# When to apply for Amtrak GR Credit Card



## Shawn Ryu (Jul 16, 2014)

I am a young dude whose building up the credit score at the moment. Last time I checked it was good, not excellent. And I havent been late paying any bills.

So at what point should I apply for the credit card? At about what credit score, am I guaranteed?


----------



## AmtrakBlue (Jul 16, 2014)

Shawn Ryu said:


> I am a young dude whose building up the credit score at the moment. Last time I checked it was good, not excellent. And I havent been late paying any bills.
> 
> So at what point should I apply for the credit card? At about what credit score, am I guaranteed?


I took a chance earlier this year even though my bankruptcy was still on my credit reports (I was out of it, but it stays on the reports another 3 years) knowing that the reports would indicate that the bankruptcy would be "dropping off" the reports this summer. My credit score was Good at that time. I was rejected because of the bankruptcy. Figuring it was a computer generated reject, I appealed. I was told that I could probably get one with a low credit limit, but the "guys upstairs" would need to approve. Got another reject letter for the same reason and then 4-5 days later received the card.  BTW, I just checked a free credit rating (through one of my credit cards) and it went from good to excellent. Obviously the bankruptcy fell off that report which is the same report Chase used. And I got an increase in my AGR CC credit limit.


----------



## Rail Freak (Jul 16, 2014)

AmtrakBlue said:


> Shawn Ryu said:
> 
> 
> > I am a young dude whose building up the credit score at the moment. Last time I checked it was good, not excellent. And I havent been late paying any bills.
> ...


How far back was the bankruptcy?


----------



## AmtrakBlue (Jul 16, 2014)

Rail Freak said:


> AmtrakBlue said:
> 
> 
> > Shawn Ryu said:
> ...


10 years. I was out of bankruptcy at 7 years, but it stays on the reports for an additional 3 years. I actually got one cc during the 7 years. And another around the 7 year mark. The only reason I applied for the AGR one before the 10 year mark was because I wanted the bonus points to help me "pay" for my trip to the gathering later this year.


----------



## Shawn Ryu (Jul 16, 2014)

The credit score is about 750.

Is that enough?


----------



## AmtrakBlue (Jul 16, 2014)

I would think that would be good.


----------



## sechs (Jul 20, 2014)

Shawn Ryu said:


> At about what credit score, am I guaranteed?


There's really no point at which you are _guaranteed _the card.

If you think that your credit might be a bit dodgy, I'd suggest looking over at CreditBoards.com for help.


----------



## Green Maned Lion (Jul 22, 2014)

That's a decent score, although it depends on the reporting agency.


----------



## William W. (Jul 22, 2014)

A score of 750, with low utilization, established accounts, and no derogatory marks is pretty good these days. I believe that 750 is higher than what 50-60% of America have.

I'm 19, and with an average account age of less than a year, a score of 720 (744 now), and low credit utilization, I was approved for a CSP w/ a $5000 limit. I'd think that you shouldn't have a major issue getting the AGR card. At the same time, it is a mystery as to how a company decides to grant credit. The general points that I outlined above give a pretty good idea, but only they truly know the credit profile and history that they are looking for in the ideal cardholder.

My general impression is that many of the premium credits cards seem to have lower standards these days. People stopped using credit cards during the recession, and that really hurt the bottom lines of many credit card companies. With the economy starting to recover (somewhat) many people, despite damaged credit, are in the market for new cards. The companies have realized that in order to not miss out on potential customers, they have to lower their standards a bit, or most of those who are interested would be denied.

I'm pretty sure that if I had applied for a CSP a few years ago, with the exact same credit history and score, Chase would have most likely laughed me out of the building. Now, things are a bit different.


----------



## the_traveler (Jul 22, 2014)

William W. said:


> A score of 750, with low utilization, established accounts, and no derogatory marks is pretty good these days. I believe that 750 is higher than what 50-60% of America have.


I was playing around with Credit Karma a few days ago, and it said my credit score was also 750. It also showed that was in the top something like 90%.


----------



## Rail Freak (Jul 23, 2014)

Because of medical problems that actually forced me into Disability & Bankruptcy, my credit went down the toilet back in 2003!!! For a while, I had the Amtrak Chase Debit AGR Card, which was great but short lived, as they did away with it! Over the years, I applied for the Credit Card many times & was turned down!

Well after this thread was posted, I said what the ..... & applied again, Guess What! Today I got an email that I was accepted & will receive my card in 3 days!!!! Thanx AU once again!!!!

Look out Amtrak, here I come! WOOOO WOOOO WOOO!!! Oh My God, Christmas In July!!!! :hi:

Gonna Have Fun!!!!


----------



## AmtrakBlue (Jul 23, 2014)

Rail Freak said:


> Because of medical problems that actually forced me into Disability & Bankruptcy, my credit went down the toilet back in 2003!!! For a while, I had the Amtrak Chase Debit AGR Card, which was great but short lived, as they did away with it! Over the years, I applied for the Credit Card many times & was turned down!
> 
> Well after this thread was posted, I said what the ..... & applied again, Guess What! Today I got an email that I was accepted & will receive my card in 3 days!!!! Thanx AU once again!!!!
> 
> ...


It is a great feeling, isn't it?  Congrats!!


----------



## Rail Freak (Jul 23, 2014)

AmtrakBlue said:


> Rail Freak said:
> 
> 
> > Because of medical problems that actually forced me into Disability & Bankruptcy, my credit went down the toilet back in 2003!!! For a while, I had the Amtrak Chase Debit AGR Card, which was great but short lived, as they did away with it! Over the years, I applied for the Credit Card many times & was turned down!
> ...


GREAT??? WOW!!! I love Train Travel so much, because I cant drive, & it gives me an enjoyable way to see the country." A Great Feeling" is an understatement!!!!

Thanx Blue


----------



## Bob Dylan (Jul 23, 2014)

Homeland Security and Amtrak Police have been notified!

Congrats! Have a ball racking up the Points and the Miles along the Rails!


----------



## Acela150 (Jul 23, 2014)

the_traveler said:


> William W. said:
> 
> 
> > A score of 750, with low utilization, established accounts, and no derogatory marks is pretty good these days. I believe that 750 is higher than what 50-60% of America have.
> ...


I used Credit Karma once and compared it to a Experian which is one of three major credit agencies. Major differences!! I don't trust Credit Karma.

Shawn, the first time I applied for the AGR CC I was working full time and had a credit card that my Mom would let me use in emergencies only, that she was the sole responsible party for. When I was denied I contacted Chase and they told me I didn't have enough credit built up that showed I was able to have a CC. So I applied for a card through my Bank. Bank of America who gave me a card with a $500 limit. After about 6 months of using it and paying the amount in full each month I then reapplied and was approved for the card. So my suggestion is try to get a card that is for establishing credit. Then after 6 months try and apply for the card.


----------



## the_traveler (Jul 23, 2014)

Acela150 said:


> the_traveler said:
> 
> 
> > I was playing around with Credit Karma a few days ago, and it said my credit score was also 750. It also showed that was in the top something like 90%.
> ...


I agree with you. It's been awhile since I last checked, but at that time it was over 800! I don't trust them either.


----------



## William W. (Jul 24, 2014)

By the way, for anyone who is interested in getting an AGR card right now, there is an 18,000 point bonus offer floating around. I'm pretty sure that it is targeted, but I'll post a link to the signup page (it may or may not work for you).

https://creditcards.chase.com/lp/amtrak/companion18k?CELL=6HKD


----------



## SarahZ (Jul 24, 2014)

Credit Karma says my score is 580.

Um, *no*. I checked Experian, TransUnion, and Equifax a few days ago, and they all have me in the mid-700s.


----------



## William W. (Jul 24, 2014)

Credit Karma is basically junk, quite frankly. The best way to monitor your score is to sign up for a subscription from MyFico.com (which uses your actual FICO score), or to have a credit card (like the Discover it) that gives you a monthly FICO score for free. More and more credit cards and banks are doing this, and it is a great boon for consumers.


----------



## SarahZ (Jul 24, 2014)

William W. said:


> Credit Karma is basically junk, quite frankly. The best way to monitor your score is to sign up for a subscription from MyFico.com (which uses your actual FICO score), or to have a credit card (like the Discover it) that gives you a monthly FICO score for free. More and more credit cards and banks are doing this, and it is a great boon for consumers.


Yeah, I get a free report from all three credit bureaus every month, courtesy of my bank (USAA). I also get score alerts and things like that.


----------



## JayPea (Jul 24, 2014)

I must be one of the lucky ones; my Credit Karma score and Experian scores are within six points of each other. Both are right around the 780 mark.


----------



## AmtrakBlue (Jul 24, 2014)

I had a free monthly credit score from one of my credit cards a few years ago and my score was lower than what one of the mortgage lenders got when pre-approving me. That credit card dropped the free score last year. This year another credit card is providing free monthly credit scores. I take this score with a grain of salt. I may get a "real" credit score when I run my next free credit report in Sept to compare.


----------



## Green Maned Lion (Jul 24, 2014)

The only score I ever look at is FICO.


----------



## Ryan (Jul 24, 2014)

All of the services use different algorithms to calculate them - the "official" FICO score is proprietary and closely held. That doesn't mean that other scoring methods are "junk" or "worthless", they'll still give you an idea of what your credit is doing over time.

But comparing scores calculated via one method to scores calculated by someone else is like comparing apples and rocks.



SarahZ said:


> William W. said:
> 
> 
> > Credit Karma is basically junk, quite frankly. The best way to monitor your score is to sign up for a subscription from MyFico.com (which uses your actual FICO score), or to have a credit card (like the Discover it) that gives you a monthly FICO score for free. More and more credit cards and banks are doing this, and it is a great boon for consumers.
> ...


Really? How have I been unaware of that? I love USAA.
Edit: I'm only seeing paid options.


----------



## William W. (Jul 24, 2014)

I also have USAA. I'll have to check that out.


----------



## Green Maned Lion (Jul 24, 2014)

FICO is not definitive, but it's the only one my suppliers look at for RLOC so it's the only one I care about.


----------



## SarahZ (Jul 24, 2014)

Whoops, sorry guys. It was a promotion when I signed up. I now pay $12.99/month for the monitoring.


----------



## Bob Dylan (Jul 24, 2014)

SarahZ said:


> Whoops, sorry guys. It was a promotion when I signed up. I now pay $12.99/month for the monitoring.


Isn't that a little pricey when most Credit Unions and some Credit Cards provide this info Free???


----------



## SarahZ (Jul 24, 2014)

jimhudson said:


> SarahZ said:
> 
> 
> > Whoops, sorry guys. It was a promotion when I signed up. I now pay $12.99/month for the monitoring.
> ...


I pay it because I have been working on my credit for the past two years. Having unlimited access to my report, monitoring my score, and watching for alerts was essential. Changes posted every 1-3 weeks, and I wanted to stay on top of them.

Now that my credit has improved greatly and they no longer allow unlimited reports (they're now monthly), I plan to cancel the service.


----------



## William W. (Jul 24, 2014)

At least for Discover, the score is complimentary.


----------



## tonys96 (Jul 24, 2014)

William W. said:


> At least for Discover, the score is complimentary.


Just in the last few months Discover has started to put my score on my monthly statement. They claim it is the FICO score....and it is within 12 points of what Credit Karma says. So, I would trust Credit Karma to be a legitimate *estimate* of a true score.


----------



## JayPea (Jul 25, 2014)

I'd forgotten about the FICO score on my Discover statement; I rarely if ever use my Discover card. So I looked at it and it is within 25 points of Experian and 31 of Credit Karma. I like the FICO score best; it's the highest of the three.


----------



## William W. (Jul 25, 2014)

Discover uses Transunion for the FICO scores that it supplies.


----------



## NW cannonball (Jul 26, 2014)

Green Maned Lion said:


> The only score I ever look at is FICO.


The only score the bank looked at at my last mortgage refinance was some proprietary thing I'd never seen before -- seemed roughly fair - but -- whatever- and they disclosed - or were "transparent" -

FICO is the "gold standard" - but so many clones --

And the FICO can change at any time -- *one - *late payment, *one - *adverse anything - *one - *change in utilization -- 20-50 points up or down (mostly down)

The possible grantor of credit can't see your income - but can see how much you pay each month on all reported accounts. (If you ever don't pay on time -- points go down - miss 2 payments on anything -- bad bad bad)


----------



## me_little_me (Jul 26, 2014)

William W. said:


> By the way, for anyone who is interested in getting an AGR card right now, there is an 18,000 point bonus offer floating around. I'm pretty sure that it is targeted, but I'll post a link to the signup page (it may or may not work for you).
> 
> https://creditcards.chase.com/lp/amtrak/companion18k?CELL=6HKD


It's NOT FAIR!

When I requested my card a number of years ago, they gave me 12K points (OK I also got a voucher for a companion ticket). They also allowed me $5000 credit limit. Since then, they increased my limit to $9500.

So we applied for a card for her. Our family income is nearly all mine (her SS is as a spouse on mine and the rest comes from my IRA) but she got 18K points and an $18K credit limit.

Our credit score is unknown but has always been around 800. Nothing has changed in our lives since I got my card.

I need to have more wives!


----------



## the_traveler (Jul 26, 2014)

If you got 12K, count yourself lucky. When i got mine ages ago (when I had to dodge dinosaurs), I only got 5K!


----------



## Green Maned Lion (Jul 26, 2014)

... I got 60k


----------



## sechs (Jul 27, 2014)

RyanS said:


> All of the services use different algorithms to calculate them - the "official" FICO score is proprietary and closely held. That doesn't mean that other scoring methods are "junk" or "worthless", they'll still give you an idea of what your credit is doing over time.
> 
> But comparing scores calculated via one method to scores calculated by someone else is like comparing apples and rocks.


The fact of the matter is that there's more than one FICO score. Each bureau has their own sets of of scores calculated in different ways.

Free scores, like from Credit Karma, are very useful for tracking changes. Certainly, great for the price.


----------

