What Credit Score Do You Need for the Credit One American Express Card?

The Credit One American Express Card is a credit-building credit card aimed at those looking to improve their credit. As with any credit card, you’ll need a certain credit score range to qualify for approval. So what credit score do you need to get approved for the Credit One American Express Card? Let’s take a closer look.

An Overview of the Credit One American Express Card

The Credit One American Express Card is issued by Credit One Bank, which specializes in credit cards for people with fair credit or rebuilding credit. The card offers the following features and benefits:

• Earn 1% cash back on all purchases
• Access to American Express benefits like Amex Offers, discounts, and more
• Free access to your monthly Experian credit score
• Fraud protection with zero liability
• Purchase protections like extended warranty and return protection
• Rental car insurance
• No foreign transaction fees
• $39 annual fee

While the rewards rate is lower than many cash back cards, the Credit One American Express offers decent perks and benefits for a starter or rebuilding credit card. Using the card responsibly and paying on time can help build your credit over time.

What Credit Score is Needed for the Credit One Amex Card?

According to Credit One Bank, you’ll need a credit score of at least 640 to qualify for the American Express card A credit score of 640 is considered fair credit by the FICO credit scoring model

Here’s a quick rundown of the minimum credit score requirements for the major Credit One credit cards

• Credit One Bank® Platinum Visa® for Rebuilding Credit: 300
• Credit One Bank® Platinum Visa®: 500
• Credit One Bank® American Express® Card: 640
• Credit One Bank® Platinum Visa®: 640
• Credit One Bank® Platinum Extra Credit Card: 640

So while the Credit One American Express card is accessible for those with fair credit, you’ll need to meet that 640 score threshold for approval odds. The minimum credit limit is $300.

Factors Beyond Your Credit Score

While your credit score is important, it’s not the only factor Credit One Bank will consider when reviewing your application. Here are some other aspects that can impact your approval odds:

• Your income – Credit One wants to see you have enough income to manage monthly payments.
• Existing debt – Too many accounts with high balances can negatively impact approval.
• Credit history length – A short credit history can make approval challenging. Aim for at least 2 years of credit history.
• Recent credit inquiries – Too many recent credit applications can signal credit risk.
• Housing payment history – Timely rent/mortgage payments help your case.

Meeting the 640 credit score threshold certainly helps, but strengthening these other areas of your credit profile is important too. For example, limiting new credit applications and paying down balances can offset a slightly lower score.

Checking Your Credit Score

Since you need a minimum 640 FICO score for the best approval odds with Credit One American Express, it’s important to check your score ahead of applying.

There are a few ways to check your FICO credit score for free:

• Many credit card issuers like Discover and Capital One offer free FICO scores to cardholders. Log into your account to view your score.

• You can get a free snapshot of your Equifax FICO score from the myFICO site. This shows your score but not the full credit report.

• Various personal finance sites like Credit Karma provide free VantageScore credit scores, which can give you ballpark idea of your credit standing.

Checking your actual FICO score is ideal, since that’s what Credit One will use to evaluate your application. If your score is under 640, hold off applying and focus on credit building for better approval odds down the line.

Tips for Improving Your Credit Score

If your credit score isn’t quite at 640 yet, here are some tips to help give it a boost:

• Pay all bills on time – Payment history is the biggest factor in your credit scores. Set up autopay if needed.

• Keep credit card balances low – High utilization hurts your score. Aim for less than 30%.

• Limit new credit applications – Too many recent inquiries signals risk and drags down your score.

• Monitor your credit reports – Dispute any errors with the credit bureaus to maximize your scores.

• Ask for credit limit increases – Higher limits help lower your utilization for a boost.

• Become an authorized user – Being added as an authorized user on a spouse or parent’s older account can help.

• Mix up credit types – Having installment loans and revolving credit cards builds your credit mix.

With some time and smart credit habits, you can potentially improve your credit score enough to meet approval requirements for the Credit One Amex card.

Alternatives With Lower Score Requirements

If your score needs more time to improve, consider one of these alternatives that offer approval at lower credit score thresholds:

• OpenSky® Secured Visa® Credit Card – No credit check; $200 refundable deposit

• Surge Mastercard® – Minimum 300 credit score; $75-$99 annual fee

• Credit One Bank® Platinum Visa® – 500 minimum credit score; no annual fee first year

The OpenSky Secured card is a great option since it doesn’t require a credit check. The other cards allow fair/poor credit approval if your score is below 640. Use one to build credit and upgrade to the Credit One Amex later on.

The Bottom Line

To summarize the key points:

• You need a minimum credit score of 640 to qualify for the Credit One Bank American Express Card based on the issuer’s published requirements.

• Checking your actual FICO score ahead of applying is recommended to verify you meet the threshold.

• Factors beyond your credit score also impact approval odds, like income, existing debt, and credit history length.

• If your credit score is below 640, focus on credit building and improving your credit health before reapplying.

• Alternative credit builder cards with lower credit requirements are available if you don’t qualify yet for the Credit One Amex.

Knowing the minimum credit score needed for approval is an important first step. Carefully evaluating your credit health and understanding all the approval criteria helps set realistic expectations before applying.

While American Express doesn’t publicly disclose a specific minimum credit score, they generally recommend a score of 670 or higher for most of their cards, indicating “good” to “excellent” credit.

What is the starting credit Credit One credit card limit?

No, a Credit One Bank American Express card is not the same as an American Express card issued directly by American Express.