Building Credit Card Score from Germany

[deni100]

Hi guys,

so i made the global Transfer from Germany to the US and i started with the American Express Green. Will later apply for Gold and then Platinum, but what my point is --> Those 3 are charge cards and do not have a LIMIT.

I get the Green card round about 2 weeks ago and i have ITIN. I understood that the utilization rate is not affected because there is not "Limit", that is bad for building my score here in the US.

Would it be logical to apply for the BLUE, because its not a charging card, but a revolving? I have round about 30K Spending Power at the green actual, what do you guys think would Amex gave me for a limit? My spending limit for the platinum in germany was round about 85k dollar.

[AndySoCal]

@deni100  If you use the Amex Green Card is a charge card where the balance is due in full each month. You do not need to worry about credit utilization. If you use the pay over time feature this will make the card credit card and Amex will assign you a limit and this will affect your credit utilization.

edited to add

https://www.forbes.com/advisor/credit-cards/how-do-charge-cards-affect-your-credit-score/ 

[FicoMike0]

Welcome to the U.S. And the forum.

I don't know how being new to the U.S. affects your credit. Maybe you can educate us.

I would suppose you have no credit history here. If that's the case, you might want to build some. I was in a similar situation about two years ago, I was "credit retired", I hadn't used credit for so long, I had no score.

Since you have an existing relationship with amex, that gives you a start. The blue, either bce or bcp, would be a good start. You seem to understand utilization, which has a big impact on credit scores. 

Many practice azeo, if you look up the term you will find a lot of info. 

Since I had long paid off my mortgage and had no other loans, I used a ssl to boost my scores 30-40 points. Again, look up the term. If interested, post and we'll explain.

Viel Gluck!

[deni100]

Thank you very much for your responses, i understand that its a good choice to go for a Amex Blue. I also have the dilemma that i have "foreign transaction fees" problem, cause i am the most part of the time actually in Germany. So is it logical to take the Amex Blue and have it in the portfolio to show FICO that i have now a "Credit Card" with limit, even if i am not using it so often. Eventually i could use it so, that i have only 1-5% of the UR so fico see that i using it.

Also the Hilton Credit Card as an example has no foreign transaction fees, is it also a revolving card? Then eventually this is more logical, cause i could also take the bonuses and use the CC outside of the US

[deni100]

Available Pay Over Time Limit

$1,143.18

Total Pay Over Time Limit
$1,250.00 This is the first month of my credit card. That means American Express would see this as my Credit Card Limit for overpayng, right? Cause when i clicken spending limit it was roundabout 30K

[KatzNDawgs]

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@deni100 wrote:

Also the Hilton Credit Card as an example has no foreign transaction fees, is it also a revolving card? Then eventually this is more logical, cause i could also take the bonuses and use the CC outside of the US

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Yes, the Hilton card is a regular credit card (set limit), so will report util.

[Thomas_Thumb]

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@deni100 wrote:

Hi guys,

so i made the global Transfer from Germany to the US and i started with the American Express Green. Will later apply for Gold and then Platinum, but what my point is --> Those 3 are charge cards and do not have a LIMIT.

I get the Green card round about 2 weeks ago and i have ITIN. I understood that the utilization rate is not affected because there is not "Limit", that is bad for building my score here in the US.

Would it be logical to apply for the BLUE, because its not a charging card, but a revolving? I have round about 30K Spending Power at the green actual, what do you guys think would Amex gave me for a limit? My spending limit for the platinum in germany was round about 85k dollar.

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AMEX green/gold/platinum cards are are classified as open accounts with 1 month terms. That classification holds whether or not the card has a POT limit.

Fico scores will be limited substantially if you do not have an open and active REVOLVING credit account. An AMEX Blue card is a revolving account and would fulfill that attribute. Get a blue card to build score, not another charge card. If you travel and would benefit from better perks, consider converting the green to gold after getting a Blue card or a Visa/Mastercard.