BA Amex Card

Dave_Z

Hi All,

My Wife and I will be coming into some money soon (inheritance) and we will be clearing all our existing debt. I plan to get rid of my current credit cards and apply for a BA Premium Plus Amex as if we do all our day to day spending on it we should be able to treat ourselves to some free upgrades/flights. I'll be clearing the balance each month to avoid the interest. What i was wondering is how long after clearing the existing debt would it take to reflect on my credit profile? I'd be quite keen to get a decent limit (£2-3k) and wouldn't want the risk of getting rejected, but presumably i can't just apply the day after clearing my debts as it will take some time to adjust. I've never defaulted and don't believe i've missed any payments in the last 6 years or so. How long should i wait before applying?

Thanks for any help.

Curt.

How high are the debts? My wife applied for the regular BA Amex and had like 40% of her available credit in use, and compared to her income was not really a lot to spare either yet she was approved...i would say go for it after a month or two if you havent had too many other applications in the last 6 months, hope that helps!

(That being said she did already have an Amex and a history of being a good customer so that helps).

Dave_Z

We have about £15k to settle. Was £25k at it's worst. It'll all be cleared with a decent amount to put into savings as well. We'd been planning to take my Wifes parents to New York in September so it'd be great if I could get it in time to buy the flights for that. Triple miles and all. I might just check when all my accounts have been updated as settled on my credit report and try my luck then. If no success I can wait a little while.

Curt.

Yeah that sounds the best idea - a few bucks to check your report is worth it in the long run to try get the application approved in time for the flighs in September.

With the recent chaos with BA strikes though my wife has always been told to check ahead to see if flights that are due to points that are redeemed are effected, but i am not sure yet - i'll ask her and see if she knows what their procedures are and get back to you.

You do need to spend a lot for a redemption (or even part redemption) for a transatlantic flight though, and that card does also have a fee so make sure it is cost effective for you to travel like that...

Dave_Z

I've done some estimates on my budgets and things i'd plan to buy with the card over the next 12 months. I think i would comfortably get up to the 75,000 miles i need for a business return to Denver as well as the £10k spend i need for the free companion ticket. It'd cost £5200 to buy 2 business returns normally so if we could get them for £500 of taxes by just using the card for stuff we'd be buying anyway then it'd be excellent. I don't really like the annual fee but the standard card wouldn't give me anywhere near the amount of benefits i could get from the premium card.