Current Credit Card or Amex Chargeoff?

Rs26 · ‎03-28-2022

Looking for opinions.

Other debt aside . . . I have a current WF Credit card w/ $3800 CL; balance is $2900. I also have a 9-year old charged off Amex account at $2900. My plan was to pay off the WF w/in the next few months, but Amex renewed their Optima offer if I payback their charge off. My initial instinct is that I want my Amex back but their negative marks have long fallen off my credit reports, while the WF card is currently affecting my utilization and score.

I ultimately plan to pay Amex back at this point, and although there's obviously no urgency (9-years later 😆), I don't want to miss their offer window again like I did a couple years ago when I considered settling before.

Suggestions?

Remedios · ‎03-28-2022

Pay WF so you can keep the card.

If WF was to CLD it or close it, it would be as useful as charged off Amex from 9 years ago.

ThomasJNewton · ‎03-28-2022

@Remedios wrote:
Pay WF so you can keep the card.
If WF was to CLD it or close it, it would be as useful as charged off Amex from 9 years ago.

Especially, because there is a chance that AmEx will close your card if you go delinquent on your other one, then you lose twice.

SUPERSQUID · ‎03-28-2022

@Rs26 wrote:
Looking for opinions.

Other debt aside . . . I have a current WF Credit card w/ $3800 CL; balance is $2900. I also have a 9-year old charged off Amex account at $2900. My plan was to pay off the WF w/in the next few months, but Amex renewed their Optima offer if I payback their charge off. My initial instinct is that I want my Amex back but their negative marks have long fallen off my credit reports, while the WF card is currently affecting my utilization and score.

I ultimately plan to pay Amex back at this point, and although there's obviously no urgency (9-years later 😆), I don't want to miss their offer window again like I did a couple years ago when I considered settling before.

Suggestions?

There are lots of good lenders out there and lots of rewards cards. pay off wf and forget about amex and move on. once you pay down wf wait a little while and research which card will meet your needs

Rs26 · ‎03-28-2022

Sorry. I should've given more info but was trying to keep the post short.

WF is current. Started as a $500 Secured card 5-years ago after flushing my credit down the drain in 2013/2014. It's been a long road, but I graduated a couple years in, and today it has a $3800 limit.

My other 2 cards are Credit One MC & Visa (I know, I know), which are 4 and 5 years old, respectively. Finally got a car financed 2-years ago as well (after having had a repo back in 2012).

Altogether, I've finally gotten things back on track, along with improved scores and zero negatives. I'm only stuck on this decision because I'm trying to think about whether I should just focus on getting my utilizations down by paying off WF quicker or stick to the lower payments and satisfy the old Amex account that isn't even impacting my reports anymore. I want to get back in with Amex but not sure it's actually worth it and/or if the "new" Optima account will have a negative affect anyway because of it being a newly opened account.

Anonymous · ‎03-28-2022

@Rs26 wrote:
I want to get back in with Amex but not sure it's actually worth it

That's really the question! We've had some people here with much larger payoff amounts, exceeding $10K, who want to get back in with Amex.

Now there are a few use cases where an Amex is almost essential but these are pretty rare. There is a great variety of issuers out there, with a number of similar families. Look at all the Amex vs Chase travel threads, they don't all end after "Absolutely no contest, Amex is SO much better" followed by a huge list "+1" With that sort of competition, I would seriously limit how much I was willing to pay for the chance of getting back with Amex.

Bradac56 · ‎03-28-2022

@SUPERSQUID wrote:
@Rs26 wrote:
Looking for opinions.

Other debt aside . . . I have a current WF Credit card w/ $3800 CL; balance is $2900. I also have a 9-year old charged off Amex account at $2900. My plan was to pay off the WF w/in the next few months, but Amex renewed their Optima offer if I payback their charge off. My initial instinct is that I want my Amex back but their negative marks have long fallen off my credit reports, while the WF card is currently affecting my utilization and score.

I ultimately plan to pay Amex back at this point, and although there's obviously no urgency (9-years later 😆), I don't want to miss their offer window again like I did a couple years ago when I considered settling before.

Suggestions?
There are lots of good lenders out there and lots of rewards cards. pay off wf and forget about amex and move on. once you pay down wf wait a little while and research which card will meet your needs

Well there isn't any better than Amex but yes there are allot of good ones (Chase/Discover/USBank/etc) but you always want to pay the live bills before the closed ones.

increasingmyfico · ‎03-28-2022

@Rs26 wrote:
Looking for opinions.

Other debt aside . . . I have a current WF Credit card w/ $3800 CL; balance is $2900. I also have a 9-year old charged off Amex account at $2900. My plan was to pay off the WF w/in the next few months, but Amex renewed their Optima offer if I payback their charge off. My initial instinct is that I want my Amex back but their negative marks have long fallen off my credit reports, while the WF card is currently affecting my utilization and score.

I ultimately plan to pay Amex back at this point, and although there's obviously no urgency (9-years later 😆), I don't want to miss their offer window again like I did a couple years ago when I considered settling before.

Suggestions?

Should I take care of my girlfriend or my ex-girlfriend??? Love the one you're with.

Anonymous · ‎03-28-2022

@increasingmyfico wrote:
Should I take care of my girlfriend or my ex-girlfriend??? Love the one you're with.

Well yes, but I think OPs situation is "I really really like my ex, and I think she's making overtures now. If I don't act soon...." But your advice still holds!

Rs26 · ‎03-28-2022

Good point @Bradac56. I should continue to focus on my live bills before I aim for the closed one. I'll knock the WF down and then worry about Amex down the road.