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Looking for Advice..

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baseball1313
Valued Member

Looking for Advice..

I just received a letter from american express saying I'm pre-selected to apply for AMEX Green.. My FICO Transunion is 698, Experian Plus is 639, Equifax is 638.I have about 68,000 in Student Loan Debt. I have a paid CO from Verizon for Final Bill discrepancy. That became a paid CO in June 2012. I have a a few lates with Chase and FPB from back in 2006, 2007 and one 30 day in 2010 with Express Charge. I've been vehemently working to have the CO taken off for the past 10 months and have had no success. I send a letter a week to Verizon. The other lates I've given up on becuase they either say they wont remove or don't respond to letters. The Chase was closed and will fall off next year and the FPB (oldest account 7.4 years) will have the late fall off next year as well. I also opened up a secured BOA card in December 12' for $400.00. I havent missed a payment. Plan to go unsecured in September 2013.

 

With that being said I was kind of surprised AMEX reached out to me. I applied online with the code provided in the letter,  and within 15 seconds I was approved for the AMEX Green. Does that sound surprising to anyone?

 

On a side note, First Premier Bank is the WORST company to deal with once you have graduated from bad credit and are looking to get CLI's. The only thing they did was lower my interest rate to 11.9% . They charge 6.00 monthly servicing fees, annual fee, and the BEST is the 25% CLI fee. They only give CLI's once a year, and $200 is their MAX. What a joke. I've been a customer for 7.4 years and they wont budge on CLI fee or caps on CLI. I havent missed a payment in 6 years!!! The only reason I keep the account is because they are my oldest account and keep my average at a decent number. Otherwise, I'd dump them. They have no plan for customers who build their credit over time.

 

As of right now, I have a BOA secured( $400), A FPB ( $550), A Express Charge ($250), and now an AMEX Green (not sure of the limit yet). Any advice on where to go next? Maybe sit and garden for a while? let my BOA unsecure before applying somewhere else?  I have 3 inquiries on my report as of now. Verizon, BOA and AMEX.


My Wallet- , AMEX Green (npsl), DiscoverIT- $8,500. Home Depot CC (Citi) $4,000. Care Credit CC- $12,800. BankAmericard - $900. Express(Comneity)- $550


TU FICO: 723 (6/24/13)
EQ FICO: 686(5/23/13)
EX FICO (AMEX PULL): 690(6/3/13)


Message 1 of 30
29 REPLIES 29
jsucool76
Super Contributor

Re: Looking for Advice..

Personally i would close that FP asap.
Message 2 of 30
webhopper
Moderator Emeritus

Re: Looking for Advice..

Personally, I would not apply for American Express given those scores.  Even though they are FAKOs, I do not feel that you'd be approved at this time.  Although, if you have a high income, or a great deal of investments, you might have a chance.

FICO 9:
Filed Chapter 13 on 6/1/2017 after job loss. Discharged 6/1/2022.

Goal: Gardening!


Message 3 of 30
jsucool76
Super Contributor

Re: Looking for Advice..

Web, OP said they were approved xD
Message 4 of 30
shanac
Frequent Contributor

Re: Looking for Advice..

Congratulations on the Amex! Being that it's a charge card, you should have a very high or no preset credit limit, correct?

iPhone. iTypos. iApologize

Current Score: EQ FICO 764 TU FICO 776 EX FICO 753
Goal Score: 800
Message 5 of 30
09Lexie
Moderator Emerita

Re: Looking for Advice..

Welcome to the forum and congrats on your Amex! The Green is a charge card (Npsl) and all charges are due in full. Amex has been a little quirky with their approvals so its not surprising.

I would finish working on your baddies, cancel FP and work in getting your existing CL's with boa and Exoress increased.

Good luck
Message 6 of 30
baseball1313
Valued Member

Re: Looking for Advice..

Thank you for your advice! I don't know if closing the FP would help my credit profile just because it my oldest account and my other cards are fairly new. My AAoA would drop off the table and I would lose almost half of my revolving credit limit. I know that my express is a charge card but it shows up as 250 credit available. What does amex show as on your credit report??
My Wallet- , AMEX Green (npsl), DiscoverIT- $8,500. Home Depot CC (Citi) $4,000. Care Credit CC- $12,800. BankAmericard - $900. Express(Comneity)- $550


TU FICO: 723 (6/24/13)
EQ FICO: 686(5/23/13)
EX FICO (AMEX PULL): 690(6/3/13)


Message 7 of 30
webhopper
Moderator Emeritus

Re: Looking for Advice..

I stand corrected!

 

Congrats and welcome to the Amex family!

FICO 9:
Filed Chapter 13 on 6/1/2017 after job loss. Discharged 6/1/2022.

Goal: Gardening!


Message 8 of 30
09Lexie
Moderator Emerita

Re: Looking for Advice..

Your AAOA would remain the same until the card drops of your CR's but Losing half of your revolving credit would be a bad idea. Your Amex will report your statement bal cause there isn't a CL.

Until you get your CL's up high enough so that you can close FP, then leave it open. Maybe when your boa graduates they will give you an increase!
Message 9 of 30
Laugh
Frequent Contributor

Re: Looking for Advice..

If you have money at hand, you can always increase the deposit on your BOA card. Beware, its an hard inquiry if you want to add money. Then you can cancel the FPB card. It is your longest tradeline, but it will remain on your credit report after termination so don't worry about AAOA.

 

What is your income? Your situation isn't as bad as it seems. Although its a collection, its already paid. And I'll assume that the amount isn't really high because I have verizon too. You can explain the collection during recon. On the other hand, the lates will kill you though.

 

Apply for the generic cards aimed at the general population, i.e. Chase freedom, Discover IT (heavily promoted right now), etc.

 

Also, if you're opted in for preapprovals, try the shopping cart trick for comenity cards.

 

If you're content with your lineup, head to the garden. Haha

Cards: CSP 6k, Chase Freedom 6k, BCP 7.5k, Sallie Mae 8.9k, Discover 5k, BOFA Better Rewards 3.8k
Message 10 of 30
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