@Anonymous wrote:I want to apply for an AMEX credit card which I can use for purchases at Costco (BCE, BCP, or Costco TrueEarnings) and carry a balance from time-to-time. Here are my stats:
- I have account history that goes back 14 months.
- Cap 1 with $1,750 CL - 2% UTIL - Highest Bal. $928 - No Lates - 14mos old
- Chase Auto/Installment Loan - $19k/$327mo - No Lates - 4mos old
- (5) Inquiries - (1) for the orig Cap 1; and (4) for the auto loan (all 4 were within a 10-day period)
- EQ FICO: 728 - 1/6/12 & EX PLUS: 717 - 1/6/12
OR...
If it's doubtful that I would qualify for either of those 2, then which other rewards cards (VISA / MC) would be recommended considering my current history?
I am a Newbie to this sight and any help would be GREATLY APPRECIATED! Thank-you!
You might want to check whogavemecredit dot com and look under the amex list (you search it, blank field, enter the card or co.). That will help you find a lot of info. To me (FWIW, there are a lot of people here that have more knowledge of the BCE\BCP series), I think your info looks good, just short at 14 months and only one revolving account. Util at 2% is great, no lates or negatives is great, they (AMEX) know Chase is a prime lender (they checked to see you could afford the car for that loan) so that's good. And you don't have a lot of INQ's. They would have the chance to become your main revolver at this point and they could see it that way. They might approve, if you have a better than average income, just not with a high limit (they could match the Cap 1, but a grand to start wouldn't be bad with AMEX). Just my 2 cents 
For the search on whogavemecredit, you can use "blue" "amex" "cash" "american" and you'll figure it out from there
PizzaDude's right about that. Charge cards through AMEX can be a bit of a "foot in the door" with them at times.
Have you tried their pre-selector site?
https://www304.americanexpress.com/credit-card?inav=footer_cards_personal#!view-your-special-offers
I don't know if the above link will work or not. Being I've logged into AMEX and not cleared my cache\cookies, it won't let me go to that page so that's a copy of a copy so to speak. If you can get there, it can do a soft or see if you're in their system (database check).
Other good rewards cards are Discover (but they're more picky than AMEX at times). Bank Of Americas 3-2-1 Cash rewards (fairly decent) and Chase Freedom rewards. I'm sure others will chime in with more options, those are just a few that come to mind off hand.
@pizzadude wrote:
If you are interested in AMEX cards, you might consider starting with the Zync charge card ~ then apping for BCP or BCE after a few months of good history.
The AMEX Charge cards are easier to get than the revolver cards....
I waited for 8 months and that wasn't enough for AMEX. Some here suggest at least 1+ year. 
I'm not speaking from experience here with regards to applying for 2 Amex cards at one time, but my understanding is that you can apply for both the revolver and charge product and only have one HP. If you do this, I suggest applying for the Charge first since you have an indication that you will be approved for it from the pre-selector then apply for the revolver you want. The BCP is the hardest to get (with my understanding) and if you apply for the Costco, they will have to verify your membership with Costco before you can be approved and that takes at least one business day from my understanding. As always, YMMV and I wish you luck with what ever you decide.
Starting Score: 642I just checked another thread and according to the other thread, if you apply for both a revolver and charge it will result in 2 HP so ignore my last post. I really don't know which is actually the case. I'm sorry if I provided you with the wrong info. There are so many threads that I've read regarding Amex and inquires, it's hard to get them all straight and on top of that, a lot of them contradict each other. I do know however with regards to the criteria for acquiring the Amex BCP... it isn't the easiest card to get.
@Anonymous wrote:Yeah, I tried the pre-selector sight earlier today and it listed pre-selection for the Gold, Green, and ZYNC cards.
I'm ok with one of those if they get my foot-in-the-door with AMEX.
But what about the Costco TrueEarnings card, is it just as difficult to get as the BCE/BCP?
I still want to get at least one more revolving card right now. Is the HP from AMEX going to make it harder to qualify for another revolver, if so, should
I just forget about the AMEX for now and go for 2 more revolvers?
If I were in your shoes........ Myself, I would app for the Zync (you'd no doubt get it instant), that gives you AMEX history starting right away with a low AF. Also, I have yet to see my AMEX inq's post right away (don't know why), soooo the same day, within minutes. I'd apply for a revolver from another issuer I liked. AMEX is likely only going to pull EX, most others depending on who you choose and your location are going to hit one of the other 2 (maybe 2 of the 3 but rare). I would (as much as I don't like them, I hear some people have success with them, others not so much) probably go for Bank Of America, for a good rewards card. OR maybe Chase freedom, you have a car loan with them, so you have a bit of history on their books. Chase is a prime lender and looks good on a report but don't expect CLI's from them without an HP. Again, I'd look up the cards on whogavemecredit and search info on here about them as well. It gives a very good perspective on your chances. Scores aren't the entire picture (as you know) others have no doubt posted similar circumstances and you might find it helpful before clicking on any submit buttons.
Other than that, I have read a few people having better luck with TrueEarnings but not so much that'd I'd say go for it over BCE etc because of it. We know you're probably ok for Zync (I'd be shocked if you didn't get it). BCP, that's a tough one. At least with Zync you're more certain to get something for the HP and it will give you an AMEX member since date and any cards you get from them later will back date to it's year of opening (HUGE plus). For some reason I think Chase could be your best bet, even though I hate to say it as YMMV as they say. Discover was very kind to me but my profile is totally different, I got denied BCE (so I went for DM and got it).
If you were to go for 2 revolvers, on top of Zync (yes, I'm really pushing getting a foot in that door for backdating). I'd still do them on the same day (check the WGMC site to see who pulls what, that way you won't end up with too many inq's out of it). Anything under 4 inq's on each isn't unusual, it's the new accounts that hurt more (AAoA). In the end it's up to you, if you want to go for more cards, or better history in the long run. The Zync\1revolver, seems best to me for now, again, my 2 cents.
I hope this helps a bit more, I hate to have someone click "submit" before they do their research (I learned that one myself lol).