MrPink

Wait, is a fico report standard with a credit approval now? I thought you could only get a report and not even a score on a denial.

GlobalServiced

If they're so dated, what's the big appeal to you then? I love my Platinum card and the service it provides. Some people can't justify the annual on it, but I've used the Travel Services and concierge more than enough to make it worth it.

Sure the card isn't metal, or holographic or something, but I certainly wouldn't call my Platinum or PRG dated. As with accounts though, YMMV.

CyberNomad

I recently got two credit cards (this Amex, and a the US Airways card) and both came with that type of abbreviated FICO report card and score. I think it's helpful for consumer to see it, and it lets consumers know why they got the APR they got.

I didn't get it because I like the way it looks! I got it because I need the service and features.

I don't care at all if it's metal or plastic or made of powdered unicorn hooves. I got it because I wanted the services and advantages it comes with.

TEXAS75235

I would suggest you wait for an invitation. It is really hard to get even with no negatives. I received several invitations for the green and gold card and was denied because of 1 negative item with zero balances on 7 credit cards. Once I had that cleared, I was approved for the AMEX GOLD.

CyberNomad

An update to this thread: on a whim I applied for the Amex Platinum card yesterday. It said "approved" right away! I guess they wanted to see a few months of good activity history and that's all it took. With my Delta gold card, I maxed it out every month and paid in full on time every month. Last month I maxed it out, paid in full, and maxed out again and paid in full again, so they saw quite a bit of activity there.

I'm excited to have this card, as I am a frequent traveler. I also upgraded my Chase United Mileage Plus Explorer to Club level, so with the Amex Plat and the Explorer Club card combination I'll always have access to an airport lounge. The Explorer Club means I get 1.5 points per $ of spending. Both of these cards have no forex fees.

With these two cards I will be set. The fees are about $400 per year on each but they will quickly pay for themselves very quickly. I had to pay for lounge and baggage fees last month, plus some forex fee, which I'll never need to do again with these cards.

From my experience, the secret is simple: pay everything in full every month, and actively use it. For me, with a business, I have plenty of spending activity, so this is easy to do. If I didn't have a business, the situation would be totally different.

mccolm323

I started with a Premier Gold Rewards for my wife and I. I LOVE THIS CARD and its benefits. I have used it for over 3 years now and it is my main stay card. I have also gotten a Platinum, MB Platinum, SPG AMEX, Business Gold Rewards. I have watched for targeted point offers and jumped on them. I also carry a Hawaiian Air card (we go to hawaii 1-2x's a year) as my backup. Good luck!

CyberNomad

I called Amex to find out if they could upgrade my Delta Gold card to a Delta Platinum. She said I have to wait until the 1-year anniversary.

The interesting thing is she kept commenting favorably about how much spending I'm doing on my Delta card. I was surprised by that. My credit limit is $1,000! I only spend about $1,500 a month on that. I told her I'm going to move all my spending over to the Amex Platinum and it would be about $100,000 a year. She said that would be great, and I mentioned the Centurion card, and she said I could expect to get that offer if I did that level of spending. That's good for me! I routinely spend $10,000 a month on credit cards, mostly through Chase United now, but I'll shift that over to my Amex Plat probably.

Bottom line, from what she's saying, "a lot of spending" is surprisingly little ($1k to $2k per month), and she seemed to be saying that getting a Centurion is mostly about spending. Any business owner is likely to spend $100k a year through credit cards, even someone who owns a small business like a convenience store, so it's not that hard to get if you want it.

I'll update this thread later if I get a Centurion offer.

mia

Almost nothing that the CSR told you rings true. You may wish to review this thread:

http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/ameri...nder-amex.html

CyberNomad

Actually I was just reading that thread. Yeah, this CSR couldn't have been correct. Intuitively I knew that a few thousand dollars a month is small. Plenty of people spend that much every day.

carpooltunnel

You seem eager to pile on some credit as soon as possible, with only a fair credit score. Be careful, as the appearance of piling on credit can raise a red flag for any potential creditors, even non credit card lenders (you mention a possible mortgage). If you have the ability to move a little slower and hold out for 1-2 years, keeping up your oft repeated mantra of paying on time, your prospects will improve dramatically.

My suggestion is a bit different than it seems you'll hear from other FTers, but I think the focus should be less on amounts of spend, and more on stability and consistency. Spend will matter for a Cent, but I guarantee that the possibility of that is many years away (there are stories of "fresh" big spenders not getting offered for years). Instead focus on consistency. Consistency will help bring your score up, and let those old baddies fall off (or try to get them removed).

My SO and I each have plats. Separate accounts. We were honest about our annual household income on the apps, which is under 75k. Before this we had a store branded AMEX for 3 years, on which we never put more than 25k per year. Both of our FICO scores hover between 780-800, of which mine climbed dramatically over the past two years with the falling off of old mistakes.

My point is that there are plenty of folks with much MUCH higher spend, annual income, and/or credit scores. I really think our three years of patient loyalty and consistency combined with our decent scores is what landed us the plats. (Actually, in what has become a major headache for me, I actually unintentionally scored 4 MB Plats in the same day: see this post

Don't be too hasty, or your might scare 'em off. Take a breath, be happy with your progress thus far, and look to the future. Planning ahead means "now" benefits will eventually be great.

CyberNomad

Thanks for the wise advice. I am being careful on this. No more CCs at all for now. My Chase visa was an upgrade to an existing account, so no new credit. My Platinum is new. The only major need I have now is to get a business Platinum. This would be very helpful for my company.

carpooltunnel

Congrats on the Platinum by the way. A wonderful card and a nice club to be a part of. Best of luck.

GlobalServiced

Yeah, after reading this, I'll agree with mia and carpooltunnel. I routinely put $2-3k on my Plat a month and I don't even remotely see a Centurion invite on the horizon. Now it just takes time for things to transpire and I would definitely just sit on the cards that you've acquired before going for anything else. Give it some time and utilize as many services as you can that you get with the cards, and see what the future brings.

mia

Correct. The last "known" Centurion invitation annual spend requirement was $250,000, but that is believed to no longer be sufficient. Ample discussion in other threads.

GlobalServiced

I follow them quite closely Centurion is just the card I can dream about for now...