cmlsu

I plan to apply for three cards today. 5/24 is not an issue and I only have 4 Amex credit cards. One of the Amex cards is a business credit card. I have no hard inquiries or opened accounts in the previous 6 months. My credit score has currently dipped to 710-715. I would like to apply for the business chase SW and personal chase SW card. I would also like to apply for the Amex Hilton Aspire. Would there be any specific order I should apply for these three?

tcook052

Moved from the Manufactured Spending forum to the Credit Cards forum for further discussion.

tcook052
MS forum moderator

sdsearch

Amex has a 4 or 5 credit card limit. Business cards do count. The only cards that don't count are charge cards (such as Amex Gold and Amex Platinum), where you have to pay the full amount each month (unless you separately enroll in Pay Over Time). So in case they deny you for going over the 4 card limit, tell them you've heard it's a 5 card limit now and ask them to reconsider. But if they refuse, you either have to negotiate to close one of your cards to all this own to open, or give up. But don't close any Amex cards ahead of time, that may cost you your signup bonus:

Amex (USA) restricts bonus based on number of accounts opened/closed (June 2018)

Amex USA terms now penalize:abuse,misuse,gaming;1st yr downgrade/close;leaked offers.

And make sure you've done spend (and had it post to your statement already) on each of your \4 Amex cards recently enough. Amex is denying people signup bonuses if they find that you've been "sock drawering" your existing Amex cards!

So if it's going to take time to put your Amex house in order based on the above, you may want to try at least one of the Chase cards first. Keep in mind that you'll have to do minimum spend on each card, so you may want to space those out anyway. Amex, in particular, may also deny you a bonus if they "sense" that you bought gift cards to meet the minimum spend requirement; I don't know about Chase (I do only "natural" spend and/or at most occasional gift cards bought at grocery stores with some groceries mixed in on the same purchase, so that it doesn't "small" like a gift card purchase based on the total charge amount; ie, you don't want $505.95 ringing bells loudly on your statement.). Definitely don't buy gift cards form a website known to mostly sell gift cards, that's automatic denial pretty much with Amex these days.

happychic

If I were you I would apply for Chase biz SW first, then Chase personal SW, then Amex Hilton Aspire.

Chase biz cards are not counted towards 5/24. In my experience, as long as you have a good history with Amex, they are likely to approve your application to their premium credit cards.

As for the 4 or 5 Amex card rules, if it really is an issue for you, when you call recon you can ask to close one of your Amex credit cards. IIRC some people can get 6 Amex credit cards (plus charge cards), so the 4 or 5 is not a hard rule for everyone.

cmlsu

That's actually the order I went with. I was approved for the Chase SW Business, then approved for the SW Plus, then got the message that I would not be eligible for the Aspire bonus so I withdrew that app. I'm going to put some spend on my amex cards and try again.