Is Dillards AMEX an actual AMEX?

[creditisbetter2]

I am having a bit of confusion here.  I was shopping at dillards and I really like some of the things they have in their store so when the sales associate asked if I wanted to open an account, i said sure.  I wasn't aware that they had an AMEX co branded card, I assumed i'd get a store card because that's all I was interested in.  I found out that I got approved for the Amex card with a $1200 CL.  I guess my question is, is this a real amex card or is this a dillards card with an amex logo on it?  If it's not an amex card, what's the purpose of the amex logo?

[Smerri1029]

It is issued through a different bank but transactions are processed on the American Express Network. It is not issued through American Express Bank like the Green/Gold/Costco TE/Blue Cash.

[Walt_K]

It uses the Amex payment network which is why it has the Amex logo on it but is not offered by Centurion Bank.  When people refer to a real Amex, they generally mean one that is offered by Centurion Bank.  One way to look at this is that all Visa/MC are co-branded in a sense because Visa/MC are payment networks (and I'm not aware of any Visa/MC bank).  They partner with different banks to offer their cards.  Amex happens to have its own bank. 

[creditisbetter2]

I gotcha.  You would think I would know this considering I used to work for Chase CC division but I've never used an amex so I wasn't sure if the rules were the same with their logo.  Sounds good to me.

[tinuviel]

---

@creditisbetter2 wrote:

I gotcha.  You would think I would know this considering I used to work for Chase CC division but I've never used an amex so I wasn't sure if the rules were the same with their logo.  Sounds good to me.

---

Congrats!

I also applied for one last Friday. Like you, I expected to get the store card, only to find out that I had been approved for the AMEX version. The new account has already posted to all three CRAs and according to one of my credit monitoring services it's showing as a major credit card as opposed to a store card. If I understand correctly, according to some scoring models this is actually a good thing. Does anyone else here have any insight on this?

ETA: Another way of putting this is that while the Dillard's AMEX is not issued by Centurion bank, it's an actual AMEX in the same sense that a Best Buy RZ MC is an actual MasterCard -- they are for scoring purposes, and they are accepted by merchants as the respective major credit cards.

[creditisbetter2]

Thanks tinuviel, you and I have some similar things going on here.  I also have a credit monitoring service that alerted me when they did the pull and it would be great if this is a credit booster.  In fact I think that's the same day I applied lol.

[Wolf3]

---

@Walt_K wrote:

It uses the Amex payment network which is why it has the Amex logo on it but is not offered by Centurion Bank.  When people refer to a real Amex, they generally mean one that is offered by Centurion Bank.  One way to look at this is that all Visa/MC are co-branded in a sense because Visa/MC are payment networks (and I'm not aware of any Visa/MC bank).  They partner with different banks to offer their cards.  Amex happens to have its own bank. 

---

VISA originates from Bank of America (BankAmericard).   Citi started Mastercard.   American Express started AMEX network..  Discover started Discover network.

All the networks are too big for a single bank.  

[tntexans72]

I just applied online for a Dillard store card and it came back with: we'll get back to you in 7-10 days and provided a reference number. This is my 1st time applying for any department card. Is this normal? Does it mean I was denied or approved? I thought it was common to for them to approved right away online?? Should I call them any reference their reference # to see if I was approved?

Has any one here applied for a Dillards store card encounter the same thing??

[tinuviel]

---

@tntexans72 wrote:

I just applied online for a Dillard store card and it came back with: we'll get back to you in 7-10 days and provided a reference number. This is my 1st time applying for any department card. Is this normal? Does it mean I was denied or approved? I thought it was common to for them to approved right away online?? Should I call them any reference their reference # to see if I was approved?

Has any one here applied for a Dillards store card encounter the same thing??

---

That's EXACTLY what happened to me when I applied online last Friday. I thought that meant that I had been denied. But, they called me at the phone number that I had provided and asked me a few security questions to verify my identitiy. After the CSR finished with the questions, she informed me that I had been approved for the Dillard's AMEX. If an unfamiliar number comes up on the caller ID of your phone, that may well be them calling. Good luck!

[tntexans72]

Thank you, I will keep my fingers crossed.