How long should I wait to reapply for amex...

[Amnesia87]

Ok, so I recently applied for a few different cards, one of which was the Amex Blue Cash for which I was denied, so I'm trying to figure out how long I should wait before I app for the Amex Zync and/or possibly the Blue Cash again.

At the moment I believe there are 4 possibly 5 inq on my account (I believe AT&T has one on 1 of the reports, and an appartment complex has 1 on another.)

I've had my USAA Platinum card for like 4 years now, and then I have my 3 student loans around the same age giving me a little bit better AAOA

Since the begining of the month I have apped:

Citi Forward: Approved $2300
Amex Blue Cash: Denied
USAA CLI: Denied
Discover More: Approved $4000

So now I have a Visa, a MC and a Discover, but I'd really like to have Amex as well, honestly I'm bouncing back and forth between the Zync and the Gold card for whenever I do apply.

When I called Amex for recon they pretty much said they don't do recon (I honestly don't know if this is true) and they told me that I have to wait at least 90 days to reapply or I will get auto rejected (despite all the letters and whatnot from the denial stating 30 days) I also asked about applying for the Zync and they said the same 90 day window applies.

So is it even worth reapping at 90 days? Or should I wait 6months, 1 year? etc

I only have 2 real goals for my credit right now, one is to get my score a bit higher to be eligable for a good interest rate so I can buy a newer car in about a year, the other is to get an Amex card lol. So I'm just trying to figure out how to best go about doing that.

Thanks

[Anonymous]

What were the reasons of denial?

[Anonymous]

I would wait at least 6 months and get the utilization down in the meantime to as low as possible. It's better to be approved in six months with a great starting limit than pushing your luck and reapplying after 90 days with a potentially lower limit. Also, after six months, most banks stop getting upset about "recent inquiries."

I think you've got some good cards to use in the meantime. Six months is nothing for a serious credit builder. Time (and patience, I guess) is of the essence! Also, ask yourself: Do I really need this card RIGHT NOW or is it just my itchy finger that wants to apply and add a card to my portfolio? I've asked myself that and have decided to wait in a few cases. In the meantime, you'll cease being seen a risk because your new accounts will have a little six-month payment history under their belt, and you will appear as someone who can handle new credit well.

Good luck!

[Amnesia87]

Here's the letter:

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Thank you for your recent application for the Blue Cash SM from American Express.  After reviewing your request, regrettably, we are unable to open an account for you at this time for the following reason(s):

Your American Express Acquisition Risk Score is too high  (See below)

Your application was processed using our American Express Proprietary Acquisition Risk Scoring System which assigns a numerical value to the various items of information we consider in evaluating an application.  Your application's total score exceeded our threshold for approval at this time.  Listed below are the reasons that you did not score well compared with other applicants.  (For reasons based on information in a credit report, the name of the consumer reporting agency is identified.)

- Your consumer credit bureau score from Experian is too low  (See below)
- High utilization of credit lines or insufficient utilization information (Experian)
- In our estimation, the amount you have paid on your bank and retail credit card accounts over the last twelve months is too low. (Experian)
- Amount of credit available on accounts (Experian)  

Your consumer credit bureau score mentioned above was determined using a scoring system that evaluated the information in your file at the consumer reporting agency named above.  The following are the primary factors in your credit report that affected your credit bureau score:

- Proportion of revolving balances to revolving credit limits is too high.
- Length of time accounts have been established.
- Proportion of loan balances to loan amounts is too high.
- Too many inquiries last 12 months.

Our credit decision was based in whole or in part on information obtained in a report from the consumer reporting agency(ies) listed in this letter.  Please understand that the reporting agency(ies) played no part in our decision and cannot supply you with specific reasons why we denied credit to you. You have a right under the Fair Credit Reporting Act to obtain a free copy of your report from the reporting agency, if you request it no later than 60 days after you receive this notice.  If you find that any information contained in the report you receive is inaccurate or incomplete, you have the right to dispute the matter with the reporting agency.

An important notice concerning your rights is included.  The creditor is American Express Centurion Bank.

Applicants who were not approved for a new account at one time may qualify in the future. You are welcome to apply for any of our cards, but please wait at least 30 days before submitting a new application.

To learn more about protecting your credit, visit our Consumer Resources page at www.americanexpress.com/consumerresources.  If you have any questions, please call 800-567-1083 or write to us at the address above.

Thank you for your interest in our service.

Sincerely,
[Edited by marinevietvet, myFICO moderator to remove personal information ]

Vice President and General Manager

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I found out part of the problem was that my new Citi card hadn't reported it's limit to EX yet, so while I thought my utilization was like 20%, EX showed around 80%.

The loan balances is related to my student loans, not much I can do there other than slowly pay them off.

Admittedly the amount I had paid onto my card over the year was fairly low, I'd had it pretty much maxed out for around 9 months this year, and have only recently been able to pay it down, never missed a payment or was late though.

The amount of credit available is back to the first issue. My USAA card has a limit of $1000, the last time the card reported it had $800 on it still (it now has $125...) and my new Citi Forward has a limit of $2300, but EX doesn't know that yet. So all they saw was limit $1000 usage $800. I also just got approved for a Discover More card with $4000 CL, bought christmas gifts on my Citi Card, so it has around $1600 on it now, USAA still is at $125, but both should be PIF or almost there by the statement date, So next month my utilization should be around $200-300 out of my now available $7300. Once they are payed back down with my next 2 paychecks, I plan to PIF every month.

[Anonymous]

That's unfortunate, maybe wait another 6-12 months before you app again.

Good Luck!

[Amnesia87]

I'm not too worried about it, just trying to be informed, because I do really want an Amex card.

I'm actually quite happy with the cards I ended up with, honestly I'm most disapointed that USAA denied my CLI, though I understand why they did. It's just a shame that it's my oldest card, and I'm probably not going to use it much at all until it does get a CLI.

I should be able to start building my score with my new limits and the better pay I'm getting at my new job. I plan on using my CCs pretty much exclusively in place of my debit cards, and then PIF every month.

[Ron1]

I think you have better chance to get approved for Amex Zync after six months.

Ron.