Hi Everyone,
I apologize for the length of this post, but I will be providing all the info and DPs on the American Express Optima Card, from my experience. Please note this is by invitation only from AMEX on accounts they deem.
In a nutshell I was the victim of ID theft by my twin brother ( long story) - I found out he had opened an Everyday Card with Amex. In June of 2018 I was unable to make payments on my Blue Cash, and they cancelled it. With everything going on, I neglected it. About 2100 CO balance. I did attempt to explain the ID theft, but as we know sometimes Amex customer service is terrible when it comes to CCs. Fast forward to June 2019- I provided Amex with proper doccumentation for Fraud and they removed Everyday card from my profile. I tried multiple times to get BCE reinstated for PIF, to no avail. I again ignored this, as I had other issues to deal with. I feel its important to note that during this time, my card still shows up on my profile. I made a 500 payment directly to Amex on Janurary first 2020, despite being harrased by Radius Global Solutions. I was planning to pay remaining balance when I got my bonus from work and walk away. So here is the timeline-
- Received Optima letter in mail Feb 25th, dated Feb 19th ( I get images of my mail, so my curiosity peaked at work as I was getting bonus check that day)
- Feb 26th- Called in to Global Collections to make payment in full- 1200 remaining. I did push for 1000 limit, as letter said 500, which would not reflect the 50% of balance originally owed, they did correct in system.
- Feb 27th- Payment debited from account, and posted to Amex website as Agency Remittance
- Mar 20- Received Optima "Application" filled out, kept copy, and overnighted to Amex
-Mar 24th- received Hard Inquiry from Experian, Amex approval on site for Optima- called to see about overnighting, however due to shortages in staff I was told to expect the card in 10-14 business days via regular mail.
Attached are the images of letter and application. I will post card when it arrives. If I have missed something just let me know.
Reflects my experience. Some six years ago, I burned through my savings helping my family out during a very dire time and was unable to pay off my Gold Card balance. It was charged off to the tune of $2200. A collection agency got in touch about a month afterward. I got on a payment plan since my family situation, and thus my cash flow, had mostly stabilized by then. Took about 6 months if I remember. A month after sending the final payment, I got an Optima card application in the mail. I filled it out, sent it in, and got the card about a week or so later.
After a year of responsible use, I started applying for other Amex cards and eventually got my current lineup. I cancelled the Optima around the 2-year mark since it had served its purpose.
It was a humbling experience, but on the plus side, I got a few life lessons out of it.
I appreciate your experience as well. Yes, I took Optima because my goal is to get back and have a business gold, as well as personal platinum. Its been a slow proccess, but I am learning along the way.
Update- sorry for the delay folks. As promised here is a picture of the card. I actually am pretty happy with the design. After adding the card to my account there are hundreds of deals for cash back or percentage back which is nice. Ill let everyone know how use of the card goes.
@Anonymous wrote:Congrats on the card. I will have my optima card soon as well. In your story, You seemed very impatient with Amex. Why request an overnight knowing what's happening atm? Also you were pushing it asking for a balance increase before getting the card knowing this is a relationship rebuilding program. I just think you need to slow your role. Also your signature is misleading. No way you have those cards if you just got the optima. You should remove them, as it's being dishonest. Again congrats on the card, but slow down and work on getting that credit up and those relationships rebuilt. Good luck.
If you scroll over the cards or click on them in my case since I'm on a mobile device, you will see the other two Amex cards the OP has are authorized user cards. The first card in my signature, the Costco Visa, is a card I'm an authorized user on. You won't know that until you scroll/click for more information. 😉
@dacv01 wrote:Update- sorry for the delay folks. As promised here is a picture of the card. I actually am pretty happy with the design. After adding the card to my account there are hundreds of deals for cash back or percentage back which is nice. Ill let everyone know how use of the card goes.
Congratulations, @dacv01! Best wishes on your journey back into Amex's good graces! 😃