American Express Membership Rewards - Amex Charge Card vs. Credit Card Affect US Credit Score

Searched for this here and on the web but couldn't find anything. Does anyone know if the choice of Amex Credit Card versus Charge Card affect my US credit score differently?

A traditional AMEX card will still show up as opening a credit line and will count as a credit inquiry in terms of your recent inquiry history. That said, because you are paying the bill monthly it is not a revolving line of credit and as many Amex cards don't have limits, your overall credit limit doesn't go up. Whether or not this is good or bad for your score depends greatly on your current credit situation and history. For example, if you have a lot of credit card debit versus your total credit ratio, this won't help lower that ratio and thus it won't help with that factor but it may help by giving you another line and opportunity to build history.

amex charge cards, and i believe diners club charge cards do not have and therefore do not report a "credit limit" to the 3 credit bureaus.

i believe the term amex uses is "exposure limit".

visa and mastercard products with "no preset spending limit" have "revolving credit lines" that do get reported i believe.

never carrying a balance also affects your credit differently.

there are discussions of these sorts of things on FT, just not sure what kind of search terms to suggest.

It depends on what happens with your exact situation, and it's complicated, but here goes:

60% of your FICO score is comprised of the percentage of credit you are using vs. the total limits available to you. This is your Util.% and is the single largest influence on your score.

An Amex credit card affects this percentage normally, by reporting a limit and $0 balance intially, and whatever your balance is after that monthly.

A charge card affects the Util% differently, depending on the options on your account:

If you have a charge card, and do not opt for the extended payment options, then Amex reports the account as "Open / Open Ended" with a 1-month repayment term. This is not a traditional revolving account, and in this scenario the lack of a credit limit will not affect your score negatively. In fact, as the account ages, it will score positively.

However, if you have a charge card with the extended payment features enabled, it is a different story. Amex will report the primary account number as a regular revolving account, but still with a $0 credit limit. While this is technically true, because the card does not have a credit limit (though it does have an unofficial "exposure limit"), this is detrimental to your FICO because the score model then looks to your reported "High Balance" in order to determine the Util%, and that "High Balance" is likely to just be an average month's charges. If you normally charge say $3000 per month, and the highest you've ever charged is $3500, then the lack of a reporting credit limit means that the account always looks "Maxed Out" to the scoring model, as though you were carrying a $3000 balance on a $3500 limit. This will score negatively.

Additionally, if you do utilize the "extended payment", "sign and travel", or "select to revolve" programs, Amex will report TWO accounts when you begin using that option: One for the original charge card account, and a second account for the extended payment balance. The second account's reported credit limit will be the exact amount you initially extended payment on, and so this looks like a second maxed-out account to the FICO scoring model initially (although as you pay it down, it will become positive in scoring). This will score negatively, and remember, this is in addition to reporting the first account as a regular revolving with a $0 limit, which is also detrimental.

But, as the account ages, it will increasingly become a positive factor in your score, regardless of whether you use extended payment or not. A maxed-out 20yr-old account with no lates or derogatory info is still a positive factor, overall. So, just be aware of how it works.

You can also back-door "fix" it by going to best buy or wherever and charging a couple of laptops, and then returning them after Amex has reported your balance to the CRAs. This will ensure that your "High Balance" number is significantly above your average monthly spend, and will help the account look less utilized.

Thanks for this, Chris. What's interesting is both my Plat (and Gold, which I'm hanging onto, just-in-case, 'till later this year when its first-time annual fee is due) are showing up on EQ and TU as "Account Type: Open Account" and "Account Status: Open", but on EX as "Credit Card: Revolving Terms"/"Account Status: Open" with "Terms" of "1 Month". Is that equivalent for purposes of scoring?

Thanks for this, Chris. What's interesting is both my Plat (and Gold, which I'm hanging onto, just-in-case, 'till later this year when its first-time annual fee is due) are showing up on EQ and TU as "Account Type: Open Account" and "Account Status: Open", but on EX as "Credit Card: Revolving Terms"/"Account Status: Open" with "Terms" of "1 Month". Is that equivalent for purposes of scoring?

Experian is the nutcase of the 3 major CRAs...so it figures they'd be different.

The real question here is, What information on your report does FICO use to identify a charge card vs. a credit card?

There are two possibilities: The model may pick up on the "Terms: 1 Month" in order to identify a charge card vs. a credit card, or it may pick up on "Account Type: Open" for a charge card vs. "Account Type: Revolving" for a credit card.

I am unsure exactly what method FICO uses to make the determination, though the results I described in my previous post are accurate as to how the model treats Amex account types.

If FICO uses only the "Account Type" notation, and not the "Terms" notation, then in all likelihood Experian's misclassification of the account type may be hurting your FICO score.

You could find out for certain by pulling all 3 reports and, assuming everything to be equal between experian and at least one of your other reports, the FICO score generated from your Experian report would likely trend slightly lower than the score generated by the other identical bureau report that has the charge card coded as "Open" rather than "Revolving", assuming both that you have a balance on your charge card and that the balance is not under 50% or so of your highest-ever balance.

I get daily 3-Bureau "updates" ('cause it really doesn't) via AmEx CreditSecure (mostly for the "Bumpage", where you remove hard-pull inquiries off your reports by pulling daily). Since those scores are really "FAKO"s (not really "FICO"s), they're a little different, and since all three reports are all fairly different (like my car payment, whose account is described differently in all three reports) my score varies and I can't tell if the EX AmEx reporting makes any difference).

I'm not sweating it too much, as I assume that since AmEx has been around forever they know how to classify it.

I get daily 3-Bureau "updates" ('cause it really doesn't) via AmEx CreditSecure (mostly for the "Bumpage", where you remove hard-pull inquiries off your reports by pulling daily). Since those scores are really "FAKO"s (not really "FICO"s), they're a little different, and since all three reports are all fairly different (like my car payment, whose account is described differently in all three reports) my score varies and I can't tell if the EX AmEx reporting makes any difference).

I'm not sweating it too much, as I assume that since AmEx has been around forever they know how to classify it.

Bumpage is hot...went from 21 TU INQs down to 11 in the past few weeks...

EQ is stuck for now, unfortunately.

Are you over on CB as well?

this turned out well, thanks for the info here chris. ^

anyone know of any other threads like this offhand? please link if you do.

ill add this to the sticky.

also, one somewhat related question - anyone have a service that includes all 3 scores?

So, is CreditSecure worth signing up for?

Are you over on CB as well?
Yeah, but I only lurk there. That's where I found out about "B" and AX CreditSecure.

To answer someone else's question about CS, so far it seems to update very slowly, but it is good for that "Bumpage" we'd mentioned above (removing hard inquiries improves your scores a little), and the alerts do work (I get E-mails when things change materially on my reports).

I'm just trying to maximize things so I pay as little as possible when I decide to buy one of these criminally-overpriced California homes (median price in LA County is > $500K now, but I suspect that'll come down slightly now that the interest rates are going up and people are foreclosing).

Thanks. I guess I'll be signing up for it, then. :)

You can also back-door "fix" it by going to best buy or wherever and charging a couple of laptops, and then returning them after Amex has reported your balance to the CRAs. This will ensure that your "High Balance" number is significantly above your average monthly spend, and will help the account look less utilized.
...but only for a certain amount of time, until AmEx decides to report a new high balance number at some later date, when your account balance is much lower. This is just a temporary fix.

I had a very different experience, in which my Amex charge spending did very negatively affect my credit score. I had several months in which I spent well over 100k on my Amex charge card, which was reported as a "balance" and used as part of the "outstanding debt" portion of my utilization percentage (even though, of course, it was paid to zero each month), and that very negatively affected my FICO score. (And the fact that I routinely paid these amounts on time did not seem to factor into my score to improve it, either.)

Also a tad OT, but if you have any other cards with no preset spending limit, check your credit history. It might be showing up as 0 credit line, which might be messing up your ratio. Did for me.

Also a tad OT, but if you have any other cards with no preset spending limit, check your credit history. It might be showing up as 0 credit line, which might be messing up your ratio. Did for me.
Yes, i have 6 cards that show a -0- credit limit. Citi World Mastercards are all doing it and so is a few of my other cards. Is there a solution to this?

Yes, i have 6 cards that show a -0- credit limit. Citi World Mastercards are all doing it and so is a few of my other cards. Is there a solution to this?

Call up the CC company and ask them to put your credit line as your max spend. Of course if you spend more that amount, then your SOL, but if you don't then it shouldn't be an issue. I did it for my Chase CCs.

So, is CreditSecure worth signing up for?


$11.99 a month - unlimited credit pulls (well 30 a month - same day same info) plus the "PLUS" scores which I found to be very close to FICO scoring.

I recommend it highly.

Can someone give a thorough explanation of bumpage?

It appears that the credit inquires you make to your file counts as enough hits so other inquiries are knocked off?

I've been doing the daily AMEX creditscores (maybe a month solid everyday) and have recently found my TransUnion deleted 4 inquires (not 2 years old) and my score went from a 762 to 771. 9 points.

Lots of good info here folks, thanks. I'm trying to build solid credit with a relatively short history, so I've gotten 5 cards within the last year (Amex Rewards Gold, Amex Blue Cash, Amex Hilton, Citi World Advantage, At&T/Citi). Looking to offset some debt, but build a high score with a limited history as well. All this info helps with the amount of hits to my FICO score from inquiries with the new cards, and then repeated hits after from the issuing companies.

It appears that the credit inquires you make to your file counts as ... hits so other inquiries are knocked off?
That's my understanding as well. Inquiries you make yourself (for yourself) don't show up, of course.

...but only for a certain amount of time, until AmEx decides to report a new high balance number at some later date, when your account balance is much lower. This is just a temporary fix.

The "High Balance" field on your credit report is actually based on the CRA's database and not Amex's...

So, the only way that field is going to be modified is if the account number changes (lost/stolen card), or if you charge more than your previous high balance, at which point the new figure will show.

I had a very different experience, in which my Amex charge spending did very negatively affect my credit score. I had several months in which I spent well over 100k on my Amex charge card, which was reported as a "balance" and used as part of the "outstanding debt" portion of my utilization percentage (even though, of course, it was paid to zero each month), and that very negatively affected my FICO score. (And the fact that I routinely paid these amounts on time did not seem to factor into my score to improve it, either.)

Check and find out, because I'd be willing to bet you had one or more of the extended payment options on your account.

It's all in the way the account is coded.

Also a tad OT, but if you have any other cards with no preset spending limit, check your credit history. It might be showing up as 0 credit line, which might be messing up your ratio. Did for me.

Yes, you are right...

Many premium products (those without official "credit limits"), like World Mastercards and Visa Signature accounts, and the new citi Premier Pass report a credit limit of $0.

This will cause the same detrimental effect as having an Amex charge with Extended-Payment enabled.

Yes, i have 6 cards that show a -0- credit limit. Citi World Mastercards are all doing it and so is a few of my other cards. Is there a solution to this?

Most issuers that I'm aware of, except Amex and CapitalOne, will report your limit on these account types if you ask them to. Call customer service.

Be aware, though, they only report your "hard" limit...which on World M/Cs and Sig. Visas is the limit you have for carrying a balance month-to-month. They will not report your total "Exposure Limit", which is your hard revolving limit plus however much above that they will let you go for Pay In Full charges.

What this means is, if you have actually gone OVER your regular revolving limit on one of these "flexible" account types, then it is better to leave it alone rather than having them report the hard limit, since the amount the FICO model is using for score calculation is higher that way.

Remember: Higher Credit Limit reporting = Better for Scores!

If that doesn't work for you for some reason, charge something expensive at a merchant with a guaranteed return policy, and then return it once the balance posts to your credit report.

60% of your FICO score is comprised of the percentage of credit you are using vs. the total limits available to you. This is your Util.% and is the single largest influence on your score.

Just a correction... it is actually only 30% of your FICO score. The largest influence is payment history, which is 35% of your FICO score.

I had a very different experience, in which my Amex charge spending did very negatively affect my credit score. I had several months in which I spent well over 100k on my Amex charge card, which was reported as a "balance" and used as part of the "outstanding debt" portion of my utilization percentage (even though, of course, it was paid to zero each month), and that very negatively affected my FICO score. (And the fact that I routinely paid these amounts on time did not seem to factor into my score to improve it, either.)

If you (or someone else) pull your credit score, it will use the last known balances in the debt:limit ratio calculation (30% of your FICO score). If you have 100,000 on a credit card at the time of the pull, even if that 100k is not due for payment, it is absolutely going to negatively affect your FICO score.

If you are taking out a loan, the general advice is to eliminate your credit card spend as completely as possible for the two months prior to the anticipated time of the pull.

If you (or someone else) pull your credit score, it will use the last known balances in the debt:limit ratio calculation (30% of your FICO score). If you have 100,000 on a credit card at the time of the pull, even if that 100k is not due for payment, it is absolutely going to negatively affect your FICO score.

If you are taking out a loan, the general advice is to eliminate your credit card spend as completely as possible for the two months prior to the anticipated time of the pull.

Oh, that's overkill.

If you want to show 0 Util%, you just check your reports and find out what day of the month your issuers report on, and then you just charge monthly to continue getting the rewards, except instead of paying on the due date with each respective issuer you just pay the day before each issuer reports to the CRAs.

Then, you will have a $0 balance reported, even while continuing your regular monthly charging.

So how bad would charging about $5,000 on a 0% for 12-15 months Blue and only giving minimum payments until the last month (when you would pay the remaining balance in full) look on your report?

So how bad would charging about $5,000 on a 0% for 12-15 months Blue and only giving minimum payments until the last month (when you would pay the remaining balance in full) look on your report?
It would be bad if your Blue's limit was $5K, but if your Blue's limit were say, $20K+, probably no big deal. It's the percentage of utilization that counts. To that end, I've picked up a couple of no-annual-fee CCs that I've tucked in a safe that I'll never use. (I know it's bad on certain loan types to have too much available credit, the rationale being that you could decide to use it all up if you got into trouble, but my income is decent enough IMO to offset those concerns).

It would be bad if your Blue's limit was $5K, but if your Blue's limit were say, $20K+, probably no big deal. It's the percentage of utilization that counts. To that end, I've picked up a couple of no-annual-fee CCs that I've tucked in a safe that I'll never use. (I know it's bad on certain loan types to have too much available credit, the rationale being that you could decide to use it all up if you got into trouble, but my income is decent enough IMO to offset those concerns).

You're very smart to do that, Utilization is a killer. You have to remember, though, that to keep those cards in the safe factoring into your FICO score calculation, they can't go inactive...meaning there must be activity every six months.

So, buy a pack of gum with each card every 6th month, let the balance report to the CRAs, and then pay it off.

You have to remember, though, that to keep those cards in the safe factoring into your FICO score calculation, they can't go inactive...meaning there must be activity every six months.

So, buy a pack of gum with each card every 6th month, let the balance report to the CRAs, and then pay it off.
Thanks for that (reminder)- I'd forgotten about that. But do I have to actually carry a balance for it to be considered "active"? Thanks to on-line banking and the cards' websites, I only open the paper bills at tax time and pay my cards off a couple of times a month as I feel like it.

Well, $5,000 would be (since it hasn't even arrived yet) half of the card's limit. I'm assuming that isn't good, but I'm only 19, so I doubt I'll be needing to apply for a loan anytime soon. Even if I did, I suppose I could just pay off the card's balance before doing so. Anyway, is anyone with Firefox able to access the CreditSecure website? I just signed up for it today, and have only been able to use it with IE.

I think 50% is the trip point (at least what I've seen on CB), so I think you're OK.

I access CreditSecure just fine on FF2 on Linux (and on Opera 9.20, too). The last week, it's been claiming I'm not a member of CS, so I go to the "enroll" page, pick the card I used to initially sign up, and boom, I'm there just like it used to before. There's something amiss with the site.

So I just got it today (the 0% turned out to be only 6 months, with 19.24% after that... LAME!), and had to call them to link it to my account summary page. Anyway, I noticed that I now have two separate MR program #'s. Is this normal, or do I need to call and have the points from Blue added to the Platinum ones? And should I call them to ask about lowering my rate now, or wait a few months?

So how bad would charging about $5,000 on a 0% for 12-15 months Blue and only giving minimum payments until the last month (when you would pay the remaining balance in full) look on your report?

While you have a balance remaining, it will have an effect on your debt:limit ratio, which is 30% of your score. After the balance is cleared, there will be no effect.

The minimum payment by the due date is all that is required to avoid negative payment history marks on your credit report.

I think 50% is the trip point (at least what I've seen on CB), so I think you're OK

No, this is not true. There is no "trip point." Every small percentage difference affects your credit score. There is no graduated calculation like there is for many other factors. 49% will affect your credit score less than 50%.

So, is CreditSecure worth signing up for?

I'd say yes. $12 a month pull your credit report with plus scores everyday if you want.

Much cheaper than the CRA and the fees they want for your credit report.:cool:

Well, $5,000 would be (since it hasn't even arrived yet) half of the card's limit. I'm assuming that isn't good, but I'm only 19, so I doubt I'll be needing to apply for a loan anytime soon. Even if I did, I suppose I could just pay off the card's balance before doing so. Anyway, is anyone with Firefox able to access the CreditSecure website? I just signed up for it today, and have only been able to use it with IE.

I use Firefox exclusively and able to access CreditSecure.

Don't like IE virus generator.

I'd say yes. $12 a month pull your credit report with plus scores everyday if you want.

Much cheaper than the CRA and the fees they want for your credit report.:cool:


But the service simply s*cks! It newer updates the score and the whole interface frankly is 2 Generations old. IF you are looking for a daily updates and stuff try transunion. THey have 1 credit report for 8-9$ + all 3 for 15$ (i needed experian as every one pulls it :( ). Or citi Identity monitor & BoA ... (run by the same company i guess) are also very good at analysis but only monthly updates.

But the service simply s*cks! It newer updates the score and the whole interface frankly is 2 Generations old. IF you are looking for a daily updates and stuff try transunion. THey have 1 credit report for 8-9$ + all 3 for 15$ (i needed experian as every one pulls it :( ). Or citi Identity monitor & BoA ... (run by the same company i guess) are also very good at analysis but only monthly updates.

Well I disagree about the service - it does update the score. I just found out experian plus score went up 9 points and going thru the previous day's report I can find out exactly what changed to affect my score.

Transunion - not used by many companies (Discover pulled my Transunion) but 3 for $15 - and that's every time you pull it it's $15? I prefer $12 per month and unlmited pulls - well once a day with updated plus scores.

PLus scores are high enough so I don't need a FICO scoreall the time.:rolleyes:

PLus scores are high enough so I don't need a FICO scoreall the time.:rolleyes:

Plus scores are absolutely useless and not worth the bits that send them to your screen. The fact that they give you a number is a total psychological play. The truth of the matter is that the precision is that of very poor, poor, average, good, very good. If you think you are getting precision better than that, you're fooling yourself.

I have heard several reports of PLUS scores being off by over 100 points. If you assume a range of 800-300, then 100 points is a 20% error. Think of what that means for the FICO range you might be in.

Do not ever pay money for a PLUS/FAKE-O score.

Plus scores are absolutely useless and not worth the bits that send them to your screen. The fact that they give you a number is a total psychological play. The truth of the matter is that the precision is that of very poor, poor, average, good, very good. If you think you are getting precision better than that, you're fooling yourself.

I have heard several reports of PLUS scores being off by over 100 points. If you assume a range of 800-300, then 100 points is a 20% error. Think of what that means for the FICO range you might be in.

Do not ever pay money for a PLUS/FAKE-O score.

Which service do you recommend for credit monitoring and scores?

I have been using Identity Guard via Costco ($7.95/month) for mostly credit monitoring but its uses FAKE-O scores that updates monthly.

Which service do you recommend for credit monitoring and scores?

I have been using Identity Guard via Costco ($7.95/month) for mostly credit monitoring but its uses FAKE-O scores that updates monthly.

If you are simply monitoring the content of your credit report, any service that gets its content from one or more of the three CRAs is fine.

I am simply saying that the FAKE-O scores are useless. View it as if they are not even there.

If you want your FICO score, either pull that separately on a per-pull fee basis, or use any service that has "FICO" listed. A service can not claim to use a FICO score unless it is actually a FICO score.

this turned out well, thanks for the info here chris. ^

anyone know of any other threads like this offhand? please link if you do.

ill add this to the sticky.

also, one somewhat related question - anyone have a service that includes all 3 scores?

fatwallet.com has numerous discussion on this and other credit related topic...take a quick peak at the AOR discussion - those guys are nuts.


I recently obtained the Amex Bus card and as far as I know that does not affect your personal FICO -can anyone confirm this?

Which service do you recommend for credit monitoring and scores?

I have been using Identity Guard via Costco ($7.95/month) for mostly credit monitoring but its uses FAKE-O scores that updates monthly.


I use myfico.com

I pulled mine recently and noticed some annoying small factors that bring my score down even though it's still well in the excellent range. Like someone said, an AMEX charge card reports the highest balance used on the card; so if you charge the same amount every month, it makes it look maxed out. This really burns me up because I use my gold Amex to charge my business travels; until I get reimbursed from the company, I could have $2000 sitting on the card for a couple of weeks----so I get penalized. Maybe I'll just use my SPG Amex since it reports a limit that I don't charge near; it just sucks the way they do that.

Also, does anyone know if Amex will pull an inquiry if you upgrade your gold card to platinum? If so, I'll wait since I just got the SPG card. The way credit scores work is a PITA, so I may have to wait a few months and let 1 or 2 inquiries clear to keep my score high.

Like someone said, an AMEX charge card reports the highest balance used on the card; so if you charge the same amount every month, it makes it look maxed out.
Yabbut remember they're coded differently as well.

I pulled mine recently and noticed some annoying small factors that bring my score down even though it's still well in the excellent range. Like someone said, an AMEX charge card reports the highest balance used on the card; so if you charge the same amount every month, it makes it look maxed out. This really burns me up because I use my gold Amex to charge my business travels; until I get reimbursed from the company, I could have $2000 sitting on the card for a couple of weeks----so I get penalized. Maybe I'll just use my SPG Amex since it reports a limit that I don't charge near; it just sucks the way they do that.

Also, does anyone know if Amex will pull an inquiry if you upgrade your gold card to platinum? If so, I'll wait since I just got the SPG card. The way credit scores work is a PITA, so I may have to wait a few months and let 1 or 2 inquiries clear to keep my score high.

Even though I was pre-approved for a Plat they did a hard pull on my credit report - and I have 4 years history with them and a business plat also.:td:

Well I disagree about the service - it does update the score. I just found out experian plus score went up 9 points and going thru the previous day's report I can find out exactly what changed to affect my score.

Transunion - not used by many companies (Discover pulled my Transunion) but 3 for $15 - and that's every time you pull it it's $15? I prefer $12 per month and unlmited pulls - well once a day with updated plus scores.

PLus scores are high enough so I don't need a FICO scoreall the time.:rolleyes:

Transunion lets you pull all 3 every 24 hrs and 15$ monthly fee (first is free). Just by making my credit agencies report 3 of 6 no preset cards pulled my score up by 40 points! So this no-preset limit crap is really getting to me.


As far as Amex charge cards ... i am not sure what they fall under but most of the time they are put in the revolving / unsecured credit accounts ... so if you only have *high end* sig and visa cards ... call your credit agency and make them report the true limit or you will look like maxed out on all your cards that is a 40-70 point or more drop!

Also, does anyone know if Amex will pull an inquiry if you upgrade your gold card to platinum? If so, I'll wait since I just got the SPG card. The way credit scores work is a PITA, so I may have to wait a few months and let 1 or 2 inquiries clear to keep my score high.


Upgrades and product transfers do not incur a hard pull (90% of the time). SO i would guess not.

Why does this shock you? "Pre-Approved" means that you were pre-screened, read the fine print. It states that upon application a complete credit report will be pulled in order to determine eligibility. Just about every one does this.

I pulled mine recently and noticed some annoying small factors that bring my score down even though it's still well in the excellent range. Like someone said, an AMEX charge card reports the highest balance used on the card; so if you charge the same amount every month, it makes it look maxed out. This really burns me up because I use my gold Amex to charge my business travels; until I get reimbursed from the company, I could have $2000 sitting on the card for a couple of weeks----so I get penalized. Maybe I'll just use my SPG Amex since it reports a limit that I don't charge near; it just sucks the way they do that.

Also, does anyone know if Amex will pull an inquiry if you upgrade your gold card to platinum? If so, I'll wait since I just got the SPG card. The way credit scores work is a PITA, so I may have to wait a few months and let 1 or 2 inquiries clear to keep my score high.

Yes, they'll do a hard pull for a Plat. Even if you have quite a history with them and have numerous other Amex cards (including a business plat).

You would want a higher FICO score also to ensure your upgrade.

Although seeing some of the FICO scores and the scores AMEX is dishing out cards to I really don't know.

I have recently subscribed to Credit Secure and now that I am past the 30 day free trial period I can "bump" I am not sure if I am doing this correctly. By bumping do you mean "refreshing" the data from the 3 reporting companies? Am I doing it correctly and if not, how do I do it.

Cheers

I have a Platinum charge card & a Starwood Amex (and a corp. card through work). My credit score is a perfect 990 with Experian -- that is the maximum possible score. Whatever effect these cards have can't be too bad!

I have a Platinum charge card & a Starwood Amex (and a corp. card through work). My credit score is a perfect 990 with Experian -- that is the maximum possible score. Whatever effect these cards have can't be too bad!

I thought credit scores end at 850?

I thought credit scores end at 850?

I just got this report yesterday, while doing my annual credit report -- it was called a "Vantage Score" at it is on a scale from 501-990. Maybe the other agencies do it differently, I just did Experian.

I just got this report yesterday, while doing my annual credit report -- it was called a "Vantage Score" at it is on a scale from 501-990. Maybe the other agencies do it differently, I just did Experian.

Nobody uses the vantage score among major (or even minor) lenders. You want to find out what your bankcard-enhanced fico is. That's what matters.

Also, does anyone know if Amex will pull an inquiry if you upgrade your gold card to platinum?
No hard pull for my recent upgrade to platinum. This was an offer on my account, not something I requested out of the blue. It also kept the same account number.

I have recently subscribed to Credit Secure and now that I am past the 30 day free trial period I can "bump" I am not sure if I am doing this correctly. By bumping do you mean "refreshing" the data from the 3 reporting companies? Am I doing it correctly and if not, how do I do it.
Yes, many have found that if you refresh the data 50-100 times or so it starts to "bump" hard inquiries off of your reports from Transunion and Equifax (more on the first than the second); this does not work with Experian, however.

Nobody uses the vantage score among major (or even minor) lenders. You want to find out what your bankcard-enhanced fico is. That's what matters.

I'm not worried. I imagine it is very, very good. And I'm not in the market for a loan of any type.

I'm not worried. I imagine it is very, very good. And I'm not in the market for a loan of any type.

What! Not even a 20K bonus card from NWA or AA. You do know you are on FlyerTalk? :)

Transunion lets you pull all 3 every 24 hrs and 15$ monthly fee (first is free). Just by making my credit agencies report 3 of 6 no preset cards pulled my score up by 40 points! So this no-preset limit crap is really getting to me.


As far as Amex charge cards ... i am not sure what they fall under but most of the time they are put in the revolving / unsecured credit accounts ... so if you only have *high end* sig and visa cards ... call your credit agency and make them report the true limit or you will look like maxed out on all your cards that is a 40-70 point or more drop!

how did you do this?
i have 2 citi world MC & they do not show a limit on my report as they are the "no preset limit cards" (which means you have a limit that you can go over but if you do the $$$ over must be paid in full that month)

the problem is they both are "no limit cards" and i have gone over on both of them in the past but paid them off in full that cycle.

i have never carried a balance on either card

how do i get citi to report the limit?

I cancelled all cards that do not report credit limits, and I declined AMEX extended pay options. Being in real estate, every FICO point can mean a major difference in qualifying for loans, and getting the best financing. I tried getting the credit card companies to report credit limits, and they never did.