higherground wrote:
This is my first time posting and my issue is with Amex. Fifteen years ago I had great credit, which included an Amex card. Then I went back to graduate school and due to decreased earnings, I had problems paying them and lost the card. Now, many years later, with good earnings, on-time payments and other long-term credit, my credit scores are in the 700s. The Amex account has long been removed from my credit report. Amex has sent me many "pre-approved" offers of credit, probably computer generated and based on my scores. However, after the second time I sent off an application and was denied, I got a letter from them which indicates they keep their own lists forever more, so your 17 year old debt struck a chord. Anyway, they recently sent me an "offer" to pay off the balance and qualify for re-instatement with their Optima card. I am wondering if this is similar to your experience with them and wonder if there is a catch somewhere? I also wondered if paying off this balance would generate any negatives on my credit report or somehow reset the SOL? Any information you can provide would be appreciated.
Thanks.
There is no catch. The program you are referring to is called Oasis. Do a search on myFICO for lots of threads about Amex Oasis.
Basically, in exchange for payment in full of your delinquent balance, you can receive an Optima card with a CL equal to half the amount you paid to get current (I believe it has a $5K cap). Your Optima card will show your original membership date, and if your old delinquency were still reporting, it would have been updated to show a clean history.
During the time you are participating in the program, however, you will not be eligible for any CLI and you will not be able to receive any additional cards from Amex. After a year or so, they may graduate you from the program, at which point the CLI and new account resrictions would be lifted.
