gq_dq

I understand they pull Experian for a new app. I have 6 inquiries in the last 2 years with Experian, but 3 on Transunion. I already have a DL Blue card and FICO shouldn't be a factor (I think).

Should I freeze the Experian report before applying for the Gold DL card?

FB747

I personally have that card and had more inquiries than you and was approved.
I feel like once you have a foot in the door with Amex they quite liberally give you more cards...

SchindHaughton

You should look into a product change; if you hold a higher tier DL Amex, the Blue becomes completely redundant IIRC. Not sure what your ultimate goal is, but I would prefer to upgrade rather than open a new account and bring my average age down.

To answer your question more directly, I doubt the number of inquiries would be problematic since you are already an Amex customer. Six inquiries in the last two years isn't that much- people do tend to overstate how much they actually matter.

gq_dq

About the # of inquiries - there's a hard stop now with several issuers. I think BoA is like 3-4 in 2 years. Anything above that is an immediate decline which will not be overridden on recon. And BoA is just an example. There are many more that have substantially tightened that criterion.

mia

You may find this thread helpful: No Initial Hard Credit Pull for Existing Amex Cardholders?

gq_dq

Even though I closed my last Gold card in Jan 2013 so almost 8 years ago, when I just a few minutes ago attempted to apply for the Gold 50K offer which expires tomorrow I received a pop-up saying that based on my history, welcome offers, cards opened and closed blah blah I was not eligible to receive the welcome offer and since it said that a credit check had not been performed I elected to cancel the app. I guess waiting 7 years is not enuf! And that was surprising.

mia

You were not disqualified for the bonus because you have had this card before. What other American Express cards have you had?

gq_dq

The Blue card which I currently have was opened in either 1996 or 2001. It is my only Amex still open, and I religiously charge it every 2 months. I want to say it was opened in 2001 but the credit bureaux show a 1996 date which is well and good, considering that I can't possibly remember how many lives this one card has lived under other names and through product type changes. As you can imagine, over the last ~24 years since that first card, yes, been a few mo. I've only kept a spreadsheet since 2011 so who knows how many I've had between 1996 and 2011, but since 2011 I've had several SPGs, a couple of MR-PR Golds, the old Delta Options, the DL Gold I mentioned before, and the DL Plat. The last time I closed an Amex was the DL Plat in 2017.

mia

The popup is telling you that there is a history of applying, earning a bonus, and then letting the card sit dormant (or closing). American Express is looking for cardholders who continue to use the product after earning a bonus. At this stage the only known way to persuade the algorithm that you are a profitable customer would be to put regular significant spend on each of your open American Express cards for several months. However, we do have some reports of applicants seeing the popup for one card, but receiving a bonus for another. This suggests that American Express can calibrate the algorithm for individual offerings.

gq_dq

Thanks. I'll put monthly spend on my open Blue and try again next year since the Blue is the only remaining card I have open.

ramcm7

Amex generally only lets you get a SUB once per life per product. If you previously had DL Gold, you should not be eligible for a SUB, if that was your main objective.

mia

While that is the published policy, in practice the database only looks back about seven years. gq_dq is disqualified from the bonus NOT because of holding the card previously, but for the stated reason discussed.