The American Express® Gold Card is one of the best value credit cards for restaurants, and its generous array of benefits hints that you’ll likely need a pretty decent credit score to qualify for the card.
It offers 4 points at restaurants, 4 points at US supermarkets (for purchases up to $25,000 in a calendar year, then 1 point), 3 points for flights booked directly with airlines or through AmexTravel.com, and 1 point for everything the rest – plus many other benefits and privileges.
None of this will matter to you if you don’t have the credit score required for approval, so read on to find out what credit score is required, including the steps to take if you don’t get approved.
What credit score is required for the Amex Gold Card?
Like most card issuers, American Express does not specifically disclose what credit score is required to approve any of its cards. This leaves experts and potential applicants to speculate about what American Express Gold Card credit rating requirements are based on reports from people who have applied.
Most of these reports indicate that people with excellent credit history (800 credit scores and above) are very likely to be approved, and there are even some reports of applicants with good credit history (or scores between 670 and 739) who have been approved for this. card.
What if my application is rejected?
No matter how high your credit score is, there is always a chance that your credit card application will not be approved. However, if your application is rejected, you always have the option of contacting your card issuer to discuss your application, a process known as credit card reconsideration. To do this with American Express, contact the Reconsideration Department at 1-800-567-1083 and ask for a review of your claim.
Credit card applications are often rejected due to inaccurate personal information or even something as innocuous as a typo. For example, American Express may reject your application if the address you provided does not match the one on file, which can happen if you have recently moved and have not updated your online profile. In addition, your application may be denied due to an incorrectly entered date of birth or social security number.
During the revision call, you can also update your financial information, such as your annual income. Some credit card applicants do not realize that they can list all available sources of income, including child support, child support, disability benefits, and pensions. There is also a law that says you can include your spouse’s or household partner’s income if you can reasonably expect to have access to that income to pay off your loan. This law was created to offer unemployed spouses the opportunity to get a loan in their own name.
Another reason you might be denied an American Express card is because you already have too many accounts open. American Express does not allow customers to have more than five personal accounts with pre-set credit limits at the same time. If you discover that this is the reason why you were not approved for the Gold Card, you may offer to close the unused account in order for your Gold Card application to be approved. If American Express still refuses to give you additional credit, you can offer to transfer a portion of your existing credit line from another Amex card to your gold card.
If you are unable to get your application reconsidered, American Express asks that you wait at least 30 days before reapplying.
How can I improve my score to receive this card?
Fortunately, there are several ways to improve your credit score and increase your chances of getting an American Express Gold Card approved. The quickest and easiest way to improve your credit score is to pay off your existing balances as much as possible if you have credit card debt. This is because 30 percent of your FICO credit score is based on the amounts you owe.
By paying or paying off existing balances, you will reduce your debt-to-credit ratio. This term refers to the total amount of your debt divided by the total outstanding balances. Most loan officers recommend keeping your utilization rate below 30 percent, but having a lower ratio (closer to 10 percent) is even better. Also, having fewer accounts with outstanding balances is better for your credit than having more. If you can’t pay off all of your existing balances, try paying off smaller balances first so that you owe money in as few accounts as possible.
Once you have paid off as much of your existing balances as possible, you will need to wait for the end of the statement period for each account. At the end of each account’s statement period, its new statement balance will be reported to major consumer credit bureaus and the new balances will be reflected in your credit score.
Also, note that statement balances are always reported to credit bureaus as debt, even if you end up avoiding interest by paying it in full. Therefore, if you currently have a high balance in your account, it may make sense to reduce it by making a payment before the end of your statement period. If you do this, you may end up with a smaller statement balance or nothing at all, which can help your credit history.
Other ways to improve your credit score will take longer. The most important factor in your credit history is your payment history, so you should do your best to make your payments on time. The easiest way to do this is to set up automatic payment for your bills, which is a feature that almost every credit card issuer offers.
You should also take the time to review your credit reports and look for errors or fraudulent accounts. Challenging inaccurate negative information on your credit reports can also improve your credit.
Finally, you can use free services like Experian Boost and UltraFICO, which provide lenders with additional financial history from other accounts, such as utility bills and banking details.
bottom line
An American Express Gold Card can be a valuable addition to your wallet, but only if your application is approved. By roughly understanding what credit score is required for Amex Gold – and what you can do if your application is not initially approved – you can decide whether it makes sense to apply for this card.
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The editorial content on this page is based solely on the objective judgment of our contributors and is not based on advertising. It was not provided or ordered by credit card issuers. However, we may receive compensation when you click on links to our partners’ products.