Should I apply for an American Express credit card?
Author: creditbuilder
Joined: 07 Feb 2005
Posts: 12
Posted: Mon Feb 07, 2005 5:55 pm
Post subject: Is it safe to assume that I would be accepted for AE blue
card based on an estimated fico score of 705-755 according to this estimator: myfico.com/ScoreEstimator/ScoreEstimator.html
Or, might that be a wasted inquiry on my report. I have pulled my reports and all information is correct, but I didn't want to pay to get a score from them. My credit history is perfect, but very limited(1 card-10mo.,$200 limit).
Also, what kind of credit limit could I expect from AE with an income of around $22k? Is there someone else that would give me a higher limit? I'm not really concerned with apr as I pay in full every month, I just want a high limit for my credit score, and also cash rewards.
Does the citi dividend platinum card with 5% back give good credit limits?
TIA
Forgot to add, I have about $12,000 in liquid assets(stocks, cash), if that helps me on an application.
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Author: Board Monitor
Board Monitor/ Administrator
Joined: 05 May 2003
Posts: 563
Posted: Tue Feb 08, 2005 9:45 am
creditbuilder,
Thanks for your post and welcome to the board! If I were you, I would go ahead and get my actual scores. We have some free score offers here that may be of interest:
http://www.cardratings.com/crinfofr.html
Take a look at the sticky thread above entitled "Credit Application- Please Post Your Application Results". One of our members was approved in the 670 range.
I have heard that AmEx likes a longer credit history than most other issuers, though, so you may want to call them before you do anything to inquire about your limited credit history.
Let us know how things turn out. Out of curiosity, how did you find out about our website?
Best Regards,
Curtis Arnold
Board Monitor
U.S. Citizens for Fair Credit Card Terms, Inc.
http://www.cardratings.com
501-663-0314 PH
501-301-8474 FX
View our latest credit card ratings!
Author: NightStar
Board Monitor
Joined: 07 Nov 2003
Posts: 2601
Location: Illinois
Posted: Tue Feb 08, 2005 12:39 pm
I was thinking that you might not get the credit limit you wanted due to your income level... they creditors usually have a scale of what they grant compared to what income is.
I don't know about American Express, but while back when I had applied for Pulaski, they made me aware of this. My income at the time was only $20k per year, and they stated that that only made me available to recieve from them a $2k credit limit, and worse then that, if I had other accounts already granting me part or all, they would adjust accordingly to what they would give me. Like if I had 2nd card for $1k credit limit, and they approved me, then they would only give me $1k for their card.
Where as if I had 2nd card with $3k credit limit, then if they approved me, they would still not send me a card, cause I exceeded the $2k they would of allowed me.
You never know from one creditor to the next what they will grant for a credit limit, or if they would be like Pulaski and determine it by what other creditors have granted you. I don't think many work like Pulaski, but that is just an example to the underwriting you may run into.
Best Regards,
Pammila Phillis
Board Monitor
U.S. Citizens for Fair Credit Card Terms, Inc.
http://www.cardratings.com
501-663-0314 PH
501-663-0033 FX
View our latest credit card ratings!
Autor: katwoman
Joined: 10 Nov 2004
Posts: 7
Location: IL
Posted: Tue Feb 08, 2005 3:32 pm
AMEX can be very generous to the young and (relatively) creditless.
Case in point: it was my very first CC and I was a college student. At the time, these were given to graduating seniors.
Now I thought that this was long over but a young friend of mine (21 y.o.) got a invitation by mail and she was not in college (but was registered at one time) and she had a measly paying job. She had no credit at all but got the green card easily.
So it seems that AMEX likes to be one of the first to get your CC business. I'd try for a green card just to be safe.
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Author: creditbuilder
Joined: 07 Feb 2005
Posts: 12
Posted: Tue Feb 08, 2005 10:36 pm
Thanks for your advice guys. I decided to apply for the Blue Cash card online. I was kind of expecting the words sorry to pop up, or at best, pending further review. So I was jumping out of my seat when it said congratulations after less than thirty seconds. They gave me a limit of $2,000 and said my card would arrive in 10 days. I would've liked a higher limit, but I can't complain. It's not bad for just my second card. Ten times what cap 1 gave me and with no annual fee. I won't complain too much about capital one though, they were the only ones that would give me an unsecured card with absolutely no credit history. In ten months they haven't given me any problems except denying my cli requests.
I found your website searching yahoo for credit card comparisons.
View our latest credit card ratings!
Author: Board Monitor
Board Monitor/ Administrator
Joined: 05 May 2003
Posts: 563
Posted: Wed Feb 09, 2005 9:15 am
Congrats creditbuilder! That is good to hear. I know that as of last year, AmEx has also "blacklisted" a few colleges and will deny credit to any student that applies from these schools. Apparently, though, your school wasn't one of them. )
Best Regards,
Curtis Arnold
Board Monitor
U.S. Citizens for Fair Credit Card Terms, Inc.
http://www.cardratings.com
501-663-0314 PH
501-301-8474 FX
View our latest credit card ratings!
Author: katwoman
Joined: 10 Nov 2004
Posts: 7
Location: IL
Posted: Wed Feb 09, 2005 2:41 pm
Creditbuilder,
Huge congrats on the card! It's nice to see that a prime credit grantor like Amex is still willing to take chances with the young. I'll always recommend that this be a young persons first or second card. It really can set the tone for a solid credit foundation if handled properly, of course.
For that reason, it would be a good idea to close out your Cap 1. They are a sub prime lender and will do you no good now that you've got a prime card. Since your entire credit history is only 10 months old, the dip in FICO score will be short lived. Don't ever expect Cap 1 to do right by you. I had them and they kept me in credit *****. Wished that I never accepted their invite. Now I'm fighting to get them off my reports.
If you decide to dump Cap 1, pay the card off in full first. Then cancel. They have a tendency to reduce CL if a customer wants to dump them and in my case, they suspended statements which made it look like I was 30,60,90 days late. Then they get you for over the limit fees and late fees, etc. NOT A GOOD COMPANY!
View our latest credit card ratings!
Author: Board Monitor
Board Monitor/ Administrator
Joined: 05 May 2003
Posts: 563
Posted: Thu Feb 10, 2005 9:00 am
Katwoman,
Thanks for your post and welcome to the board! Would you mind posting a review of Cap One in our consumer reviews section here:
http://www.cardratings.com/cardreviewfr.html
Out of curiosity, how did you find out about our board?
Best Regards,
Curtis Arnold
Board Monitor
U.S. Citizens for Fair Credit Card Terms, Inc.
http://www.cardratings.com
501-663-0314 PH
501-301-8474 FX
View our latest credit card ratings!
Author: NightStar
Board Monitor
Joined: 07 Nov 2003
Posts: 2601
Location: Illinois
Posted: Thu Feb 10, 2005 9:31 am
Capital One has been so mixed over the years, I had no problem with them myself, 3 different accounts over the years, but they were never friendly either. Low credit limits here and high interest - so each time I used them until something better come along. I should of closed out the last one I had with K-Mart
Just about 4 year customer, never more then $2,100 limit, at 15% interest and in the end they put in affect a $48 yearly fee. And this is for a person that did peak 700 credit scores.
I don't think it hurts to keep them open if you got the credit limit issue taken care of, but true once you get other better deals, a few more cards - later this might be one to leave.
Best Regards,
Pammila Phillis
Board Monitor
U.S. Citizens for Fair Credit Card Terms, Inc.
http://www.cardratings.com
501-663-0314 PH
501-663-0033 FX
View our latest credit card ratings!
Author: Polonius
Credit Expert (100+ Posts)
Joined: 19 Jan 2004
Posts: 494
Posted: Thu Feb 10, 2005 12:35 pm
Remember, CapitalOne offers all sorts of cards with all sorts of terms. Any major player is going to have many satisfied customers and some vocal angry customers. You're not going to hear much from the happy customers.
I've had two CapitalOne cards for about two years now. One has a 7.9% rate and $20,000 limit; the other had an 8.9% rate and a $5,000 limit--but the rate just went up to 14.9% for no particular reason.
I've never had any problems with either card, except that CapitalOne got nervous one time, reduced my credit limit to $16,000, and then bumped it back up to $20,000 after I remitted the $2,000 it requested.
Polonius
"Neither a borrower, nor a lender be; For loan oft loses both itself and friend"
View our latest credit card ratings!
Author: katwoman
Joined: 10 Nov 2004
Posts: 7
Location: IL
Posted: Thu Feb 10, 2005 1:20 pm
Yes, Polonius, Cap 1 does have many products some of which are good, but when they got me I was barely credit worthy. I was at my lowest point money wise and this is when they solicited me. Of course, the CLI was $300.00 and the rate was so bad I can't remember. Their system was designed to keep me in a sub prime category with no chance of getting out.
Apparently, when you were solicited, your credit was good hence the CLI increases, etc.
All I'm saying is that Cap 1 will take full advantage of a individuals' situation and not always with the best of intentions. They will prey on those with impaired credit and no credit. That's the worst time to accept their card. Creditbuilder should dump them now and wait for a solicitation with better terms, rates and limits. As it stands now, this card is an albatross.
Curtis, many of the credit repair boards mention your site. That's how I found you. Now that I've repaired my credit, I'll be looking over here for the best options in getting credit. The right kinds of credit.
View our latest credit card ratings!
Author: Polonius
Credit Expert (100+ Posts)
Joined: 19 Jan 2004
Posts: 494
Posted: Thu Feb 10, 2005 4:58 pm
Quote:
All I'm saying is that Cap 1 will take full advantage of a individuals' situation and not always with the best of intentions.
Uh, what bank doesn't these days?
Banks don't even pretend to be our friends any longer. They used to care more about customer relations. You used to be able to develop long-term relationships with a bank and pocket many benefits from that. Now, the banks use any credit problem to make things worse rather than help you. Sigh.
Polonius
"Neither a borrower, nor a lender be; For loan oft loses both itself and friend"
View our latest credit card ratings!
Author: creditbuilder
Joined: 07 Feb 2005
Posts: 12
Posted: Sat Feb 12, 2005 8:37 pm
Thanks for the advice everyone. I am going to keep the capital one card until I have a couple of other cards for a good while. I pay it off in full every month before I even get the bill, so there's really not much they can do to me.
View our latest credit card ratings!
Author: falling5tarr
Joined: 14 Feb 2005
Posts: 3
Posted: Mon Feb 14, 2005 1:31 pm
I just got approved for an AMEX Blue Cash card. I recieved a pre-approved invitiation in the mail, typed the reservation code online, and they approved me for $1,000 in about 30 seconds. My credit score as of 3 months ago was 690.
I was kind of surprised I was approved because for one thing, I am only 21, and don't have much of a credit history.. but the history I do have is good, with no late payments or bad marks, so I guess that helped.
Just try it! You never know.
View our latest credit card ratings!
Author: mouse
SENIOR MEMBER (Member for 2 yrs.+)
Joined: 29 Jul 2004
Posts: 156
Posted: Mon Feb 14, 2005 2:54 pm
My first AMEX CREDIT CARD was BLUE ($15,500)
But I have 20+ years of perfect credit
Additional AMEX cards were as low as $2,000
View our latest credit card ratings!
Author: Board Monitor
Board Monitor/ Administrator
Joined: 05 May 2003
Posts: 563
Posted: Tue Feb 15, 2005 11:37 am
Congrats falling5tarr! Out of curiosity, how did you find out about our website?
Best Regards,
Curtis Arnold
Board Monitor
U.S. Citizens for Fair Credit Card Terms, Inc.
http://www.cardratings.com
501-663-0314 PH
501-301-8474 FX
View our latest credit card ratings!
Author: falling5tarr
Joined: 14 Feb 2005
Posts: 3
Posted: Tue Feb 15, 2005 6:50 pm
BTW, I just checked my credit score last night and it actually went up 30 points, to 721! So that would be the score that AMEX actually approved me on.
I heard about your website from searching on Google!
View our latest credit card ratings!
Joined: 07 Feb 2005
Posts: 12
Posted: Mon Feb 07, 2005 5:55 pm
Post subject: Is it safe to assume that I would be accepted for AE blue
card based on an estimated fico score of 705-755 according to this estimator: myfico.com/ScoreEstimator/ScoreEstimator.html
Or, might that be a wasted inquiry on my report. I have pulled my reports and all information is correct, but I didn't want to pay to get a score from them. My credit history is perfect, but very limited(1 card-10mo.,$200 limit).
Also, what kind of credit limit could I expect from AE with an income of around $22k? Is there someone else that would give me a higher limit? I'm not really concerned with apr as I pay in full every month, I just want a high limit for my credit score, and also cash rewards.
Does the citi dividend platinum card with 5% back give good credit limits?
TIA
Forgot to add, I have about $12,000 in liquid assets(stocks, cash), if that helps me on an application.
View our latest credit card ratings!
Author: Board Monitor
Board Monitor/ Administrator
Joined: 05 May 2003
Posts: 563
Posted: Tue Feb 08, 2005 9:45 am
creditbuilder,
Thanks for your post and welcome to the board! If I were you, I would go ahead and get my actual scores. We have some free score offers here that may be of interest:
http://www.cardratings.com/crinfofr.html
Take a look at the sticky thread above entitled "Credit Application- Please Post Your Application Results". One of our members was approved in the 670 range.
I have heard that AmEx likes a longer credit history than most other issuers, though, so you may want to call them before you do anything to inquire about your limited credit history.
Let us know how things turn out. Out of curiosity, how did you find out about our website?
Best Regards,
Curtis Arnold
Board Monitor
U.S. Citizens for Fair Credit Card Terms, Inc.
http://www.cardratings.com
501-663-0314 PH
501-301-8474 FX
View our latest credit card ratings!
Author: NightStar
Board Monitor
Joined: 07 Nov 2003
Posts: 2601
Location: Illinois
Posted: Tue Feb 08, 2005 12:39 pm
I was thinking that you might not get the credit limit you wanted due to your income level... they creditors usually have a scale of what they grant compared to what income is.
I don't know about American Express, but while back when I had applied for Pulaski, they made me aware of this. My income at the time was only $20k per year, and they stated that that only made me available to recieve from them a $2k credit limit, and worse then that, if I had other accounts already granting me part or all, they would adjust accordingly to what they would give me. Like if I had 2nd card for $1k credit limit, and they approved me, then they would only give me $1k for their card.
Where as if I had 2nd card with $3k credit limit, then if they approved me, they would still not send me a card, cause I exceeded the $2k they would of allowed me.
You never know from one creditor to the next what they will grant for a credit limit, or if they would be like Pulaski and determine it by what other creditors have granted you. I don't think many work like Pulaski, but that is just an example to the underwriting you may run into.
Best Regards,
Pammila Phillis
Board Monitor
U.S. Citizens for Fair Credit Card Terms, Inc.
http://www.cardratings.com
501-663-0314 PH
501-663-0033 FX
View our latest credit card ratings!
Autor: katwoman
Joined: 10 Nov 2004
Posts: 7
Location: IL
Posted: Tue Feb 08, 2005 3:32 pm
AMEX can be very generous to the young and (relatively) creditless.
Case in point: it was my very first CC and I was a college student. At the time, these were given to graduating seniors.
Now I thought that this was long over but a young friend of mine (21 y.o.) got a invitation by mail and she was not in college (but was registered at one time) and she had a measly paying job. She had no credit at all but got the green card easily.
So it seems that AMEX likes to be one of the first to get your CC business. I'd try for a green card just to be safe.
View our latest credit card ratings!
Author: creditbuilder
Joined: 07 Feb 2005
Posts: 12
Posted: Tue Feb 08, 2005 10:36 pm
Thanks for your advice guys. I decided to apply for the Blue Cash card online. I was kind of expecting the words sorry to pop up, or at best, pending further review. So I was jumping out of my seat when it said congratulations after less than thirty seconds. They gave me a limit of $2,000 and said my card would arrive in 10 days. I would've liked a higher limit, but I can't complain. It's not bad for just my second card. Ten times what cap 1 gave me and with no annual fee. I won't complain too much about capital one though, they were the only ones that would give me an unsecured card with absolutely no credit history. In ten months they haven't given me any problems except denying my cli requests.
I found your website searching yahoo for credit card comparisons.
View our latest credit card ratings!
Author: Board Monitor
Board Monitor/ Administrator
Joined: 05 May 2003
Posts: 563
Posted: Wed Feb 09, 2005 9:15 am
Congrats creditbuilder! That is good to hear. I know that as of last year, AmEx has also "blacklisted" a few colleges and will deny credit to any student that applies from these schools. Apparently, though, your school wasn't one of them. )
Best Regards,
Curtis Arnold
Board Monitor
U.S. Citizens for Fair Credit Card Terms, Inc.
http://www.cardratings.com
501-663-0314 PH
501-301-8474 FX
View our latest credit card ratings!
Author: katwoman
Joined: 10 Nov 2004
Posts: 7
Location: IL
Posted: Wed Feb 09, 2005 2:41 pm
Creditbuilder,
Huge congrats on the card! It's nice to see that a prime credit grantor like Amex is still willing to take chances with the young. I'll always recommend that this be a young persons first or second card. It really can set the tone for a solid credit foundation if handled properly, of course.
For that reason, it would be a good idea to close out your Cap 1. They are a sub prime lender and will do you no good now that you've got a prime card. Since your entire credit history is only 10 months old, the dip in FICO score will be short lived. Don't ever expect Cap 1 to do right by you. I had them and they kept me in credit *****. Wished that I never accepted their invite. Now I'm fighting to get them off my reports.
If you decide to dump Cap 1, pay the card off in full first. Then cancel. They have a tendency to reduce CL if a customer wants to dump them and in my case, they suspended statements which made it look like I was 30,60,90 days late. Then they get you for over the limit fees and late fees, etc. NOT A GOOD COMPANY!
View our latest credit card ratings!
Author: Board Monitor
Board Monitor/ Administrator
Joined: 05 May 2003
Posts: 563
Posted: Thu Feb 10, 2005 9:00 am
Katwoman,
Thanks for your post and welcome to the board! Would you mind posting a review of Cap One in our consumer reviews section here:
http://www.cardratings.com/cardreviewfr.html
Out of curiosity, how did you find out about our board?
Best Regards,
Curtis Arnold
Board Monitor
U.S. Citizens for Fair Credit Card Terms, Inc.
http://www.cardratings.com
501-663-0314 PH
501-301-8474 FX
View our latest credit card ratings!
Author: NightStar
Board Monitor
Joined: 07 Nov 2003
Posts: 2601
Location: Illinois
Posted: Thu Feb 10, 2005 9:31 am
Capital One has been so mixed over the years, I had no problem with them myself, 3 different accounts over the years, but they were never friendly either. Low credit limits here and high interest - so each time I used them until something better come along. I should of closed out the last one I had with K-Mart
Just about 4 year customer, never more then $2,100 limit, at 15% interest and in the end they put in affect a $48 yearly fee. And this is for a person that did peak 700 credit scores.
I don't think it hurts to keep them open if you got the credit limit issue taken care of, but true once you get other better deals, a few more cards - later this might be one to leave.
Best Regards,
Pammila Phillis
Board Monitor
U.S. Citizens for Fair Credit Card Terms, Inc.
http://www.cardratings.com
501-663-0314 PH
501-663-0033 FX
View our latest credit card ratings!
Author: Polonius
Credit Expert (100+ Posts)
Joined: 19 Jan 2004
Posts: 494
Posted: Thu Feb 10, 2005 12:35 pm
Remember, CapitalOne offers all sorts of cards with all sorts of terms. Any major player is going to have many satisfied customers and some vocal angry customers. You're not going to hear much from the happy customers.
I've had two CapitalOne cards for about two years now. One has a 7.9% rate and $20,000 limit; the other had an 8.9% rate and a $5,000 limit--but the rate just went up to 14.9% for no particular reason.
I've never had any problems with either card, except that CapitalOne got nervous one time, reduced my credit limit to $16,000, and then bumped it back up to $20,000 after I remitted the $2,000 it requested.
Polonius
"Neither a borrower, nor a lender be; For loan oft loses both itself and friend"
View our latest credit card ratings!
Author: katwoman
Joined: 10 Nov 2004
Posts: 7
Location: IL
Posted: Thu Feb 10, 2005 1:20 pm
Yes, Polonius, Cap 1 does have many products some of which are good, but when they got me I was barely credit worthy. I was at my lowest point money wise and this is when they solicited me. Of course, the CLI was $300.00 and the rate was so bad I can't remember. Their system was designed to keep me in a sub prime category with no chance of getting out.
Apparently, when you were solicited, your credit was good hence the CLI increases, etc.
All I'm saying is that Cap 1 will take full advantage of a individuals' situation and not always with the best of intentions. They will prey on those with impaired credit and no credit. That's the worst time to accept their card. Creditbuilder should dump them now and wait for a solicitation with better terms, rates and limits. As it stands now, this card is an albatross.
Curtis, many of the credit repair boards mention your site. That's how I found you. Now that I've repaired my credit, I'll be looking over here for the best options in getting credit. The right kinds of credit.
View our latest credit card ratings!
Author: Polonius
Credit Expert (100+ Posts)
Joined: 19 Jan 2004
Posts: 494
Posted: Thu Feb 10, 2005 4:58 pm
Quote:
All I'm saying is that Cap 1 will take full advantage of a individuals' situation and not always with the best of intentions.
Uh, what bank doesn't these days?
Banks don't even pretend to be our friends any longer. They used to care more about customer relations. You used to be able to develop long-term relationships with a bank and pocket many benefits from that. Now, the banks use any credit problem to make things worse rather than help you. Sigh.
Polonius
"Neither a borrower, nor a lender be; For loan oft loses both itself and friend"
View our latest credit card ratings!
Author: creditbuilder
Joined: 07 Feb 2005
Posts: 12
Posted: Sat Feb 12, 2005 8:37 pm
Thanks for the advice everyone. I am going to keep the capital one card until I have a couple of other cards for a good while. I pay it off in full every month before I even get the bill, so there's really not much they can do to me.
View our latest credit card ratings!
Author: falling5tarr
Joined: 14 Feb 2005
Posts: 3
Posted: Mon Feb 14, 2005 1:31 pm
I just got approved for an AMEX Blue Cash card. I recieved a pre-approved invitiation in the mail, typed the reservation code online, and they approved me for $1,000 in about 30 seconds. My credit score as of 3 months ago was 690.
I was kind of surprised I was approved because for one thing, I am only 21, and don't have much of a credit history.. but the history I do have is good, with no late payments or bad marks, so I guess that helped.
Just try it! You never know.
View our latest credit card ratings!
Author: mouse
SENIOR MEMBER (Member for 2 yrs.+)
Joined: 29 Jul 2004
Posts: 156
Posted: Mon Feb 14, 2005 2:54 pm
My first AMEX CREDIT CARD was BLUE ($15,500)
But I have 20+ years of perfect credit
Additional AMEX cards were as low as $2,000
View our latest credit card ratings!
Author: Board Monitor
Board Monitor/ Administrator
Joined: 05 May 2003
Posts: 563
Posted: Tue Feb 15, 2005 11:37 am
Congrats falling5tarr! Out of curiosity, how did you find out about our website?
Best Regards,
Curtis Arnold
Board Monitor
U.S. Citizens for Fair Credit Card Terms, Inc.
http://www.cardratings.com
501-663-0314 PH
501-301-8474 FX
View our latest credit card ratings!
Author: falling5tarr
Joined: 14 Feb 2005
Posts: 3
Posted: Tue Feb 15, 2005 6:50 pm
BTW, I just checked my credit score last night and it actually went up 30 points, to 721! So that would be the score that AMEX actually approved me on.
I heard about your website from searching on Google!
View our latest credit card ratings!
posted by CardRatings.com at 10:12 AM
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