Paid off old Amex account. Should I take the Amex Optima card? Anyone else done this?

[Help1285]

I received an email a couple months ago from Amex. They offered me an Amex Optima card with a limit of $800 & to regain membership if I paid off the balance of $2,900.

I paid it off last week. Should I accept the Optima or should I wait til my scores improve and apply for an Amex charge product? Current Ficos are 650's across the board.

Has anyone gotten this offer or accepted the Optima card? 

 

[centex]

Have they changed to where people have to make the payment and THEN apply?  It used to go hand in hand...the Agreement specifically incorporated the payment to AXP and the Optima card back to the customer. 

 

It IS the foot in the door. 

 

And yes, if you search the site, you will see many references to experiences with the Optima card.  I cannot speak to the current iteration that is geared towards those trying to make things right...my only personal experience is when the Optima card was the first true foray by AXP into credit cards in the early 90's (that version of the product did not live long).  

[Help1285]

They ask you to pay in full and you can do this by monthly payments. Once the balance is zero they send you a paper application in the mail.

I have not received my paper application but I have read that once the balance is zero one can apply for any other card the only difference is that the Optima is a guaranteed approval and their other products would just be based on your reports & scores.

[Help1285]

I applied for the Green card a couple days ago:

 

 

You have a serious delinquency on one or more of your accounts.(removed)

There are too many credit inquiries on your report in the last 12 months. 

There are too few accounts currently paid as agreed. (5 accounts paid as agreed)

There is no recent information about installment loans on your report. (This is a reason why I wanted an installment loan)

 

Score :645

 

Since then I had a CA removed off Transunion.

 

They pulled EXP & Transunion and the pulled Lexis Nexis for what?? lol

 

 

[centex]

19 hours ago, Help1285 said:

They ask you to pay in full and you can do this by monthly payments. Once the balance is zero they send you a paper application in the mail.

I have not received my paper application but I have read that once the balance is zero one can apply for any other card the only difference is that the Optima is a guaranteed approval and their other products would just be based on your reports & scores.

Since you wanted back in with them, as evidenced by paying off the old default, why would you NOT take them up on their offer of a guaranteed approval?

[centex]

18 hours ago, Help1285 said:

I applied for the Green card a couple days ago:

 

 

You have a serious delinquency on one or more of your accounts.(removed)

There are too many credit inquiries on your report in the last 12 months. 

There are too few accounts currently paid as agreed. (5 accounts paid as agreed)

There is no recent information about installment loans on your report. (This is a reason why I wanted an installment loan)

 

Score :645

 

Since then I had a CA removed off Transunion.

 

They pulled EXP & Transunion and the pulled Lexis Nexis for what?? lol

 

 

AXP is not score driven.  They look at other variables which are apparent through a review of the report(s).

 

Unless they have changed, it would seem that their usual EXP pull demonstrated you to be a wobbler so they also pulled TU.  LN is a verification of identity. 

 

The primary denial comes in the first reason or two.  By the time you get to the fourth line, it is a space filler.  The lack of an installment loan is NOT what cost you an approval. 

 

How many inquiries DO you have?  How many tradelines are ON the reports?  Of the five you claim are paid as agreed, how many are presently open? 

[idonthaveaname]

I actually got a letter like this and then i paid the amex card off and I never got a paper application for the optima. When I called up they said they never sent it to me

[Help1285]

 

The open ones are :

Cap one

Saks

Kohls

Montgomery

Amazon

The rest are closed.

This is my Trasnsunion report. I did have 2 unpaid CA ONLY on Transunion. One was just deleted and the other is due to be deleted hopefully in the next couple of days. I have 20 inquiries on Transunion.

@centex

Also I didn't want to take that offer for now because I wanted to get approved for one of their better cards since I'm removed off their blacklist. If I can't get approved for a regular Amex in the next couple of months then ill take that Optima Card. CL 800 and no increases or other Amex products for one year is the agreement on that.

What is a wobbler?lol

[Help1285]

AAOA 4.5 years

[Help1285]

30 minutes ago, idonthaveaname said:

I actually got a letter like this and then i paid the amex card off and I never got a paper application for the optima. When I called up they said they never sent it to me

How long has it been? Did you try their pre-qualifier?

[RehabbingANDBlabbing]

You should take the Optima card. The general consensus is they will give you a regular card if you use and pay the Optima card on time for 1 year. Not a bad deal, in my opinion. In the meantime, you can work on paying off those old collections and getting them deleted, which will help your scores a lot. Generally, it is a lot easier to get collections deleted than it is to get charge offs deleted, so I would focus your energy on those. I would look into paying for a deletion, especially for smaller amounts.

[Help1285]

21 minutes ago, RehabbingANDBlabbing said:

You should take the Optima card. The general consensus is they will give you a regular card if you use and pay the Optima card on time for 1 year. Not a bad deal, in my opinion. In the meantime, you can work on paying off those old collections and getting them deleted, which will help your scores a lot. Generally, it is a lot easier to get collections deleted than it is to get charge offs deleted, so I would focus your energy on those. I would look into paying for a deletion, especially for smaller amounts.

I don't have any unpaid collection accounts or any unpaid charged off accounts. Ive just read where users were able to get approved for other Amex cards.  Thought I would try that first.

[centex]

17 hours ago, Help1285 said:

I don't have any unpaid collection accounts or any unpaid charged off accounts. Ive just read where users were able to get approved for other Amex cards.  Thought I would try that first.

It does not matter if they are unpaid.  The mere presence is problematic for some lenders.  Thus, take the card they are telling you they WILL give you and then work upwards.  I'd be wary of waiting because I doubt they keep those offers open indefinitely.

 

The concern with the listed accounts in the earlier post is that it seems that you have three that require payments each month, which means that the algorithms see too many balances.  Utilization is more than just the overall percentage.  A piece of it looks at a ratio of cards to cards with a balance. 

[Help1285]

This is what the American Express Optima application looks like. It also has the terms and other  information if anyone is curious. 
https://ibb.co/p19ygft

[Help1285]

What does “benefits “ that come with card membership mean ? I thought this card had nothing lol 

[hegemony]

1 hour ago, Help1285 said:

What does “benefits “ that come with card membership mean ?

marketing

[Help1285]

33 minutes ago, hegemony said:

marketing

So they’re bsn me lol 😂 

[hdporter]

35 minutes ago, Help1285 said:

So they’re bsn me lol 😂 

 

No.

 

If you want back in with Amex, the Optima is the most assured way back in.  Plain and simple.  Show satisfactory performance on it and other approvals should be forthcoming.

 

As has been noted in the thread, if you opt to cold app, you could be looking at an uphill battle.

 

FWIW, it seems that you're the one that has introduced the term "benefits" in relationship to Optima into this thread.  I presume you cited the term from something Amex put out.  Benefits are in the eye of the beholder.  The key benefit Optima conveys is a portal to approval for other cards.  If you don't have a particular Amex product that you currently desire to hold, then there's really no benefit to Optima for you.

[Help1285]

1 hour ago, hdporter said:

 

No.

 

If you want back in with Amex, the Optima is the most assured way back in.  Plain and simple.  Show satisfactory performance on it and other approvals should be forthcoming.

 

As has been noted in the thread, if you opt to cold app, you could be looking at an uphill battle.

 

FWIW, it seems that you're the one that has introduced the term "benefits" in relationship to Optima into this thread.  I presume you cited the term from something Amex put out.  Benefits are in the eye of the beholder.  The key benefit Optima conveys is a portal to approval for other cards.  If you don't have a particular Amex product that you currently desire to hold, then there's really no benefit to Optima for you.

Thanks for your input. I would really like to have one of their charge cards.  The letter that was attached to the application mentioned “benefits of card membership” if you click on the link above you’ll see a photo of the letter they sent me. 

[hegemony]

2 hours ago, Help1285 said:

Thanks for your input. I would really like to have one of their charge cards.  The letter that was attached to the application mentioned “benefits of card membership” if you click on the link above you’ll see a photo of the letter they sent me. 

take the optima offer. but being a "member" is just marketing bee es.

[Help1285]

21 hours ago, hegemony said:

take the optima offer. but being a "member" is just marketing bee es.

I did. I sent in the app via next day shipping. Thank you. 
Its only $800. Do you think I should pay in full before the statement cuts? I read that some optima card holders were running thousands a month to show responsible usage/payment and just paying multiple times a month and then I’ve also read that that’s a bad idea lol 

[RehabbingANDBlabbing]

14 hours ago, Help1285 said:

I did. I sent in the app via next day shipping. Thank you. 
Its only $800. Do you think I should pay in full before the statement cuts? I read that some optima card holders were running thousands a month to show responsible usage/payment and just paying multiple times a month and then I’ve also read that that’s a bad idea lol 

I think you should be fine if you show at least some usage every month and pay on time, whether it is before or after the statement closes. You really just need to demonstrate you can pay on time, IMO. 

[hdporter]

3 hours ago, RehabbingANDBlabbing said:

I think you should be fine if you show at least some usage every month and pay on time, whether it is before or after the statement closes. You really just need to demonstrate you can pay on time, IMO. 

 

Building on R&B's comments, there's no data to show that aggressive card use leads to more favorable treatment than using an Amex card as suggested by R&B.  Amex bases credit limits on "ability to pay", not usage, and has almost universally been cited as being liberal with limits when you maintain your card in good standing.

 

I firmly believe that paying statements in full rather than after the fact is another tactic that buys you little with creditors, including Amex.  It's an appropriate tactic if you want to help optimize your FICO scores by keeping reported limits low.  But it does little to improve your account standing.