Honestly I think you should be good to apply for an Amex right now. The good news is they now have a pre-approval tool that uses a soft inquiry when applying, and allows you to accept the offer if approved before a hard inquiry is imposed.
Good luck!
@savvysaver wrote:I'm a 21-year-old with a steady income of $85,000 annually looking to build a strong credit history. While my ultimate goal is to qualify for the American Express Platinum card, I understand the importance of starting with a solid foundation. Could you recommend some banks or credit card options that are beginner-friendly and can help me establish a positive credit profile?
Scores as of today: 727 (EQ) | 749 (TR) | 721 (EX)
Currently on my file:Navy Federal Secured Card - $500 Limit (11 Months)
CarMax Auto Loan w/Cosignor - $19,000 (27 Months)
Barclays Mastercard - $2,100 Limit (4 yrs 11 Months) - Authorized User - Only reporting on my EQ
Any suggestions?
why hasn't your secured card graduated? very bizzare tbh, were you ever late on it or did you overdraft navy at all?
um, honeslty just apply for another navy card and it won't surprise me to see you get a nice big limit tbh
you could also get discover it or savor one, (use the pre-approval) great cards I imagine you'll also be approved for
but if you want an amex, go right ahead and apply like said above ^ ^, how do you plan the make the most of the benefits of the platinum, will you have the $8k spend for the bonus?
@savvysaver wrote:I'm a 21-year-old with a steady income of $85,000 annually looking to build a strong credit history. While my ultimate goal is to qualify for the American Express Platinum card, I understand the importance of starting with a solid foundation. Could you recommend some banks or credit card options that are beginner-friendly and can help me establish a positive credit profile?
Scores as of today: 727 (EQ) | 749 (TR) | 721 (EX)
Currently on my file:Navy Federal Secured Card - $500 Limit (11 Months)
CarMax Auto Loan w/Cosignor - $19,000 (27 Months)
Barclays Mastercard - $2,100 Limit (4 yrs 11 Months) - Authorized User - Only reporting on my EQ
Any suggestions?
You would easily qualify for the Amex Platinum card right now.
The only question to ask is whether you can get enough value out of it to justify the sky high annual fee.
I would recommend looking at the Chase Freedom Flex/Freedom Unlimited (as well as any other Chase cards you like), Capital 1 SavorOne, Citi Custom Cash/Double Cash first. AMEX has a lot more lenient rules for accounts/inquiries . With your score and income, you shouldn't have a problem with AMEX. If I could do it again, I would focus on Chase, Citi, and C1 first as they are more hesitant with recent accounts/inquiries. Chase has their 5/24 rule that will lock you out from any Chase cards if you have 5 or more new accounts in the past 24 months.
Just double checked your credit profile and I think the issue was that you only have the one secured card that is 11 months old. The AU you have is nice for boosting credit score, but that is telling the banks the history of the primary user, not your history. I know Chase likes to see a full year of credit history and I imagine many other issuers are the same, but can't speak on specifics. I would wait a couple months (so your secured card reports as over a year old) and get some starter cards first like Chase Freedom Flex/Unlimited, C1 SavorOne, Citi Double/Custom Cash. I imagine AMEX is wanting to see some more history first, as the rest of your profile looks good.
