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How hard is it to get an Amex?

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  • tripled wrote: »
    At 12,000k I'm not surprised they got a card.

    Oh so the poster makes £12 million a year? At 21!

    Rather unlikely but not impossible!
  • planteria
    planteria Posts: 5,322 Forumite
    Part of the Furniture 1,000 Posts Combo Breaker
    Amex tend to be quite firm with their criteria,
    but their CS is excellent, so worth trying ime.
    i use the Cashback Creditcard, which are relatively easy to get hold of.
    a Titanium card is a stretch though;)
  • I found their customer services rubbish. Just after I got platinum you would have a named CS rep to "take care" of you. That was done away with and it became pretty much the same as elsewhere: dial this for this and that for that. I remember when I finally decided to cancel it I was stuck in a queue for 30mins before I could speak to someone. Perhaps it's better now.
  • I've always been very impressed with their call centre staff- generally don't need to wait long. I tried calling the other day and there was a 10minute wait but other than that I've always been through to someone within a minute.

    As for how hard, it's impossible to say. However, I got my first card about a year after I opened my first CC with my bank. I would imagine their Eligibility criteria are probably hard limits though. Each card is slightly different but a rough scan seems to suggest £20,000 is the smallest household income they'll go for (importantly it's household income, not just your personal income- do you live with a partner that would increase that?).
  • There havent been personal representatives for donkeys years for Platinum cardholders. That said, its certainly possible to informally get one in each of the specialties without any issues. Certainly I use the same lass for any hotel/ flight etc bookings that I want to make through them as she is very good at getting extras thrown in or even getting the perks changed if they dont fit our needs.

    Only very occasionally had to contact the normal CS side and so never had the need to make a connection with a single rep.

    AmEx appear to be a little picky but that doesnt necessarily mean the cards are hard to get, just they are specific on what they like and dont like. I have a charge card, which I put everything I can on including business expenses so a 20k balance isnt unheard of. The only time they've ever expressed a concern is when they botched a fight booking for me and ended up putting it on 4 times on top of what was already a heavy month and got a call to say the balance was a bit high at 35k and could I bring it down a bit before any other big spends.

    Only have 3k of other outstanding debt thats on 0%, have a couple of other credit cards that are rarely used, a decent enough job and salary but when applying for an amex CC it got referred and only got a 1k limit. Only wanted it for the intro bonus so it was fine but always seemed odd that they are happy with 20k of charge card limit but only 1k of credit card.
  • Oh so the poster makes £12 million a year? At 21!

    Rather unlikely but not impossible!

    What I meant was 12K I wish I was earning £12mill

    My personal income was 12K, the household income was more, which is what they took into account.
  • derfo
    derfo Posts: 42 Forumite
    My wife was rejected for an AMEX last year but got accepted for one last month with at £10k credit limit. Go figure!
  • iAMaLONDONER
    iAMaLONDONER Posts: 1,669 Forumite
    What I meant was 12K I wish I was earning £12mill

    My personal income was 12K, the household income was more, which is what they took into account.

    Oh ok !

    I'll just wait till I get a full time job after uni then
  • MisterBaxter
    MisterBaxter Posts: 666 Forumite
    I got declined only last week for the platinum cashback card. Household income almost 4x the limit required, personal income around 2.5x limit. I think my problem is I don't have much else in the way of credit, although what I do have is in good order with my one and only card having low utilisation ratio and being paid back in full each month. I have a mortgage (joint) and current account (joint).

    They didn't give a specific reason for the decline only that I didn't meet their lending criteria.

    Nationwide offered me a card when I was in branch with £7500 limit so I can't be completly uncreditworthy, must be Amex just didn't like the looks of me. I've never had an account with them before so I can't think that I have upset them at all in the past.
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