I am VERY tempted to do the Citibank right now.. hwoever, I just read the other thread stating that people in CA get their EQUIFAX CR checked for Citibank?? Can anyone confirm or not confirm this? My experian is CLEAR.. but I know I still have some derogs on my EQ. Please let me know! Thanks!
You sound like me. My equisux still sux but my EX is looking good. I hope you do better than me because so far, all together, I've gotten nothing I've applied for. Hopefully that'll change this week. We'll see...
You mean 'individual line of credit', right? Any idea who AmEx pulls BTW? is it experian only for sure? Thanks again!
Is the AmEx LOC hard to get, I got denied for an AmeX card a month ago, with score roughly the same as they are now, they pulled TU for me. Is it a long shot to apply?
Ender, American Express credit/charge cards (Blue, Delta SkyMiles, Optima, Green, Gold, etc...) pull ANY of the three CRAs, depending on where one lives. There is a blacklist with them essentially forever until the account is paid off. Once it is paid off, the name will be purged from the blacklist after one year, freeing a person to apply for a new card if they choose. American Express Membership Banking is a SEPARATE division of AmEx. It offers the AmEx "personal line of credit" which is a revolving line (like a credit card, but not quite) based on checks. This division only pulls from Experian (as far as is reported here) and it is a soft inquiry. Another benefit of this loc is that the loc is hidden from credit reports, which helps (hides) your utilization from others. The interest rates are also competitive. The customer service is not stellar, so you should do some serious research on this board for "AmEx loc" before applying. I do not know if the credit card blacklist applys to the Membership Banking division (somehow, I doubt it). It seems as if you are looking for absolute assurance from the board that a certain CRA will or will not be pulled. No one can give you that absolute assurance. There is always some risk, so any action you do here based on board advice is at your own recognizance. But the probability that AmEx Membership Banking will pull Experian for a personal line of credit is very high and trustworthy.
marci: thank you very much for your in depth reply to my question. Now I think I understand what this LOC is and how it is different from the charge card. I thougt the LOC was a 'type' of charge card, but it is really similiar to what commercial banks (WFB, bank of america) extend as a line of credit for business. Now, my only question regarding now is - what does this card look like? Is it treated similiar to how a credit card works? It's accepted everywhere where AMEX is acccepted, right?
A personal line of credit is not a plastic card. It is a bank account set at a certain credit line (i.e. $5000) from which you can write unlimited checks to either yourself or whomever you want (the consensus here is to write checks to yourself, wait for them to clear, and then pay/buy whatever from your own bank account b/c of the poor service Membership Banking has). The best analogy to a regular credit card that I can give wrt this loc is that of "convenience checks" given by most CC issuers. The difference is that this loc is not charged at the cash advance rates that convenience checks are, and as I wrote earlier, this loc does not report to the CRAs. Most credit cards do. The AmEx loc check is accepted anywhere that takes a check, but proceed at your own risk. If you do a search for "loc" or "line of credit" on this board, you will understand exactly what it does and does not do.
marci - I did a search and read everything others have said about it.. sounds like it is pretty iffy even when you DO gget a welcome package. I guess for me, there's no harm in getting it for now.. but the only question I have regarding this is: 1) Does this account close becaues of inactivity someday? For me right now, I currently have ZERO debts.. I paid them ALL off during the summer last year.. so what purpose would this account help me with other than giving me an emergency monetary fund in case I need it? Except I hope they don't close it within 2 mos or something because of me not using it.. hmm..
And remember, the Amex LOC does not report to the CRAs. So whatever LOC they give you is transparent. It's especially good for borrowing cash to pay all your credit card balances down to $1.50
another question - do you guys know how long the interest rate is good for? Where can i find out all these details? is it on the amex web page? I am still apprehensive about applying for citi! i think they pull EQ.. gotta wait about another week before I am clear w/ EQ.
I don't know. You may want to ask "creditwork" that question, though on second thought, I don't believe that any of his accounts would ever be closed for inactivity - lol! There are other people on here with the AmEx loc. You can ask them about how long it can lie dormant. It can be an e-fund, though I try not to equate borrowed money as a true e-fund in my own mind. It essentially helps if you want to buy something "on credit" but you can't use a credit card (some private party purchase in the classifieds, for example). This is a better alternative to CC convenience checks since the apr is prime + 2.99 to prime + 5.99, whereas convenience checks run 19.99 and higher. It is also not reported, which protects your credit score.
I got this message: Application Status Thank you for successfully completing the account application for Membership B@nking. We are making every effort to complete your enrollment and will notify you as soon as possible of the final status of your application. -- I wonder if that means I won't get it? Maybe I set off some red flags when I put my income in! Did they ask you guys for pay check stubs or anything? I guess I'll see how it goes!
Just FYI - I was approved with a $25k limit even tho I may be on the blacklist for amex.. I had a chargeoff with them years ago. Also, the more I learn about this LOC.. it sounds great!
Ender, I'm confused. You said in one message that the LOC sounds good and you seem to be thinking of applying. Then in the very next message you say you got approved with a $25K limit. Please clarify what you got approved for? As for your income, the worst that could happen is they could request pay stubs. Unless of course you said that you are self employed or a business owner in which case they would ask for tax returns. Validity of tax returns is extremely easy to check these days.
Re: CE score: 776!! what does it mean? It means you can let me "borry" (as Texans say) about 100 points CONGRATS!!!
superadm: I ended up applying for the LOC once I got a few confirmations from people that it was EXP only.. I got a msg online saying that it was being considered. I ended up calling the tollfree # and found out I was approved for the 25k, max possible from what they tell me. Lizardking - Do you know if State Farm only pulls experian? I am in NorCal.. also - what is the link to apply? thanks in advance.
Yea, I fixed that. I forgot to include millcbs.com as an available host header. It's all set now - you can use either www.millcbs.com or just millcbs.com. The other site (Emerald City) is/was just a test/demo site I am working on. Thanks.
