Hello everyone.
Its been almost 3 years since i joined this site, and the adviced given paid off pretty well.
Right now im debt free, pay my cards full monthly ,build my emergency fund, have some savings and only missing a mortage 
I do have a few questions.
1- I want an amex as it seems to be the only card that im missing, I did the "pre-approval" and got approved for the Gold Card but didnt pull the plug as I dont know if its a good one, im looking for something for general use for now or travel rewards. Which amex would be the best for this.
2- My scores used to be on high 700's. low 800's but the moment i paid my car in full 10/2022 it dropped to mid 700 and it just got stuck there, what can i do to make it go up lol.
Ps. something to note, my last credit line was open a bit over 2 years ago and my last hard pull was on May/2022
Paying off a loan doesnt drop a score that much with FICO. You looking at Vantage scores?
@siveriano wrote:Hello everyone.
Its been almost 3 years since i joined this site, and the adviced given paid off pretty well.
Right now im debt free, pay my cards full monthly ,build my emergency fund, have some savings and only missing a mortage
I do have a few questions.
1- I want an amex as it seems to be the only card that im missing, I did the "pre-approval" and got approved for the Gold Card but didnt pull the plug as I dont know if its a good one, im looking for something for general use for now or travel rewards. Which amex would be the best for this.
2- My scores used to be on high 700's. low 800's but the moment i paid my car in full 10/2022 it dropped to mid 700 and it just got stuck there, what can i do to make it go up lol.
Ps. something to note, my last credit line was open a bit over 2 years ago and my last hard pull was on May/2022
1. I dont recommend the Gold card unless the benefits are obvious to you. A $250 annual fee is a pretty steep price to pay. I had the card, and closed it, finding it just not worth it. I was never able to get that much value out of the MR's, and felt like I was a rat on a running wheel trying to use up the credits. Also bear in mind that it's a charge card, and Amex will keep you guessing as to how much you can spend on it, and will decline transactions if you go over their secret, changing, internal limit. It sounds to me like you don't need another card, but if you really want an Amex card, I'd need to know more about what you're looking for in a card in order to make a recommendation. I personally happen to like the Blue Cash Everyday card, especially for its 3% cash back on online purchases.
2. The best way to get back the points you lost from the "no open loan penalty", without actually going into debt again, is to get a share secured loan from NFCU or PenFed. Put > $3k into savings, take out 60 month share secured loan, then pay it down immediately to 9% of the loan amount. The points will come back.
I would also recommend the Blue Cash Everyday card if you want an Amex. Having a mid 700's still isn't bad and shouldn't prevent you from getting a card. Have you thought of doing a PC on your Discover or Chase cards to one of their travel cards? (You might save yourself from a hard pull.) I don't like AF cards so I would look for the $95 travel cards if you think it's worth paying the AF.
@siveriano if you can use the gold for groceries and dining it's a nice MR point earner.
If the amex travel portal is suitable there is a small MR bonus and access to the hotel collection along with some other travel benefits.
The signup bonus if met, makes it worth a spin IMO.
Additional earning/savings are available also but that's best evaluated by reading the T&C.
When I got the gold there was a decent time limited resy bonus on dining, so it's perhaps worth searching for partner signup offers in addition to whatever Amex presents directly.
@FireMedic1 at my fico 8 on experian.
@SouthJamaica Yeah looking more and more inclined on the Blue Cash Everyday® Card no AF and that 3% is just too sexy compare ot my CAP1 1.5% lmao.
for your second answer, I call this lenders and tell them exactly that right ? "Ill like to open a share secure loan, for 60 months for $3000" then after approved I should pay $2730 to bring ti to 9%, then just the regular schedule payments?
@AZ-Jeff I just tried the PC for my Cap1 and got Venture one. Ill make a call this week to Chase and Discover and see how that goes.
@DONZI Im probably gonan pull the plug on the Blue Cash Everyday® Card as thinking about it, $250 AF dont make sense for ehat i plan to use it.
thanks everyone for their replies.
Any idea if i should let go of some of my cards? i use them all for small purchases $3> just so they dont close.
@siveriano wrote:@FireMedic1 at my fico 8 on experian.
@SouthJamaica Yeah looking more and more inclined on the Blue Cash Everyday® Card no AF and that 3% is just too sexy compare ot my CAP1 1.5% lmao.
for your second answer, I call this lenders and tell them exactly that right ? "Ill like to open a share secure loan, for 60 months for $3000" then after approved I should pay $2730 to bring ti to 9%, then just the regular schedule payments?
For the loan to be 60 months, which is what you want, it has to be MORE than $3000. I believe it can even be as little as $3010, but it has to be more than 3k. First you have to put the money in savings, then you call up to do the loan.
@AZ-Jeff I just tried the PC for my Cap1 and got Venture one. Ill make a call this week to Chase and Discover and see how that goes.
@DONZI Im probably gonan pull the plug on the Blue Cash Everyday® Card as thinking about it, $250 AF dont make sense for ehat i plan to use it.
thanks everyone for their replies.
Any idea if i should let go of some of my cards? i use them all for small purchases $3> just so they dont close.
If they don't have annual fees, probably no benefit to closing them.