Current Credit Card or Amex Chargeoff?

[SouthJamaica]

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@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?

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Personally I would prioritize getting back on an even keel with Amex.

[ThomasJNewton]

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@SouthJamaica wrote:

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Personally I would prioritize getting back on an even keel with Amex.

Another reason to pay down the active card first is having a safety net. If you pay down that card, and you have a crisis, you have access to that money right away, plus it will save you money on interest. If you pay off AmEx and something happens, you will have less of that money available. From the Oasis threads, it does seem that sometimes one call call and get the offer, even if you do not have one active. Overall, paying the active account makes more sense.

[bigseegar]

Seems from your posts and added comments that you really want back in with AmEx. But having been in your shoes and having been on their Blacklist I still agree with the majority of the comments to payoff your current card and worry about AmEx down the road. They've been around a long time and aren't going in where. So make your current credit work good for you and get your scores up which knocking that UTL down will certainly do. I was Blacklist for 19 years with AmEx. I won't go into the long story but it's on here if you're interested and search. I now have 6 AmEx cards again including the Platinum, Gold and Green. BUT I built my credit back up with other credit sources first.

[Rs26]

Thanks @bigseegar.  You're right that I really want back in with Amex.  It was my first card when I turned 18 (a couple decades ago 😆), so I hate myself for letting my oldest credit line default and get charged off when I did, but I can't change that.  It's not a necessity though for me to regain membership, so I'll stick to the current account and focus on Amex down the road when I'm ready.

Thank you everyone for your input.