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American Express as Student

So I'm interested about people's success with American Express as a student. I currently have the following cards:

Barclaycard Hilton HHonors
Aqua Reward
Lloyds Avios AmEx
HSBC Student
Nationwide Select

With a combined credit limit of £14k - which safe to say I have never got near to. As I pay my balance every month I prefer reward cards, hence why all of the above are reward cards (except HSBC which I keep just because I have the longest relationship with them).

I have been rejected from AmEx's charge cards in the past despite meeting the income requirement and having an excellent credit rating. I'm just wondering if it is easier to get their credit cards (Platinum Cashback and BA Premium Plus were the ones I'm looking at). I want to apply but I also don't want to get a third rejection from AmEx (over 2 years) as I will be applying for a Platinum Charge Card when I start working. So what are people's experiences?

Reply 1

Potally_Tissed

Why on Earth do you need a sixth card?

Reply 2

darbyj

Original post by Potally_Tissed

Why on Earth do you need a sixth card?

I get cards to meet their bonus and then stop using them - e.g. the Hilton gives a free night after £750, and the Lloyds gives flights upgrades after £7k.

Prem Plus would give companion voucher after £10k and Plat Cashback gives 5% cashback for first 3 months

Reply 3

Potally_Tissed

Original post by darbyj

Novel. I'd still skip Amex due to the sheer number of places that refuse to take it tbh.

Reply 4

darbyj

Original post by Potally_Tissed

Novel. I'd still skip Amex due to the sheer number of places that refuse to take it tbh.

I already have an AmEx through Lloyds and haven't found it to be too bad. I do live in a city though, so I imagine that it would be worse in more rural areas with more independent shops.

Anyway, I'm more interested in people's application experience rather than whether I should get the cards or not.

Reply 5

mulberry1

You know having loads of cards hurts your credit rating right? Bet they all have high APRs too :smile:

Reply 6

estel

Original post by mulberry1

You know having loads of cards hurts your credit rating right? Bet they all have high APRs too :smile:

If you're using the cards for the the sign-up bonuses (or MS), you always pay on time every month, so the APR is meaningless.

Having loads of credit cards doesn't hurt your credit rating too much provided that your total utilisation is low. Heck, getting multiple cards is a good way to minimise utilisation.

For the op, I imagine that the Platinum Cashback Credit Card is probably a good way to go to get a foot in the door with Amex. Perhaps even apply for the Green card if you want to maximise your chances of beginning to build a relationship with them, even if it means sacrificing some MR?

I didn't try as a student, but I had no problems going Plat Cashback -> Gold -> BA PP (without previous cc's at other banks).

Reply 7

mulberry1

Having cards with low limits and high APRs is bad for your rating I'm sure? Having 6 or whatever the OP has with a combined limit of £14k means their cards have a limit of about £3k each of that. That info's on your credit report.

Reply 8

estel

Original post by mulberry1

Yes, but they aren't in themselves factors that might lead to a lower credit score - having multiple cards with a low limit doesn't indicate that you are a higher risk for potential lenders (which is what your credit score is ultimately a metric of). There's plenty of stuff online that seems to support this (though US-biased).

There are definitely some related affects that would hit your credit score detrimentally (lowering your average account age; the small short-term hit to credit score immediately after opening a new line of credit; and opening a number of cards in quick succession might indicate that you're about to do something risky and different) but for all lenders these will be secondary to having a consistent record of reliably paying the cards off as and when required and demonstrating a reasonable utilisation (< 20%).