Strategy to obtain US Amex

[nj12]

To those of you who have Chase cards, did you all wait until your US credit history is at least one years old, and i assume most of you did not have a Chase checking account when you applied for your first Chase card ?

I waited until I had my Amex Green card approved with ITIN for 15months and by that stage had my GT Amex cards around 2 years. No checking account with Chase and approved with 17.5K CL after identity verification.

 

[desafinado74]

I waited until I had my Amex Green card approved with ITIN for 15months and by that stage had my GT Amex cards around 2 years. No checking account with Chase and approved with 17.5K CL after identity verification.

Nice ! Did you call up Chase to set up an online account ? And what does the ID verification process involve ? (Do you have to send them a copy of your passport, bank statement etc ? ) And finally how do you pay off your Chase card ? Is it similar to Australia where you add the details of your credit card to your bank account and pay it off via BPAY ? (Sorry for the many questions)

 

[Franko Costa]

About transferring points to US amex. I had previously been told it was a max once per calendar year, but it is once per 12 months. This really sucks

 

[nj12]

Nice ! Did you call up Chase to set up an online account ? And what does the ID verification process involve ? (Do you have to send them a copy of your passport, bank statement etc ? ) And finally how do you pay off your Chase card ? Is it similar to Australia where you add the details of your credit card to your bank account and pay it off via BPAY ? (Sorry for the many questions)

I applied online for the CSP card and then called to confirm my application after I got the 7-10 days message. I was sent a secured link to upload the documents you mentioned and verify identity. About 24hrs after uploading documents I got an email saying I was approved. The card took about 15 days to arrive because it was over Christmas and sent to myUS address by USPS. There are reports upthread of success getting first card expedited to Aus so might be worth a try. I had numerous issues setting up an online account as detailed upthread but seems to be a case of HUCA until getting an experience rep to set it up for you. Haven't made a payment yet but I've linked my Wise account so plan to pay it the same way as I do with Amex.

 

[desafinado74]

I applied online for the CSP card and then called to confirm my application after I got the 7-10 days message. I was sent a secured link to upload the documents you mentioned and verify identity. About 24hrs after uploading documents I got an email saying I was approved. The card took about 15 days to arrive because it was over Christmas and sent to myUS address by USPS. There are reports upthread of success getting first card expedited to Aus so might be worth a try. I had numerous issues setting up an online account as detailed upthread but seems to be a case of HUCA until getting an experience rep to set it up for you. Haven't made a payment yet but I've linked my Wise account so plan to pay it the same way as I do with Amex.

Many thanks for the informative reply. Much appreciated.

 

[_TheTraveller_]

The universal guideline for Chase card is 1Y of credit history. No less. The exceptions to this is that if you have an existing banking relationship and are applying for a lower tier card. e.g. CFF. I've read maybe 2 DPs of this happening where they're college students and bank with Chase.

I personally applied at the 13-15 month mark. Unless you had an ITIN/SSN from the get go that's a safe range. GT around Jan/Feb 2022 and CSP Apr-May 2023.

Paying Chase is exactly like paying Amex via DD. Chase will ask for address/ITIN and ID verification if it's your first time applying from my experience and DPs.

I actually tried to get the card sent to Australia today but the lady on the phone suggested it might be faster to get it sent to my US address and I ended up relenting. Oh well...

CSP and trying to pay for Catering package (and drinks package) for a 21st Bday at a Sports and community club. The rejection code is 'Do not honor'. The first time it rejected Chase said the merchant needed to ask for additional ID for it to be approved but i'm not sure what that means. It was a Westpac eftpos terminal so not sure if I should be contacting Westpac as well. What do you mean by manually call them up? The merchant or chase?

That's interesting. I manually called a specific Chase Visa Verification line but that's not the problem you're encountering. I wonder if the merchant has blocked international cards? It seems more like a merchant problem than a Chase problem especially if you can still spend on the card.

There are also issues around tapping and using the chip. Australian cards have a pin when you use either of those and it's over a certain amount. I'm not sure what happens when you're over a certain amount in instances with Chase cards. I've read that you can request a pin from Chase otherwise if the card is working as is usually then give the chip insert a go.

When you tried paying did you insert or tap?

 

[desafinado74]

The universal guideline for Chase card is 1Y of credit history. No less. The exceptions to this is that if you have an existing banking relationship and are applying for a lower tier card. e.g. CFF. I've read maybe 2 DPs of this happening where they're college students and bank with Chase.

Many thanks for the helpful reply.

 

[nj12]

That's interesting. I manually called a specific Chase Visa Verification line but that's not the problem you're encountering. I wonder if the merchant has blocked international cards? It seems more like a merchant problem than a Chase problem especially if you can still spend on the card.

There are also issues around tapping and using the chip. Australian cards have a pin when you use either of those and it's over a certain amount. I'm not sure what happens when you're over a certain amount in instances with Chase cards. I've read that you can request a pin from Chase otherwise if the card is working as is usually then give the chip insert a go.

When you tried paying did you insert or tap?

The first time I used Apple pay on my phone because I thought it might actually be more secure and bypass the need for a PIN like it usually does with Aus cards. The next day when I went back after calling Chase and speaking to Fraud dpt I tapped the card. Maybe I'll insert and see what happens. It doesn't look good having multiple declines but as you said the problem might be with the merchant so I'll give Westpac a call also. I noticed that the card in Apple pay had my Aus billing address so i'm not sure if that was a factor but i've gone and changed it to my US billing address. With my Amex cards anything over the amount normally requiring a pin generates a receipt where I just sign instead like we used to Aus credit cards. Not sure if Chase is the same in this regard.

 

[_TheTraveller_]

The first time I used Apple pay on my phone because I thought it might actually be more secure and bypass the need for a PIN like it usually does with Aus cards. The next day when I went back after calling Chase and speaking to Fraud dpt I tapped the card. Maybe I'll insert and see what happens. It doesn't look good having multiple declines but as you said the problem might be with the merchant so I'll give Westpac a call also. I noticed that the card in Apple pay had my Aus billing address so i'm not sure if that was a factor but i've gone and changed it to my US billing address. With my Amex cards anything over the amount normally requiring a pin generates a receipt where I just sign instead like we used to Aus credit cards. Not sure if Chase is the same in this regard.

For most things over $200-300, I just use chip rather than tap. Give it a go and report back. I'm curious myself as I've never made a large purchase in store with any of my cards.

Edit: I actually do recall running into a similar issue but I don't recall how much it was for. Tapping did not work either with Gpay or the physical card. The chip did work and I signed.

 

[thedamon]

For the people who have gotten an Amex business card; are they willing to ship the card internationally or will it put some type of fraud flag on the account by requesting this?

 

[blacksultan]

For the people who have gotten an Amex business card; are they willing to ship the card internationally or will it put some type of fraud flag on the account by requesting this?

No issues . Same like personal

 

[blacksultan]

Does anyone have a Citi biz card ? Is it easy to get approved ? I received my Citi premier card 3 months ago . Does anyone know if one needs low enquiries for biz cards as well ?

 

[levelnine]

Does anyone have a Citi biz card ? Is it easy to get approved ?

Myself and my partner both have the Citi AA Biz card. Had no troubles getting approved despite a reasonable number on inquiries from regular Chase Ink cards. Unable to add to Apple Pay without setting off a fraud alert fiesta, so you need to have a plan for getting the physical card to you and using it to meet the minimum spend. Not sure if they post overseas like Amex & Chase — I timed my applications so that I would be in the US to pick them up.

 

[blacksultan]

Myself and my partner both have the Citi AA Biz card. Had no troubles getting approved despite a reasonable number on inquiries from regular Chase Ink cards. Unable to add to Apple Pay without setting off a fraud alert fiesta, so you need to have a plan for getting the physical card to you and using it to meet the minimum spend. Not sure if they post overseas like Amex & Chase — I timed my applications so that I would be in the US to pick them up.

Thanks . Did you have a Citi personal card before applying ? I will use planet express to send it over .

 

[blacksultan]

Did t

Thanks . Did you have a Citi personal card before applying ? I will use planet express to send it over

Did you’ll apply using ITINs ? TIA

 

[levelnine]

Thanks . Did you have a Citi personal card before applying ? I will use planet express to send it over .

No personal card. And we have SSNs.

 

[Tiki]

Myself and my partner both have the Citi AA Biz card. Had no troubles getting approved despite a reasonable number on inquiries from regular Chase Ink cards. Unable to add to Apple Pay without setting off a fraud alert fiesta, so you need to have a plan for getting the physical card to you and using it to meet the minimum spend. Not sure if they post overseas like Amex & Chase — I timed my applications so that I would be in the US to pick them up.

Can you request them to send to any USA hotel? My USA friend is having health issues and I can't ask him to go to the post office and send physical cards. He can send me pics of the card so I can use it online. But the whole point if I get this card is for 3x supermarkets and transfer to TK. I wouldn't risk Apple Pay if it triggers fraud alerts, I can't deal with the stress.

 

[levelnine]

Can you request them to send to any USA hotel?

No idea, sorry. All I know is that every time I've called Citi the customer service reps have been appallingly bad, so you might be facing an uphill battle.

 

[Tiki]

So this card may be a no-go unless I can get to Orlando where my friend lives. Which I can't do until mid-2025.

 

[blacksultan]

So this card may be a no-go unless I can get to Orlando where my friend lives. Which I can't do until mid-2025.

Why don’t you use a virtual add like planet express ? They will then mail / courier the card to you for like A$30-50 .