Having Amex is not COMPULSORY - and why I have one

[Anonymous]

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MidnightVoice wrote:

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MeganML84 wrote:

Part of me can't help but wonder if bringing this post back from the dead is related to my AMEX CLD thread started a few days ago.

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I like to bring it back when the "I hate Amex" fever hits 

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And I enjoy seeing it!

[haulingthescoreup]

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@GFer wrote:

...But curious---how long does one have to be with Amex for them to 'trust' you, so to speak?

And must one have a totally clean report to get their foot in the door?

Acceptable scores?

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I got a Gold Preferred Rewards with an EX that had fallen from 752 down to 677 due to opening 5 new accounts the previous month, a 30-day that had just gone over 1 year, and a scattering of lates, including a 90-day, which counts as a serious derog and will keep counting as such for the next 4 1/2 years.

I sort of blundered into this particular tactic (as in, I got lucky), but I really like starting with a classic charge card and waiting a year before taking on the adventure of a revolver. They seem far more comfortable with a charge card, you're showing them that you have the income and the self-discipline to PIF your bill monthly, and the fee is generally waived for the first year.

I consider it the credit version of a long engagement. A good chance to get familiar with one another first.

[FretlessMayhem]

I've been out of the loop for a minute. Hauling, are you leaning towards keeping the Gold card nowadays?

[haulingthescoreup]

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@FretlessMayhem wrote:
I've been out of the loop for a minute. Hauling, are you leaning towards keeping the Gold card nowadays?

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* pauses, fishes quarter out of purse, flips it *

Yep!

It will come down to whether I want to cough up the fee, but since it's $0.39726 per day, I probably will. Unless I don't. (dither, dither)

[Anonymous]

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@haulingthescoreup wrote:

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@FretlessMayhem wrote:
I've been out of the loop for a minute. Hauling, are you leaning towards keeping the Gold card nowadays?

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* pauses, fishes quarter out of purse, flips it *

Yep!

It will come down to whether I want to cough up the fee, but since it's $0.39726 per day, I probably will. Unless I don't. (dither, dither)

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Hahaha.

[athensguy]

I think American Express is just panicking because they used to have better charge off and delinquency rates when compared with others, but now they're just middle of the pack because they've been making bad approval decisions.

[score_building]

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haulingthescoreup wrote:
...including a 90-day, which counts as a serious derog and will keep counting as such for the next 4 1/2 years...

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ouch really?  i had it in my head that a late (even 90 days or over) does minimal damage to score after 2 yrs.  seems that i made that up...  is it after 5 years that it only marginally impacts score?  also, i thought a co or judgment for eg. is worse, or is that a major derog is a major derog period end of story (as far as scoring) 


Message Edited by score_building on 09-17-2008 11:43 AM

[haulingthescoreup]

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@score_building wrote:

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@haulingthescoreup wrote:

...including a 90-day, which counts as a serious derog and will keep counting as such for the next 4 1/2 years...

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ouch really?  i had it in my head that a late (even 90 days or over) does minimal damage to score after 2 yrs.  seems that i made that up...  is it after 5 years that it only marginally impacts score?  also, i thought a co or judgment for eg. is worse, or is that a major derog is a major derog period end of story (as far as scoring)

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I'm still hoping that to some extent myself, but in terms of bucket assignment, all it takes is one serious derog (90-day, 120-day, charge-off, collection, BK, other public record) to put you in the serious derog bucket. A 60 counts as a serious for two years, and then it is regarded as a minor.

So yes, within my grubby derog score bucket, I will start looking better as the 90 gets older, and my scores will increase, but I'm stuck there until the 90 goes away. So my goal is to have the shiniest derog in town!

[smallfry]

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@MeganML84 wrote:

Part of me can't help but wonder if bringing this post back from the dead is related to my AMEX CLD thread started a few days ago.

While I am bummed that I was CLD'ed, I understand in this market why they did it. I don't NEED them as I have plenty of other cards to use in the interim, but I wish they would have been a little more patient while I was paying off the balance (which was at 50% utl. when I was CLD'ed, or roughly $500).

My whole point is that if AMEX does not like people revolving debt, they should not offer revolving cards. It seems as though they are being a little pre-emptive with some people doing CLDs and FRs when there is no history of late payments, unusual charges or even HIGH (>80%) utilization.

I will stay with AMEX simply to build a relationship, as someone whose husband is in the military I'll be taking advantage of their customer service when traveling as I know it's outstanding. It's just a shame I have to use my other cards and miss out on the rewards in the meantime.

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I plan on getting a charge card myself. At least for my first AmEx.

[MidnightVoice]

Just thought I would revive this.

I still like my Amex