When to try again?

[HIzzie]

Hi everyone!

I'm new here. I have been reading the forums for a couple of months now and decided that I might as well create an account.

Recently after reading a few threads here, I got excited and decided to apply for a couple of cards.

First to give some background:
I have 6 credit card accounts.
AAoA 4 years, 6 months
Oldest account 6 years, 5 months
Utl: 86% (I know it's high, I'm working on it)
No baddies, no late payments 
2 car loans that were paid off Dec. 2012.
2 HP's  

5 cards currently carry a balance but 3 will be PIF at the end of the month.
The other 2 I am paying down over time...
GOAL: 1 PIF by the end of the year and the other PIF by the middle of next year if not sooner.

I applied for the Discover IT card and was approved for 1K which I was surprised because my ULT is high. It wasn't an instant approval. I got the message of 7-10 day letter stating more information was needed. I chalked this up to being denied and didn't bother writing down the phone number it told me to call. A couple days later while at work, they called to verify my employment (employment length 7 years) then the phone rep said that I was approved for 1K and to expect to receive my card in the mail. 

After that, I decided to jump the gun and applied for the American Express Blue Cash Everyday card and was denied.
Reasoning was:

Credit card balance too high in relation to credit limit
Number of accounts had high utilizations
TU Fico 685
 
I really want to add the American Express Blue Cash card to my collection. At what point should I try again?

[edited to modify the proper card name]

[BearsAndTurtlesRtheBest]

AE as in American Eagle issued by GE?

You meant AE as in American Express got you.

[HeilFico]

UTIL is extremely high. You are teetering on AA from the issuers you already have. Garden and pay off your debts to at least 20% before wasting additional HP's. Discover probably wanted to make sure you actually had a job given the high UTIL. That was probably why a call was made there. Count your blessings, and pay down!

[BearsAndTurtlesRtheBest]

Well for sure re-apply once that UTL lowers

[shane82388]

What is the actual re-apply period if you are already a AMEX customer? 30 days?

[HIzzie]

Thank you for your response.

As stated above, 3 will be PIF at the end of this month and that's exactly what I plan to do....get the UTL WAYY down.

So I should wait to apply again when my overall UTL is below 20% or since it's American Express should I aim lower for UTL then re-apply?

Also, what are some of the FICO's from users here that have been approved for the American Express Everyday Cash Card?

[HeilFico]

I would get the UTIL as low as financially possible before trying again. 20% or less and try to keep it to 1-2 cards. 1 card optimally...

Keep in mind, AMEX will check your credit once a month after acceptance. You can't let it get this high again if you want to keep your new card...

[HIzzie]

@HeilFico - Oh no...this is not an ongoing situation. NOT happening again

[09Lexie]

I agree, the util is extremely high-glad you are going to get it handled. Dd Amex triple pull you? What are your other CS?

[Gatortrout]

I was in a similar situation earlier this year. I never knew it was a big deal to carry larger balances. I lurked here for quite a while and learned a lot!

I paid all my cards off and let 1% report on ONE card when I got ready to app (I read on here over and over that was for optimal scoring). Doing that bumped my EX score to 751. I apped for BCP, then CSP, then Discover IT. Approved for all three... Had I apped when my balances were so hi I'm positive I would have been denied for all 3.

My history is very similar to yours, pay those balances and I'm sure there will be no problem getting approved.