Amex - Why am I not eligible?

tripled

Playing with the eligibility checker revealed it thinks I'm not eligible due to my recent change of address - putting my old address down it said I apparently have a 70% chance of acceptance.

I'm not sure if it's because the credit reference agencies haven't picked me up on the electoral roll yet or because I've been at my address for only a few months, but in MSE's view one or the other of those would make me ineligible. The change of address took place after my failed application, so in the end it didn't help me figure out why I might have been rejected.

I'll pull my experian and equifax reports anyway just on case there's anything amiss, but it looks like I'll just have to continue managing my accounts in good order and hope that in March I meet Amex's scoring!

TBeckett100

SoloFlyer wrote: »

I just received my Amex Gold Charge card in the post today and every time I checked MSE checker it said I was not eligible. I applied anyway last week; but didn't get instant decision and was told I would be informed by post/email. Got email instantly stating my application was being referred and then on Monday got another email stating I would have further information by post/email. Thought it was strange they sent me a similar email. Anyway this morning it came and I didn't even know I was accepted. So I guess MSE Checker isn't always accurate then. It is a useful guide but I wouldn't take its word as testament.

And isn't it nicely packaged. No more card stuck to paper peasant stuff for us now. Lol.

tripled

To update the above (in case it's of interest to anyone), I was accepted instantly for a Cashback Everyday card yesterday. The eligibility checker still gives me 0% - it clearly has issues with my new address.

In terms of the changes to my credit file which may have affected the decision, since then I have opened a new credit card with 6.5k limit. Another CC has increased my limit by 2k. A couple of months ago I reduced my Barclaycard limit by 9k. I have opened four current accounts in the past six months and closed one. On balance I would have thought this would be largely neutral on the card front and negative on the searches/current account front (although my 10 year old current account is still going strong). My credit utilisation is probably down slightly.

A couple of positive changes I think may have swung it are a one off PDL I took out is now over three years ago, and the household income has increased as I now live with my fiancee. I strongly suspect the two year old (at the time) PDL was behind the referral though as I easily met the income criteria anyway and, aside from the PDL, my credit profile would now seem to be worse.