What will Amex give me?

[Anonymous]

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@NADA918 wrote:

What did your credit profile look like before you got zync?

Given your situation, do you think I would be approved without getting the Zync?

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Before the Zync all i had was my BoA card. that was 18months old with a $700CL.

Never late on any payments and always paid in full.

Crappy card with average rewards. Applied for chase freedom and Zync the same day, both approved.

Only reason why i applied for Zync was because i wanted the BCE, was going to wait at least 10 months before applying, but couldnt resist on such a good card.Very glad i had apped for Zync, to get my foot in.

Totaling 7 months after my Zync, applied for BCE.

I say i was running pretty thin on being approved for BCE, with annual income at 11k and not really that much history.

[NADA918]

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@Odiseous wrote:

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@NADA918 wrote:

So I should have one of my cc's report a $0 balance, and the other less than 9%? 

All of this info is from freecreditreport.com

It says I have 2 inquiries, the wells cc is over 2 years old, and the discover was opened in December. 

I have had the car loan since Jan.

What are AAoA's? Sorry I'm new here. 

Even with my low income, you think they will approve me for a revolving card?

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I was approved for AmEx Blue Cash with a Fako creditreport.com score of 715. At the time; I had over a dozen inquiries on Ex, shorter AAOA (oldest account was 16 months), and lower limits on my cards ($900, $500, $500, & $1500), utilization less than 9%. 

The only thing I see getting in your way, might be that your prfile might be a little 'thin'.

I say go it. App for the card you want. Zync is the backup plan. 

If you get declined (or get the 7/14 day response); recon immediately (App during normal working hours, during the week, so you can recon same day).

If you still get declined on the recon; promptly App for the Zync on the same day (so you only get hit with 1 inquiry).

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So you are saying get the utilization under 9% and apply. If I don't get approved instantly what is recon?

[Odiseous]

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So you are saying get the utilization under 9% and apply. If I don't get approved instantly what is recon?

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Yep, utilization less than 9% (reporting to the CRs). 

'Recon' is short for 'reconsideration' of your App, by a live human being. Check out the 'backdoor numbers' sticky, at the top of the forums. 

Based on the info in the sticky; you may need to pay for a credit report, prior to calling. I cannot confirm, as they approved me when I Apped online, so I didn't need to recon.  

[NADA918]

My next question:

I want to get the preferred card instead of everyday. Does anyone know if it makes a difference as far as being approved?

[Anonymous]

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@NADA918 wrote:

My next question:

I want to get the preferred card instead of everyday. Does anyone know if it makes a difference as far as being approved?

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My guess is that it might be a little harder to get the Preferred card because of its rewards, it's quite possibly one of the best, if not the best rewards card out there, if you use it at grocery stores (6% cashback) (3% cashback at gas stations and fashion stores IIRC) (1% everywhere else).

When I say it's the best cashback card out there I am really referring to using it for grocery shopping (which everyone does, buys groceries that is) and the 3% at gas stations is pretty good, only my Discover (during it's quarterly 5% gas station cashback) beats it, and it's 1% cashback everywhere else is just ok, there are better cards out there for "everyday" purchases.

The Preferred has a $75AF, that you can easily offset by using it every week at the grocery store (the fee is waived the first year) I've had my Preferred for almost a month and have already ran over $500 thru it at the grocery store which means I've already earned $30, not to mention the $150 I've used for gas so far this month which is $4.50, so I've already earned $34.50 just this 3/4 of a month, I'm expecting to earn somewhere around $375-$500 a year on this card. I normally spend $150-$200 a week at the grocery store alone, I've only had this card since the 9th of October. So I missed one Saturday (thats when I do my grocery shopping)

I don't want to tell you NOT to app for the Preferred Card, but I DO think it will be harder to get.

Best of Luck, keep us updated!

[SevenNEW]

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@NADA918 wrote:

My next question:

I want to get the preferred card instead of everyday. Does anyone know if it makes a difference as far as being approved?

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I don't think it makes a difference -- after all they do get the AF to compensate for the higher benefits.

You can always apply for BCP and if it doesn't work you can call recon and settle for BCE...

I would say go for it if you have the right score!

[Anonymous]

I re-read your thread.

IMO, 14% UTIL Is still good,  and I don't think it would prevent an approval. IDEAL utilization is 9% or less, but not everyone holds an ideal utilization and plenty of people still get approved. Your UTIL is still low IMO and I think will reflect in a positive manner.

Zync is pretty easy to secure even with a thin credit profile. I think you would get instant approval for that card. My 19 year old is a student and got approved for Zync with a very thin file. Others on this Board have received approvals for Zync with 6 month credit history. Amex charge products are easier to get than their revolvers. You would probably also be approved for Green or Gold. However, if a charge product is not what you want, then I wouldn't bother with it. It may be a good back-up for you if you do not get the revolver card you want. 

If I were in your shoes, I would apply for the card that I wanted first. That would be the PREFERRED. 

I originally applied for the Blue Cash Everyday and was approved. When I received the card, I wanted to upgrade it to the preferred. Because the Preferred carries an annual fee, they can not do a product change for 13 months (new Credit Laws).Amex can PC the card into another non-fee revolver, but not a revolver that carriers an AF. I was told if I wanted preferred NOW, that I would have to do another application and take another hit on my report. 

The Amex site is a little weird too. If you get the "needs further review" message, check the status of the application online right away. I got that message when I applied, and before calling in, I checked the status of the application and it said APPROVED. Weird. If it says it is still processing, then call them. I had to do this recently with Chase, and all I said was, " Hi there....I just applied for ____________and I see that further review is necessary. I just want to know if there is any other information you need from me to obtain an approval". What usually follows is a verbal confirmation of my address and income.

If you get a denial, then call for a recon. If you get denial after recon, then call again. You will get a different CSR. If still no go, then you may want to consider getting your foot in the door with a charge product first.

[Anonymous]

I too just re-read your OP, and I think with 14% util and a 730 EX is right on the fence for an AmEx revolver, BTW, you say your EX is 730 is that a FICO or a Plus or some other FAKO score?

I apped for the Blue Cash 3/11 I did not know my true EX FICO, however, my EX Plus was like a 727 and I was instant approved 2K (now 6K). (and a CO on my report, gone now tho)

I just apped for the Blue Cash Preferred 8/02/11 and was instant approved 5K, AmEx also sent me a letter Congratulating me and also provided me my EX FICO 786, whereas my Plus score is a 761.

I would still still get my util to 9% or less before apping and only show ONE CC reporting a small bal, this in only my opinion, I just prefer to be on the safe side when I decide to app for a CC, especially a Prime CC like an AmEx.

I have 4 AmEx CC's and this is how I had my reports showing when I apped for all of them.

14% util, 9% util, not a big difference, but why not get it under 9% before apping, it can only help, not hurt. But most importantly, only have ONE CC reporting a small bal at the time of app, Again just my opinion.

Wishing you the Best of Luck, keep us updated.

[NADA918]

The score is from freecreditrepot.com, therefore I believe it is my plus score. My biggest concern is that my discover card has the $750 cl and that may make them concerned to give me one. I don't understand why discover is so stingy when I have been perfect.

[NADA918]

Also, I am going to apply once I get utilization under 10%. How long does it take for the cc company to report the new statement amount to the credit bureaus?