1.2k CL.

According to Discover, my Fico at the time was 681 and CK showed it as 694 and both of these reports were showing a 90% utilization. I also didn't have any negatives/baddies.

I personally think the Chase Freedom might be easier to get because the day before my Chase approval, i was flat out denied for the Amex Blue Sky.

Goodluck though!

[Lysergic]

@B335is

Heh thanks, I love it!

The Wells Fargo charge off is unpaid and will fall off next August/September. It's for approximately $1400. My checking/savings accounts are with Wells Fargo but I will be switching everything to DCU in the next couple of months.

My utilization is currently 2-3% across my 3 cards, including the AU account. Will that help me at all?

@thecandyman

Yeah I'm thinking I will be approved for the Chase Freedom. I'm hopeful of the AMEX BCE just because I've read many posts where folks with similar or worse credit profiles have been approved even if only for $1-2k. You were approved for the Freedom with 90% utilization??? Wow that's crazy/awesome; however, with no baddies you were probably less of a risk. The denial for the Blue Sky was definitely due to such high utilization. Everything I've read about AMEX is that utilization is weighed heavily when applying.

[Anonymous]

I was pleasantly surprised when i was approved for Chase Freedom and I think youre right as far as the amex denial goes. I quickly paid off my cards and am now running between 8-9% utilization and once my Chase Freedom gets activied that'll drop util to 2-3% overal. 

So in a month i plan on reapplying for an Amex. If youre worried about being denied the BCE, a lot of people on here recommend applying for one of their charge cards, and if youre approved immediatly apply for the card you desire. Its also the general opinion that of the revolving cards, the Delta Skymiles Gold is the easiest to be approved for so you could always apply for that card, build a relationship and higher credit score with it for a year and then apply for another Amex.

Come mid-september, i will probably try my luck with either the Delta Gold or Everyday card.

[Lysergic]

Yeah I'm aware of the charge chard -> revolver build process for AMEX but I'd rather not apply for cards I don't need or want. I've received the customized pre-approval invitation offers in the mail for the AMEX Green so I'm fairly confident I'd get approved for that one.

I currently have 4/2/2 inquiries on EQ/EX/TU so I'm thinking I'll probably apply for the Chase Freedom this month or next, and wait a year until the CO falls off and then apply for the BCE. Or worst case scenario, I apply for both and get denied for the AMEX. I can then reapply in a year once my last baddie is gone!

[newmomnewme]

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@Lysergic wrote:

Yeah I'm aware of the charge chard -> revolver build process for AMEX but I'd rather not apply for cards I don't need or want. I've received the customized pre-approval invitation offers in the mail for the AMEX Green so I'm fairly confident I'd get approved for that one.

I currently have 4/2/2 inquiries on EQ/EX/TU so I'm thinking I'll probably apply for the Chase Freedom this month or next, and wait a year until the CO falls off and then apply for the BCE. Or worst case scenario, I apply for both and get denied for the AMEX. I can then reapply in a year once my last baddie is gone!

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In Feb, I was approved for PRG and BCE 5k CL  (went for both as directed by this site) with two paid CO reporting until 2015...so they are about 9 years old now. I also burned Amex about 20 years ago; was denied 3x CLI at 61 days because of prior debt with Amex; boy do they have a long memory.

.In May I was approved for Freedom 3500 CL, denied Slate....so, I say give it a shot and if you miss at least you will know why.

[SunriseEarth]

In March, I was approved for the AMEX BCE with a 6 y.o. paid CO.  UTIL overall was 6%.   My initial CL was $1500 and I got the 61 day CLI to $4500.  EX score they pulled was a 672.  

[Lysergic]

@SunriseEarth

That's awesome to hear, congrats! Your CO is paid though, whereas mine isn't =/ I wonder if that ruins my chances with AMEX.

Woo on the 3x CLI. I can't wait to be able to do that.

[SunriseEarth]

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@Lysergic wrote:

@SunriseEarth

That's awesome to hear, congrats! Your CO is paid though, whereas mine isn't =/ I wonder if that ruins my chances with AMEX.

Woo on the 3x CLI. I can't wait to be able to do that.

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My suggestion would be to just go for the BCE and, if you don't get approved, go for a charge card that same day.   That way, you'd at least set your MSD (assuming you've never had an AMEX before) and not waste the HP.