No credit card required
Browse credit cards from a variety of issuers to see if there's a better card for you.
After tremendous trial and error, I finally got my 2 Amex cards on my account backdated to 2002. Heres the story, I have a Delta Amex opened in 2008 and was just added as AU on Charge Platinum that original owner had since 2003. I was added on parents AMEX in 2002 as AU, in which they received a seperate card for me, and never reported my SS# for the card. Yes, I know, wierd. Usually, if you dont add social, your a card manger and not an AU. BUt this was definately an AU card. Dont know how they managed that.
Since Jaunary 2011
Got AU on newly opened Platinum Charge. Called Amex for backdate to 2003 and received a big fat NO. They did backdate till 2008. Same year as Delta Card.
Called again to try and get another rep and still received same message. No 2003.
Called again after remembering that I was an AU since 2002 with parents. Rep said they could not find me in system with that card without a SS#
Somehow, parents still had that card and gave me the number
Called Amex back, unfortunately after hours, and said I have card number for backdate. They cold not help after hours and had me call back next day. I was advised since I was AU they probablyw ould not backdate my card. I said yes yea and knew that was totally not true
Called the next day and was helped by a very nice rep. Stated my story and said I have been a card member since 2002, so both of my amex accounts should reflect that. He said ok, I will add that to our account. Your new card will be there in 7 days. - March 1, 2011
I literally couldnt believe it. He backdated my card "NO QUESTIONS ASKED!" I could of said 1972 and he would of been like ok. So basically i went through all that trouble of finding my old card and someone just did it at the snap of their fingers.. Ha! The funniest thing out of the whole situation, the entire time I was trying to backdate, my credit report updated the new AU account as 2003. Its just my card said member sine 2011. Oh well, better safe than sorry Im totally satisfied because this gives me 2 Amex card with almost 10 years worth of perfect history.
First off Congrats!!! The backdating certainly does help!
Smug as far as how? Well I just recently opened Zync in December, and the Costo TE card in January and both are reporting opened since 2005. I was an AU on my husbands Amex cards back in 05 and it did help out my scores as it now shows the avg time of having a card open is 3 years vs. 1 1/2. My oldest card on my own was opened in 2006, but most of my recent cards are from just 6 months ago with the exception of a Discover card where I am an AU that has been opened 11 years so there again goes to prove how it does help in showing you have had the credit lines for a long time.
Congrats OP on you perseverance!! It definitely paid off. This backdating with Amex is like being addicted to crack. I opened a Amex Green and a TE Costco card just in the last few weeks and I'll have backdating on those two cards to 1982 when I got my first Green card. I kind of did a rough calculation last night to see where it would take my AAoA to and I'll be going from just under 4 years to over 7 years just from those two cards. My TU report (lowest score at 722) doesn't even show 2 old accounts from '81 and '82 (BofA & Amex) so that file is really gonna show a nice boost.
I have to say that getting in with them at any time, particularly if you're young and just starting out, can have a lifetime of benefits when it comes to your credit. Hauling said in another post that you should treat Amex like a Faberge egg and I couldn't agree more. Young people have such an advantage over many of us "older" folks who did not have forums like these to get info and ideas from at their disposal. If I knew then what I know now things would have been much different. I just hope that those who are just starting out are gaining as much knowledge as they can and put it to good use.
Smug, I think Halos and Jeff hit it on the nail on the head. The longer you have hve revolving accounts open, the higher your AAOA is therefore the higher your score. A person with one year of perfect history is going to have a lower score than a person with 10 years of perfect history.
I absolutely agree with Jeff quoting Hauling. Treating Amex as a Faberge egg is definitely essential. If played correctly, you can set yourself and kids up for credit success from a very early start. I can say with the charge card hitting my CRA accounts in March, showing a backdate of 2003, TU/EQ average a 30 point increase. When my payments finally post and Util % goes down, I should be playing in the mid 700's. I was one of those people who was stuck in the 680-715 range. Well, until now
My first CC ever (First Premier) was opened in 2005 at 25 years old after a college ID theft. I added Cap one in 2007, NFCU and Amex in 2008. Im not a mathmetician but thats a very low AAOA. Now, I have 2 cards with stating opened since 2002 which automatically become my longest opened cards.
AMEX will actually backdate to when you were AU's on another person's account? (In my case, mom).
Do they take the year you were added or the year the original account holder opened?
My AAoA is ~6years right now but I could always use a boost!
@Anonymous wrote:AMEX will actually backdate to when you were AU's on another person's account? (In my case, mom).
Do they take the year you were added or the year the original account holder opened?
My AAoA is ~6years right now but I could always use a boost!
Yes they will. If you were AU on parents card, you can request that your member since date be changed for all AMEX accounts that you have.Take it from my mistake, the best way to find out what your TRUE member since date is with Amex, check your credit report and look at your AU card "Date Opened" insert. I received a card with member since date of 2011, and my report said 2003.
@Hollywood80 wrote:
@Anonymous wrote:AMEX will actually backdate to when you were AU's on another person's account? (In my case, mom).
Do they take the year you were added or the year the original account holder opened?
My AAoA is ~6years right now but I could always use a boost!
Yes they will. If you were AU on parents card, you can request that your member since date be changed for all AMEX accounts that you have.Take it from my mistake, the best way to find out what your TRUE member since date is with Amex, check your credit report and look at your AU card "Date Opened" insert. I received a card with member since date of 2011, and my report said 2003.
SWEEEEET! I can GAIN 10 YEARS x 2 ACCOUNTS! WOW! THANKS!
@Anonymous wrote:
@Hollywood80 wrote:
@Anonymous wrote:AMEX will actually backdate to when you were AU's on another person's account? (In my case, mom).
Do they take the year you were added or the year the original account holder opened?
My AAoA is ~6years right now but I could always use a boost!
Yes they will. If you were AU on parents card, you can request that your member since date be changed for all AMEX accounts that you have.Take it from my mistake, the best way to find out what your TRUE member since date is with Amex, check your credit report and look at your AU card "Date Opened" insert. I received a card with member since date of 2011, and my report said 2003.
SWEEEEET! I can GAIN 10 YEARS x 2 ACCOUNTS! WOW! THANKS!
Exactly why I did it. And why I love me some AMEX despite $600 a year in fee's hahhhaha !!!!! Wort every penny to me.