Applying for the AMEX Platinum Charge

[ChrisFlyer]

Out of curiosity, does anyone know what kind of lending criteria AMEX places on applications for the Platinum Charge Card (other than minimum income and clean credit file), and would your existing AMEX credit limits affect your outcome?

(E.g., even though there's technically no 'credit limit', I understand there's still a 'comfort limit' or some such - is there a certain 'comfort limit' you have to reach before AMEX will consider your application?)

I ask because I recently applied for the Explorer card and was approved instantly with a five-figure credit limit, after ticking the option for AMEX to assign the highest credit limit available based on your circumstances.

Would this mean AMEX's computers already consider my existing limit the 'maximum' they would extend, and therefore, applying for the Plat Charge Card would likely result in a rejection? Or does AMEX just use your credit card usage and repayment history to just say 'yes' to a charge card, and they'd only call or pause the card if you start charging more than usual?

Just considering my options and don't want to waste time on an application (and a ding to my credit file) if approval for the Plat Charge is unlikely... am tempted to wait at least 6 months in any case just to space out my AMEX applications, given that if I have the Plat Charge, I'd probably want to add the Plat Reserve too for the free flight etc.

Thanks in advance for any insight anyone can provide!

 

[blueythecat]

Out of curiosity, does anyone know what kind of lending criteria AMEX places on applications for the Platinum Charge Card (other than minimum income and clean credit file), and would your existing AMEX credit limits affect your outcome?

(E.g., even though there's technically no 'credit limit', I understand there's still a 'comfort limit' or some such - is there a certain 'comfort limit' you have to reach before AMEX will consider your application?)

I ask because I recently applied for the Explorer card and was approved instantly with a five-figure credit limit, after ticking the option for AMEX to assign the highest credit limit available based on your circumstances.

Would this mean AMEX's computers already consider my existing limit the 'maximum' they would extend, and therefore, applying for the Plat Charge Card would likely result in a rejection? Or does AMEX just use your credit card usage and repayment history to just say 'yes' to a charge card, and they'd only call or pause the card if you start charging more than usual?

Just considering my options and don't want to waste time on an application (and a ding to my credit file) if approval for the Plat Charge is unlikely... am tempted to wait at least 6 months in any case just to space out my AMEX applications, given that if I have the Plat Charge, I'd probably want to add the Plat Reserve too for the free flight etc.

Thanks in advance for any insight anyone can provide!

Obviously I can't comment with certainty, ie no inside information (only what I've learnt from AFF). Based on my reading on AFF a number of factors come into play - but you've already got one of those working for you - you hold an existing AMEX card. You are also quite correct, whilst your Charge card has no official limit, AMEX will have a spend limit for you on file. As you hold the card longer and establish a spend pattern, AMEX will vary this no official limit.

A good credit file obviously helps, but if you look at this thread you'll see it isn't mandatory. Plenty of people have applied and successfully got a Charge Card with a pretty low credit score.

I personally applied for the Edge and Charge within a two month period, both via referral links, and didn't have a single problem, so I wouldn't worry about waiting too long (a good referral bonus at the moment for applications).

You might also interested to know that AMEX have never asked me for proof of income in all my applications with them (quite a few now), although all of them have been through a referral link.

Finally, you probably already know this, but if you only hold an Explorer card, you'll almost certainly get the Charge card sign-on bonus too (despite the T&C's) - either the standard AMEX sign-on bonus or a referral sign-on bonus.

 

[trippin_the_rift]

my understanding is the charge card can come with any amount as a soft credit limit down low like $1000. If you have a good repayment history and everything is in order and you check the boxes i don't see why it wouldn't be approved. After all, It's a charge card - not a credit card.

 

[ItsJustMagic]

Hi there ChrisFlyer . . . I'm new on the forums but I know a fair bit about AMEX cards and how banks etc work.

Hopefully this helps you understand their processes.

AMEX cards are generally charge cards and not credit cards, as you are already aware. AMEX looks at your credit score to make sure that you don't have any defaults (depending on the circumstances, you may still be approved with a default but it's rare and unlikely) and they also want to guage your income so they know they are offering the right product to you.

Merchants pay more to process AMEX transactions and one of the selling points is that platinum and black card holders statistically earn and spend more therefore the extra fees are compensated by more revenue from the premium customers.

AMEX have an internal limit that they set for you based on what they believe you can afford to repay. This is based on what they know about your income and assets as well as what you normally spend.

If they have an internal limit of, for example, $25000 and you apply for a second AMEX product and are approved, AMEX will simply apply that limit across your entire profile. The best example of this is if you applied for a credit card with them and also has a charge card product. If the credit card had a limit of $10000 then they would reduce the amount available on your charge card from $25000 to a lower figure. The lower figure may not necessarily be exactly lower by the amount of the credit card limit but it would be lower.

So specifically for your circumstances, if your income levels are high enough, there are no defaults on your file and you have a good account history then AMEX would probably look at your application favourably in the absence of any risk factors and would simply apply whatever credit limit they are happy with across both of your charge cards.

Hope that helps

 

[opusman]

FWIW, the Amex online banking system has a feature that lets you put in an amount and it tells you if it would be approved or not if you tried to charge it to the card. No way to do that before you actually have the card though.

 

[ItsJustMagic]

The feature only let's you see what the maximum single transaction amount that would be approved is but not necessarily what your total limit is.

It's helpful but not completely accurate.

 

[blueythecat]

AMEX cards are generally charge cards and not credit cards, as you are already aware. AMEX looks at your credit score to make sure that you don't have any defaults (depending on the circumstances, you may still be approved with a default but it's rare and unlikely) and they also want to guage your income so they know they are offering the right product to you.

Some great info in your post ItsJustMagic. Technically I think AMEX only have two current Charge cards available to the masses (ie excluding Green Charge etc -which are no longer issued) - these are the Platinum Charge Card and its business equivalent. The rest of their cards are standard boring old credit cards, with a standard boring set credit limit.

Slightly off topic, and you may already know, but AMEX will let you hold up to 1 x personal Charge Card and 2 x personal Credit Cards (ie AMEX issued ones that is - bank issued ones don't count) at any one time.

 

[ItsJustMagic]

You appear to be quite correct, I didn't realise that they had discontinued most of their other cards.

I'm used to seeing gold business cards . . . I was wondering why I hadn't seen a green card for a while lol

 

[albyd]

I've got 2 charge cards - gold which I don't use anymore but they keep waiving the annual fee for and the Platinum. It's possible to have 2 charge and 2 credit cards.

 

[blueythecat]

I've got 2 charge cards - gold which I don't use anymore but they keep waiving the annual fee for and the Platinum. It's possible to have 2 charge and 2 credit cards.

That's good to know, especially if you happen to have one of those awesome green charge cards and want to apply for a Platinum Charge card. Certainly something I didn't know (no green charge card for me :-()

 

[FFavgeek]

Hi,
I have a Platinum Amex Business Card and when I first got the card I had a ‘soft limit’ of $8K. That lasted for a couple of months. Now however, I regularly make payments for business expenses which we’ll surpass the 6 figure region with no hassle. I was advised by one of their staff on one occasion, that if you make transactions which aren’t unusually high, you have to call them to verify the veracity of the transaction. But as I said I regularly make payments in the 6 figures and my card has never declined.

 

[albyd]

There’s a tool on the Amex site where you can test out if the system will authorize a transaction before you make it using the ‘Check spending power’ tool on the Amex website. As you build up your history with Amex, will be able to make consistently larger charges. If a Charge is much higher than usual, they may ask you to pre pay it before they will approve it.