Charge Cards: Hard to Get?
 

I'm only 19, and in March (when I was 18), I got approved for an SPG Amex. Recently, I've tried to convert it to a Charge card (which resulted in my embarrassment for not checking prior to calling :o ). So, I bit the bullet and applied for a Green card (thinking it was easiest to get approved for), and was subsequently denied. Are charge cards difficult to get, or was this just a one-off thing? Should I just wait another year (I don't want to :( :td:) and see if a longer credit history does the job? Thanks everyone!

What was the stated reason for the declined application?

Well, I don't know how the USA division operates on this specifically, but when I got my first AMEX 2 and a half years ago, in Spain, I was just under 23 and first applied for the Gold Credit card (this is Spain's only credit card product as they focus primarily on the charge card business in that market) and got approved for 2.000 €.
After a month or two I decided I loved AMEX and decided to apply for a Green charge card, and was declined.
I was devestated and remember thinking to myself that it was odd and I couldnt understand the rationale on why they would approve me for a product which I am able to pay over time and make bare minimum payments on each month, but would not approve me for an account that must be settled in full each and every month. Customer service could not give me the reason as to why they didn't approve me.
Anyway, about 9 months after having my Gold Credit card and showing them that I was good for it, I skipped Green alltogether and they did approve me right away for a Gold charge card. I tried to get Platinum right away but at the time I was 7,500 € shy of the annual Platinum income requirement (they do ask to see income verification in Spain) but they did qualify me for Gold.
Now at first, it wasn't a cakewalk because they would cut me off at low spending amounts (1200-1500 €) the first few months, but I think once they saw that I travelled heavily overseas and used the Card for conferences, events, and launches quite liberally, they kept gradually increasing it month by month. Actually, I had to call them once and very firmly tell them that if they wanted, I would make a mid statement payment but that I needed to have access to the card for work expenses, and I think they sensed I was a little ticked.
To make an already long story short, after a year of Gold I graduated to the Platinum Card (Spain) and the Platinum Card (ICC-Dollar) as well as several AMEX credit products and my relationship with AMEX (in all countries) is great as of now.
I think worldwide with the charge products, AMEX is more stringent and still wants to maintain a bit of ¨cache¨ and an air of exclusivity on them. I understand that in the States AMEX cards are substantially the hardest cards to get, and that the co-branded credit cards like Starwood and Delta have lower credit requirements than the other AMEX products.
My recommendation is just to hang in there for a few more months and continue to build your relationship with AMEX. Once you get in good with them, you are all set, and you can do this with ontime payments and heavy card useage.

That's odd. My first credit/charge card was the Green Card (I had just turned 19), although I called in to upgrade to Platinum within hours of receiving it (this was almost a year ago).

If you already have one Amex card then that may be the reason they turned you down. You could contact them and ask it you can convert your existing card to a charge card - if that's what you want.

To be honest, at 19 years old I would recommend a credit card so you can spread your payments if you charge too much in one month. It creates a black mark in your credit history (and you can do without this) if you fail to pay off your charge card IN FULL every month.

I was issued Green Amex Charge Card as a student at 17. It was a regular Amex and they were marketing to students. I think they now market Blue to students instead.

I wouldn't say that charge cards or specifically AmEx charge cards are particularly hard to get, it's just that they demand quite a high criteria. For example excellent payment and credit history, a certain level of household income etc.

Personally, I don't find it difficult to control my spending on cards and so it's probably easier for me to build up a good credit history as a result. I haven't missed a payment and pay off my statement in full whether it be a credit or charge card. I'm sure this helps my credit score.

I'm 20, so not much older than the OP and have AmEx's Platinum Charge Card. I knew I didn't have a poor credit history when I had the Green Card, but I was a bit surprised when AmEx invited me to become a Platinum Cardmember.

If I were you, I'd carry on building up your credit history by using other cards (sensibly!) and then re-apply in a year. I don't think you'll have a problem getting a Green card then if you have a good credit history.

To answer the OP'a original question, yes...for whatever reason, charge cards do seem to be more difficult to be approved for than a normal credit card.

Not sure why...especially since I personally find it MUCH easier to avoid digging myself a hole, since I have to pay the thing off every month! Surely an account with a 1-month repayment term must be lower risk than one with an indefinite term, statistically...

Anyway, get a credit product with Amex and maintain good account history on that for 6 months to a year, and you should have no problem getting approved for other Amex products.

Risk is one consideration. Return is the other. A charge card account is only profitable for American Express if the transaction volume is large, because their only source of revenue is the merchant fees (and the annual fee). A credit card account, however, can be profitable with a much lower transaction volume if the cardholder carries a balance and pays finance charges.