I am so confused! Backstory: Lost my job in 2014.
Lived off my credit card for food and misc. Bills for about 6 months as unemployment was enough to cover the big stuff while I looked for a job. American Express then closed my account when I quickly became delinquent on payments seeing as I had no job. They sold the amount due to a collector. As of last month I paid off the entire amount owed in full. This month American Express sent me an offer titled 'Regain Membership Card' called an 'Optima Card'.
Did some research online and this card has almost no information available on American Express website or the web in general. From what I read online in other forums for people in similar situations but with different card offers. To me it seems that if, hypothetically, I apply and this account is opened then American Express reopens my account using my original date of 2001 for calculating the length of the account. Would this affect my FICO score in a positive way and if so how many points would you estimate it moves hopefully up? Is it a secured or unsecured card?
A secured card has you put down a cash security deposit. For the CapitalOne Secured Mastercard and Discover It Secured, they are usually about $200 and will get you a $200 credit line. It's not a lot of money, but since you'll only be making one small purchase per month on it, that's OK. Secured still functions as a credit card: you charge something on the 1st, it's on your statement on the 30th, and it's due the next month on the 23rd, so you get 6 weeks to pay before interest accrues. An unsecured card is a 'big boy' credit card where you don't need to put any money down.
I agree, there's not a lot about the Optima Oasis card on the internet. Claims that it can't be backdated, so it won't help your Average Age of Accounts.
But, later, it does say that they backdated it seven years. Make sure it doesn't have an annual fee, then perhaps go for it if it's unsecured.
I should have included that info in the post. The Optima is an Unsecured card with a $1700 credit limit (which is roughly the same exact amount I paid off in full.maybe that is not a coincidence.) and a $49 annual fee. I called and explained my situation to my other credit cards at the time. They all worked with me and and my accounts are still in good standing today with zero balances on them currently. Amex is the only one that sent me to a collections agent. All that being said - I probably would not look twice at this offer other than the potential opportunity to back date my Average Age of Accounts and increase the FICO score. It's a bummer is such's a rare-case card.
The cards I have are mainstream and there are entire websites (and subreddits) about using them. Here's what I've got: Optima Oasis: Pros are a high initial credit limit and a possible extended Age of Account. Cons are that $50 / yr annual fee forever. Other Entry Level Card: Pros are no annual fee, but cons are a limited credit history and possibly a lower credit limit. What does your credit history look like? Namely, could you qualify for an unsecured card on your own?
Here's my thought process. It looks like this is the only account that went to collections, so reported negatively on your credit. If it's paid off, you might have a chance of getting an unsecured card (just an entry-level Discover It or Capital One), but one with no annual fee.
$50 a year isn't a lot, but it's too much to pay just for credit history. If the Optima Oasis card did 'backdate' your age of account, how far back would it go? Was the account opened in 2013, or for example 2008?
American blue pitbull terrier. Because losing a 10 year account vs a 4 year account is a big difference. Here's what I would do: I'd get a copy of my credit report (I already use Credit Karma, which has ups and downs, but it's free). It will show Equifax and TransUnion, but not Experian. I would comb through and see what the negative reports are (maybe a 30-60 past due). Their credit card information is paid advertisements, but the 'Approval Odds' are decent. If you combine that with and creditcards.com and nerdwallet, you can get a feel for what a good card would be for you, if you don't want to pay that $50 annual fee. Last thing: it's possible the Oasis, after a year or two, could be rolled into a no-annual-fee card.
To answer your question of what does my credit history look like: One of the other cards I had through the whole ordeal is Discover Card which shows my FICO score as 678 which is not too great. The original account with American Express was from 2002 so that would be like a 15 year account closure or potential backdating with Optima. I had/have 5 credit cards total almost all of them are over 10 years old. I have not pulled my free credit reports in over a year and am getting ready to pull them just to stay on top of the situation. I have never used CreditKarma before but it sounds like I should definitely be looking at that too even if just for the approval odds.
I apologize in advance for this repetitive topic. My question hasn't really been fully answered. Yes I tried search, and have found no RECENT information. I have the cash right now to apply for this program - $5k. I also have a few smaller CC amounts that I could use this money towards. What I like about the AMEX program is that it actually creates a positive credit history instead of simply fixing a negative.
My question is this: If I apply for and receive an Optima Card (I have no BK - should be approved), will they just close the account a month later? With the current financial climate, I don't think there's anything stopping AMEX(Or any CC Company) from doing this. If they'll just quickly close it, I'd rather take care of a few baddies, and let the AMEX sit. Can anyone offer more recent experience? Everything I see is from over a year ago.
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