This is some advice I can give you on the American Express Secured Optima Card. Don't waste your time getting this card for starters they do not report to the credit bureaus. They won't evaluate your account after 1yr to see if you qualify for a unsecured account you have to reapply for the regular optima account and also to be accepted you have to have premium credit. What is funny that they LIED to me! On the month my annual fee was due I called american express to find out about my account and they told me that my account was unsecured and they were sending me my security deposit "in the Mail" SO I PAID my annual fee and waited a month and called back and they told me that my account was still secured and I would have to reapply for a unsecured account. Can you believe that they tricked me into paying the annual fee. Recently I closed that account and when I did they had no remorse in doing so meaning they did not try to keep my business which is ironic in 1992 I Closed the Gold Card with a zero balance and they begged me to keep it open.....I guess American Express is not like it used to be. So I could apply for the GREEN CARD but I now have really too many accounts and I will not Pay the 55 dollar fee and especially American Express is not worthy of my business.
If you call the Centurion Bank (you can get the # from any AmEx rep) you can speak to almost anyone there and explain that you've had the Secured Optima for a year and that you want an unsecured card. You could even go for the unsecured Optima if you want to avoid annual fees. The reps can actually override the computer's decision to decline- they did for my brother, who got the standard Optima, then converted to Platinum. The system doesn't really take into accout other AmEx accounts that you have- regardless of what any CSR may tell you. So, good luck and let us know what happens! You can also call the applications dept. (1-800-THE-CARD) and explain your situation to them and that you'd like to carry an unsecured card. Dogman did this and it worked!!!
Jo- it is very clear that AMEX will try to help those that may have made mistakes in the past. Everything Jo says is right - I have a Green Card after my numerical was declined. I had a Chap 13 due to illness. The second I explained that, AMEX even offered to help me to clean up my reports. They also saw that B4 the Chap 13, I had all premium cards and had never ever been late. When she and I talked again, she said I could have either a revolving or a no limit card. I chose the no limit Green Card with Membership Rewards. Jo is trying to convince me to upgrade to GOLD AMEX now. Reps can do that as well by request, then it is auto invite to GOLD after 12 months.
