Amex BASIC: 9/10 chances of accepting?

pinkcocktail82

Hi,
I'm on a journey of rebuilding my credit file.
I currently have a Barclaycard initial and have managed it well for over a year. I want to apply for the American Express Basic in order to pay for petrol & work expenses every month, and of course as it's a charge card, repay in full every month.
American express's eligibility calculator states 9/10 chances of being accepted.
1. Should I risk a hard search with the possibility of being rejected??
2. Anyone else being accepted / rejected based on 9/10 on the eligibility calculator?

Thanks.

[Deleted User]

1). Yes. It's one search, so not really any kind of a risk.
2) Yes. People have been both accepted and rejected with those odds.

pinkcocktail82

Thanks, I'll weigh it up.

GM1880

I was in almost exactly the same boat, a 4 year old, settled default, but with a highish salary. They said 9/10 for the BA Premium Amex and confirmed it with a £5.7k limit.

pinkcocktail82

That's interesting, ok my salary isn't high hence just applying for the basic. If accepted they may apply a cap on it which would be fine.

rpg481

Do you mind sharing if you got accepted?

[Deleted User]

For what purpose?

PRAISETHESUN

rpg481 wrote: »

Do you mind sharing if you got accepted?

It's not really going to mean anything anyway, since the 9/10 "chance" is dependant entirely upon your own personal circumstances. How other people compare to you is like comparing apples to oranges type of thing. As above people have been both accepted and rejected with those odds, so the only way to know for sure is to apply.

I'd say take a punt and apply. A single search on an otherwise clean file will have no lasting impact, just don't make the mistake of immediately going out and applying again elsewhere if you get rejected. Just wait a few months if that happens before applying again.

adindas

!!! wrote: »

For what purpose?

I also fail to understand we the people wanted to get Amex Credit Card. It is not as widely accepted as Master or Visa CC. Is it because of prestige ?? Have I missed something ?

Amex Platinum Cashback Everyday pay cashback. It pays 5% cashback on your first £2,000 of spending (£100 max), then 0.5% on up to £5,000/yr and 1% above this. But you need to spend at least £3,000 in a year to get any cashback to the retailer who accept Amex.

In the spirit of MSE you will only benefit the Amex card if your spending pattern meet the requirement to earn cashback to take advantage of generous Cashback in the retailer who accept Amex. But keep in mind Amex is not as widely accepted as Master or Visa CC.

[Deleted User]

adindas wrote: »

I also fail to understand we the people wanted to get Amex Credit Card. It is not as widely accepted as Master or Visa CC. Is it because of prestige ?? Have I missed something ?

Amex Platinum Cashback Everyday pay cashback. It pays 5% cashback on your first £2,000 of spending (£100 max), then 0.5% on up to £5,000/yr and 1% above this. But you need to spend at least £3,000 in a year to get any cashback to the retailer who accept Amex.

In the spirit of MSE you will only benefit the Amex card if your spending pattern meet the requirement to earn cashback to take advantage of generous Cashback in the retailer who accept Amex. But keep in mind Amex is not as widely accepted as Master or Visa CC.

My reply was to the person asking a year and a half if someone was accepted or not.

However, in light of your comment, I use my Amex cards everyday and it's rare I don't find a retailer that takes it.

Even pop-up shops/stalls, market stalls, and the coffee van that comes round to our office takes Amex.

rpg481

The only reason why I was asking is because a month ago, I tried applying for a platinum card, before that I used the AMEX elegibility check which gave me a 8/10 chance, so I thought why not give it a go and I got denied.

Then I was thinking to myself is AMEX checking tool even accurate, so I tried using Experian Credit Card Search and WOW the chances were so much different 4/10.

So if anyone is trying to apply for a AMEX card, I would highly recommend not using the AMEX elegibility check.