First AMEX?

[Anonymous]

Really want to join the Amex club....

Right now, the Amex Everyday Card looks like the best bet since it has no annual fee. But I'm welcome to hear any advice or insight on other Amex options that might be better for me...

According to Credit Karma, I'm at 696, and on Cap1 credit simulator, I have 720.

Thanks!! (and yay, first post ever!)

[Anonymous]

With those scores, I got a Blue Cash Preferred. It has an AF, but more than made up for it with my grocery spend. I think you have some options for which Amex cards you get.

However, you need to actually look at your spend and determine if the card is a good fit. If you just want a generic Amex card for the purposes of having an Amex card, Everyday is a good choice, although you might prefer Blue Cash Everyday. However, that isn't a great way to pick a credit card. Instead, look at the perks and see which is best for your spend.

[Anonymous]

Welcome to MyFico.

The first thing you need to do is get your Fico 08 Experian score because that is what Amex pulls.  The scores you posted are Vantage scores and could be completely different than your Experian score.  Once you have that you'll be in a much better position to know which card you might be approved for.

As for what card to apply for you nned to decide whether you are interested in rewards cards or cashback.  The EveryDay cards are reward points cards while the Blue Cash family are cashback cards.

[Anonymous]

Thanks for the tip! Is the best way to get a Fico score thru this site?

Also, I think I would want rewards, since my Cap1 QuicksilverOne is cash back....so I think it would make sense to diversify a bit, right?

[Anonymous]

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@Anonymous wrote:

Thanks for the tip! Is the best way to get a Fico score thru this site?

Also, I think I would want rewards, since my Cap1 QuicksilverOne is cash back....so I think it would make sense to diversify a bit, right?

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You can get your Experian score thru here (will also give you other versions of your score like mortgage, bankcard enhanced and credit card enhanced) or directly thru Experian.  If you can afford it, I would suggest you get your scores for all 3 CRAs thru here.

Diversification is good but before you apply for an Amex rewards card please make sure you look into their rewards program to ensure that you have a good understanding of the program and to make sure that it makes sense for you.  The best value for their rewards program is redeeming the points for travel so if you don't travel for example it may not make sense for you.

One other thing.  Please dont apply for an Amex card just to say you have one.  I personally like Amex very much but their cards are not for everyone and they don't give you any special prestige just to have one.  That's why it's so important to analyze your spending habits and future plans to make sure you are applying for a card you really can make use of.  There might very well be another card that is better for you.  Too often here I see people applying for cards that they know very little about and end with a credit card that has very little use for them.

[Anonymous]

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@Anonymous wrote:

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@Anonymous wrote:

Thanks for the tip! Is the best way to get a Fico score thru this site?

Also, I think I would want rewards, since my Cap1 QuicksilverOne is cash back....so I think it would make sense to diversify a bit, right?

---

You can get your Experian score thru here (will also give you other versions of your score like mortgage, bankcard enhanced and credit card enhanced) or directly thru Experian.  If yu can afford it, I would suggest you get your scores for all 3 CRAs thru here.

Diversification is good but before you apply for an Amex rewards card please make sure you look into their rewards program to ensure that you have a good understanding of the program and to make sure that it makes sense for you.  The best value for their rewards program is redeeming the points for travel so if you don't travel for example it may not make sense for you.

One other thing.  Please dont apply for an Amex card just to say you have one.  I personally like Amex very much but their cards are not for everyone and they don't give you any special prestige just to have one.  That's why it's so important to analyse your spending habits and future plans to make sure you are applying for a card you really can make use of.  There might very well be another card that is better for you.  Too often here I see people applying for cards that they know very little about and end with a credit card that has very little use for them.

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Thanks so much! Will do some more research and see what's right for me. 

[bldmt]

Good points Irish.

OP for what it's worth, I chose the BCP even though it has an annual fee. I have more than made up for it with the following.

$150.00 statement credit after initial spend meet (not sure what they are offering now).

6% at grocery stores (I'm at at about $80 since March)

In December they offered $20 statement credit on a $50 spend at Advanced Auto

In December they offered $10 statement credit for $30 gas purchase Exxon/Mobil

[Anonymous]

I would go BCP they are offering $250 statement credit currently when 1k spend is met.

[Anonymous]

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@Anonymous wrote:

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@Anonymous wrote:

Thanks for the tip! Is the best way to get a Fico score thru this site?

Also, I think I would want rewards, since my Cap1 QuicksilverOne is cash back....so I think it would make sense to diversify a bit, right?

---

You can get your Experian score thru here (will also give you other versions of your score like mortgage, bankcard enhanced and credit card enhanced) or directly thru Experian.  If you can afford it, I would suggest you get your scores for all 3 CRAs thru here.

Diversification is good but before you apply for an Amex rewards card please make sure you look into their rewards program to ensure that you have a good understanding of the program and to make sure that it makes sense for you.  The best value for their rewards program is redeeming the points for travel so if you don't travel for example it may not make sense for you.

One other thing.  Please dont apply for an Amex card just to say you have one.  I personally like Amex very much but their cards are not for everyone and they don't give you any special prestige just to have one.  That's why it's so important to analyze your spending habits and future plans to make sure you are applying for a card you really can make use of.  There might very well be another card that is better for you.  Too often here I see people applying for cards that they know very little about and end with a credit card that has very little use for them.

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+1, particularly true with MR points.   You need to put a lot of spend on the card to get a reasonable amount of MR points that you can redeem in a valuable way (transfer to partners) and in any case with the ED you want to make sure you do 20 transactions a month to get the bonus rate.

And equally BCP only makes sense with enough spend at covered grocery stores.

[NRB525]

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@Anonymous wrote:

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@Anonymous wrote:

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And equally BCP only makes sense with enough spend at covered grocery stores.

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This gets mentioned, but can't be emphasized enough. In my experience, only really specific grocery stores get this AMEX coding. Fred Meyer does not, even though it's primarily groceries they sell clothing and housewares as well. On Freedom and Discover, no problem, FM is groceries. Not any of my AMEX cards with groceries category, PRG, EDP, nor Hilton.

The real downside to this is, the prices I see on the real grocery stores are more than a few percentage points higher than Fred Meyer, often 10% or greater price difference, so all the AMEX points would do is slightly close the gap, vs just using any non-catgory card at Fred Meyer, or a non-AF version of an AMEX for fewer MR points. It's going to be the same price gap or worse with Walmart, Costco, and others I'm sure.