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Shooting for Amex....

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BrickTime
Established Member

Shooting for Amex....

I had an AMEX Green back in the 1990's and it was closed by them, but immediately paid in full by me.  It had a member date of since 1996.  Over the years, I have handled credit well, and I have had times where I completely screwed things up. What I am wanting is some prime cards, and the top of that list for me is AMEX PRG and BCE.  My middle score is a 659 currently.

 

The good:  3 credit cards open, perfect payment history going back to 2005.

                   No current inquiries on Experian, 4 on Equifax, and 1 on TU

                   WF Auto Loan, 36 months into 60 Term.  absolute perfect payment history (pay more than minimum since inception0

                   Oldest account 18 years, average of account 8 years

                   Verifiable income of 75,000 per year.

                   No public records, BK, repo, judgements, liens, etc.

 

The Bad:  30, 60, 90, 120 lates on Student loan, but nothing late since 2009.  Everything current now.

                  2 charge-offs credit cards.  One never paid due to fall off report in 2013.  One paid in full in collections in 2011. (last activity had been 2007)

                  No mortgage.

                  63% Util.

 

my question is do I have a decent chance of getting approved for AMEX in my current situation?  I realize that a revolver would be hard to get, what what about PRG?  Should I just sit in the garden for another year or two instead?  My score has been stuck where it is for about a year now.  Not sure what else to do other than getting my utilization down.  I should be able to get utilization under 15% within a few months at the most.  Has anyone been approved for an AMEX with a comparable profile to mine?  I really don't want the Delta Gold Amex because I don't really ever fly Delta and even if I did, I have heard that it is pretty worthless card for reward miles/redemption.  Any advice would be great!

                 

Chase Southwest Airlines Signature Visa 18k, Wells Fargo Platinum Rewards 15.5k, Capital One Venture World MasterCard 8.5k, American Express PR Gold- NPSL, American Express Hilton Honors Surpass 8k, Home Depot 7k, Capital One Rewards 3.75k, Wells Fargo PLOC 10k. all 3 scores 735-740.
Message 1 of 8
7 REPLIES 7
trumpet-205
Valued Contributor

Re: Shooting for Amex....

You know you can PC Delta Gold right away to BCE right?

 

To be honest, 90 and 120 days late are going to be a deal braker here. Especially 120 days late, it is almost as bad as a collection.

Message 2 of 8
09Lexie
Moderator Emerita

Re: Shooting for Amex....


@BrickTime wrote:

I had an AMEX Green back in the 1990's and it was closed by them, but immediately paid in full by me.  It had a member date of since 1996.  Over the years, I have handled credit well, and I have had times where I completely screwed things up. What I am wanting is some prime cards, and the top of that list for me is AMEX PRG and BCE.  My middle score is a 659 currently.

 

The good:  3 credit cards open, perfect payment history going back to 2005.

                   No current inquiries on Experian, 4 on Equifax, and 1 on TU

                   WF Auto Loan, 36 months into 60 Term.  absolute perfect payment history (pay more than minimum since inception0

                   Oldest account 18 years, average of account 8 years

                   Verifiable income of 75,000 per year.

                   No public records, BK, repo, judgements, liens, etc.

 

The Bad:  30, 60, 90, 120 lates on Student loan, but nothing late since 2009.  Everything current now.

                  2 charge-offs credit cards.  One never paid due to fall off report in 2013.  One paid in full in collections in 2011. (last activity had been 2007)

                  No mortgage.

                  63% Util.

 

my question is do I have a decent chance of getting approved for AMEX in my current situation?  I realize that a revolver would be hard to get, what what about PRG?  Should I just sit in the garden for another year or two instead?  My score has been stuck where it is for about a year now.  Not sure what else to do other than getting my utilization down.  I should be able to get utilization under 15% within a few months at the most.  Has anyone been approved for an AMEX with a comparable profile to mine?  I really don't want the Delta Gold Amex because I don't really ever fly Delta and even if I did, I have heard that it is pretty worthless card for reward miles/redemption.  Any advice would be great!

                 


I wish I could speak from Amex experience but in my rejection letter Smiley Sadlast month, they said my balances were too high to limit and my util was only 10% (stupid mid cycle reporting) and amount of recent accounts.  The score from my Exp was 702, oldest account 28 years, AAOA 8 years, $300 coll due to fall off in March, paid mortgage, paying on student loans forever- no lates, new Chase auto loan 6mos but all revolving credit was new-so off to the garden I go unil 2013.  My 'new credit' will be almost 9 mos.

 

Hope that gives you some help in your decision.   

Message 3 of 8
BrickTime
Established Member

Re: Shooting for Amex....

Thanks for the feedback. I think I pretty much knew what the answer was going to be, but was holding out that maybe I could get my foot in the door with a 650ish score- at least a charge card. 3 years removed from the 90 and 120 baddies. Hoped that start to gradually fade in factoring my score more than it has. Just tired of a stagnant score and don't want to waste an inquiry until I have a reasonable chance.
Chase Southwest Airlines Signature Visa 18k, Wells Fargo Platinum Rewards 15.5k, Capital One Venture World MasterCard 8.5k, American Express PR Gold- NPSL, American Express Hilton Honors Surpass 8k, Home Depot 7k, Capital One Rewards 3.75k, Wells Fargo PLOC 10k. all 3 scores 735-740.
Message 4 of 8
webhopper
Moderator Emeritus

Re: Shooting for Amex....

You can try for gold or green. I got zync with a paid public record and a paid collection; and a 90 day on a wells Fargo cc reporting.

Be prepared for a decline though... I would say your chances are probably 50/50
FICO 9:
Filed Chapter 13 on 6/1/2017 after job loss. Discharged 6/1/2022.

Goal: Gardening!


Message 5 of 8
HiLine
Blogger

Re: Shooting for Amex....

Do you have a particular reason to possess an Amex card soon? If not, gardening for a couple of months will help your chances a lot.... Your score seems too low, even for charge cards.

Message 6 of 8
webhopper
Moderator Emeritus

Re: Shooting for Amex....


@HiLine wrote:

Do you have a particular reason to possess an Amex card soon? If not, gardening for a couple of months will help your chances a lot.... Your score seems too low, even for charge cards.


 

His income is high and file is probably thick.... I think he should go for it and if declined just wait 6 months.
FICO 9:
Filed Chapter 13 on 6/1/2017 after job loss. Discharged 6/1/2022.

Goal: Gardening!


Message 7 of 8
BrickTime
Established Member

Re: Shooting for Amex....

It's not critical that I get one soon, but I travel a lot for work and get fully reimbursed so I could really take advantage if the Amex benefits. Also, I am anxious to replace the Capital One rebuilders with prime cards like Amex and Hilton Honors, CSP, etc.
Chase Southwest Airlines Signature Visa 18k, Wells Fargo Platinum Rewards 15.5k, Capital One Venture World MasterCard 8.5k, American Express PR Gold- NPSL, American Express Hilton Honors Surpass 8k, Home Depot 7k, Capital One Rewards 3.75k, Wells Fargo PLOC 10k. all 3 scores 735-740.
Message 8 of 8
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