Which amex should I app for?

[doublespaces]

I know they pull EX. I've never app'd for American Express before. Should have 0 or 1 INQ's when I app.

Experian report will have: 30 day late in nov 2010 on an auto loan that is current, 30 day late in feb 2010 for same loan. 90 and 120 late on an SL from 2006. Thats it. Should be around a 720 FICO on all three, my TU will be a little higher since there are no lates on the SL showing. I currently only have two CC's, 300 from orchard and 400 slate from chase(was higher but they lowered my CL when I was having credit problems).

Also, in terms of proving income, do they have some way to check without the 45XX transcript request form? I made about 40k adjusted in 2009, 40k in 2010 and will be about 90k+ in 2011.

On a side note, my Fiance just got at costco CLI from 2500 or so to 5k today.

[haulingthescoreup]

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@doublespaces wrote:

I know they pull EX. I've never app'd for American Express before. Should have 0 or 1 INQ's when I app.

Experian report will have: 30 day late in nov 2010 on an auto loan that is current, 30 day late in feb 2010 for same loan. 90 and 120 late on an SL from 2006. Thats it. Should be around a 720 FICO on all three, my TU will be a little higher since there are no lates on the SL showing. I currently only have two CC's, 300 from orchard and 400 slate from chase(was higher but they lowered my CL when I was having credit problems).

Also, in terms of proving income, do they have some way to check without the 45XX transcript request form? I made about 40k adjusted in 2009, 40k in 2010 and will be about 90k+ in 2011.

On a side note, my Fiance just got at costco CLI from 2500 or so to 5k today.

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I don't think your issue will be the number of inqs. It's the recent lates, one less than a year old. That's a tough one to get past AmEx.

Also, the fact that you only have two cards, both low limit, isn't going to help.

I'd wait until both 30-days are over two years old, or at least the older one is, i.e., Feb 2010. In the meantime, you might consider going on your fiance's Costco card as an AU.

[stan_the_man]

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@doublespaces wrote:

I know they pull EX. I've never app'd for American Express before. Should have 0 or 1 INQ's when I app.

Experian report will have: 30 day late in nov 2010 on an auto loan that is current, 30 day late in feb 2010 for same loan. 90 and 120 late on an SL from 2006. Thats it. Should be around a 720 FICO on all three, my TU will be a little higher since there are no lates on the SL showing. I currently only have two CC's, 300 from orchard and 400 slate from chase(was higher but they lowered my CL when I was having credit problems).

Also, in terms of proving income, do they have some way to check without the 45XX transcript request form? I made about 40k adjusted in 2009, 40k in 2010 and will be about 90k+ in 2011.

On a side note, my Fiance just got at costco CLI from 2500 or so to 5k today.

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That late just 7 months ago may spook Amex. I would think you might have trouble getting a revolver from Amex because of that.

If you really want an Amex card, you might have to get a charge card. The general concensus is that no Amex charge card is harder to get than another, so pick the one you like best if you're going to go for a charge card.

[Anonymous]

Zync and green seem to be easiest. Someone in the executive office implied in a conversation that green is easier to get then zync. Amex is a tough cookie. Always be sure to pif and on time if you get a card with them and don't have high balances showing on your other cards.

My impression from reading the boards. Searching this board you might have the most luck with the zync. Then I've heard of people being approved for gold off the bat as well. I actually recently apped for an amex, a bit soon after I paid off an 9 yr old debt (had been sick)... probably should have waited but it's in the 7-10 day period so we'll see, maybe lol.

but yea I'd try green, zync, or maybe delta with those scores. Amex uses some sort of risk management system, the cards you carry, income, and other things are factored into the decision as well... and patterns of credit usage. But I wouldn't worry about it, nobody has quite figured it all out yet They look at everything... I think you're going about things correctly though from what I've seen, good luck!

As far as income goes they can't check without tax infor unless there is some publically available info (tax lien? -- I'm guessing here so it might not be right) or if you're a federal employee. 

  If for some reason they don't approve you, your fiance could add you as an AU, they do factor payment on that in as well.

Also, try the pre-selector on the website and see what comes up... sometimes it's easier to get approved on the first try. You could also see about getting a GW adjustment on that late, might help.

[stan_the_man]

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@haulingthescoreup wrote:

I don't think your issue will be the number of inqs. It's the recent lates, one less than a year old. That's a tough one to get past AmEx.

Also, the fact that you only have two cards, both low limit, isn't going to help.

I'd wait until both 30-days are over two years old, or at least the older one is, i.e., Feb 2010. In the meantime, you might consider going on your fiance's Costco card as an AU.

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DW got Zync with her last late, a CO, being 22 months old -- so you may not need to wait two years, but two would certainly be safer.

Also, you might want to try to Amex pre-approval site to see see what happens:

https://www201.americanexpress.com/secure/my-special-offers

[haulingthescoreup]

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@stan_the_man wrote:

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@haulingthescoreup wrote:

I don't think your issue will be the number of inqs. It's the recent lates, one less than a year old. That's a tough one to get past AmEx.

Also, the fact that you only have two cards, both low limit, isn't going to help.

I'd wait until both 30-days are over two years old, or at least the older one is, i.e., Feb 2010. In the meantime, you might consider going on your fiance's Costco card as an AU.

---

DW got Zync with her last late, a CO, being 22 months old -- so you may not need to wait two years, but two would certainly be safer.

Also, you might want to try to Amex pre-approval site to see see what happens:

https://www201.americanexpress.com/secure/my-special-offers

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Very true --I keep forgetting about the charge cards!

I sure wouldn't try until that most recent one goes over a year, though; preferably longer.

[winstars]

New here with a question...

At the Amex pre approval site on the form it says that they may check your credit in addition to seeing if you have any preapproved offers. Are they doing a hard pull or soft??? Thanks!!!

[stan_the_man]

Soft.

[winstars]

Thanks  for the quick response!!!

So I went there and it said there were no preexisting offers for me. After a former GF did some damage to my credit about 15 years ago, I opted out and believe I still am since I never get any junk mail with CC offers. So am I correct in thinking that by my opting out there are no offers are in their database???

My big question is they had selected 4 cards for me to apply for: a couple of golds and a platinum and one other "good" one. Do the type of cards the offered me to apply for mean anything as far what they saw on there soft pull???

[doublespaces]

Great insight. 

How hard is it to become an AU of her card? Does that affect her or my credit rating in a negative way at all? She PIF every month, has 700+ scores and never carries much of a balance. I am going for pre-approval in around august/september for my house. If she has had a card for a few years, do you think its worth doing?