Waddy

Wow, I think I'm gonna have to look into that strategy a little further TraceyFry, Thanks for the suggestion :)

I really do love having this card and utilizing the SPG points for discounted leisure and business travel!

In fact, my goal is to gain Gold Preferred Status and use this card even more than I do now due to the increase in points accumulated for my daily expenses.  I can see why this card is truly so highly rated for anyone who enjoys to travel and stay in some comfortable hotels for a great deal.  There are many great deals that are always being updated and I honestly give this card a high review.  I wouldn't rate this card so highly unless it was truly worth noting.  Oh and one more thing, AMEX customer service has been good as well and above what I have gotten from my other credit card providers.  Outstanding customer service is becoming more and more rare these days as many have noticed (including myself) and its good to have a card and a company that I have come to depend on.  All in all, I like this card and I really enjoy being an AMEX customer.  BTW, it is quite rare that I post a review, but I felt like it was important, due to some of the surprising negative comments posted on here! I can't understand it because it has been nothing but good for me, all in all. Whenever I have had a question or an issue, a simple phone call is all it has taken to get to a helpful rep to assist me in resolving my issues.  btw, if you compare the benefits with this card and the SPG points configuration, it should become clear to even other leisure/seldom travelers who travel maybe only a few times a year, could greatly offset the cost of the $65 annual fee for this card.  Hopefully this REAL review from an ordinary customer who really does enjoy utilizing this card, will help maybe someone else who might be on the fence in deciding whether or not to check this card out! :) 

I'm new to this "Vantage" scoring model as well, but have simply chosen to ignore the percentile area and focus more on the actual score! lol. :) 

I'm sorry to hear this mistake occurred! Wow what a stressful situation. It's quite possible that the best thing that you should do is to file a dispute with the credit bureaus regarding this discrepancy.  That would at least be my recourse.  Also, since you were denied credit, it also your right to request a free copy of the credit report that was used in the decision making process by the company (Sears) in this instance.  Good luck and ask away if you have any other questions.  I or others can surely provide you some much needed encouragement and advice in this matter :) 

Sincerely,

Tim 

I was approved today by calling customer service after applying and receiving a delayed response, saying to wait 7-10 days for a decision letter to be sent out in the mail to me. Rep was very helpful. Highly suggest anyone in a similar situation to call and verify your basic application info and see what happens, at least you'll know you truly tried your best. I sure feel good about my decision to do so! Approved for a 3K CL and with a credit score (credit karma) of 742 currently and zero delinquencies, but high debt to income ratio with 100K student loan debt and about 7+ CC's, with 3 having been received in the last 4 months! Hopefully, this info helps someone else because I usually do not post these comments but appreciate reading the ones I've seen, so figured I'd try to help someone else out by explaining my situation. :)

I must agree with some others on here! Be careful with CapOne. They are good for establishing credit it seems, because they typically will approve someone with only a subpar credit score but be careful! I used them to my benefit, built up my credit, slipped up on a like 1 or 2 payments by paying just a tad bit late and boom, the highest interest rate hike I've ever seen! I accept responsibility that ultimately its our individual faults as to whether or not we pay on time etc, however, I have had them on the phone multiple times when I shouldn't have, just to try to get a payment in on time! The reason I was late on my payments was because they don't have an easy auto payment setup process and their payment reminders are nothing short of a joke! Just be careful, use them, pay your balance, build your credit, pay off the balance, and bounce out to a better creditor, i.e. AMEX, Discover, or a Credit Union, this is what I've done and havn't looked back since :) good luck and hope this helped someone~

Either way anniebaby your credit score of 740 should soon be at 750 or better which will qualify you across the board!