Can You Get An American Express Credit Card With a 600 Credit Score? (2024)

FAQs

Can You Get An American Express Credit Card With a 600 Credit Score? ›

No, you cannot get an American Express credit card with a 600 credit score, which is considered bad credit. Most Amex credit cards require a credit score of 700 or better for high chances of approval. This means you need to have at least good credit to get an Amex credit card.

In other words, you'll likely need a score in at least the "good" range to qualify for an AmEx card. Other American Express cards will usually require even higher scores. According to the score ranges from FICO, that means American Express applicants typically have at least a 670 score: Exceptional.

In most cases, you need at least good credit to get approved for an American Express card, which FICO typically defines as a score of 670 or higher. Other banks also issue American Express cards.

The easiest American Express cards to get are those that require a minimum of good credit for approval as opposed to excellent credit only. The Blue Cash Everyday® Card from American Express and the American Express Cash Magnet® Card are two of the easiest Amex cards to get because they only require good credit.

For cards such as The Platinum Card® from American Express and American Express® Gold Card (see rates and fees), for example, you'll need good to excellent credit — usually a score of 680 at a minimum. There is anecdotal evidence of applicants with scores as low as the mid-600s being approved, but that's rare.

A credit limit is determined based on financial details and information we receive in your application. We review this information on a regular basis and may offer you a new credit limit during your membership.

American Express has three screening levels for credit card applicants: its Apply with Confidence feature, pre-qualification and preapproval.

It is hard to get an American Express credit card because all cards offered by American Express require good credit or better for approval, which may be out of reach for the average consumer. Applicants need a 700 credit score and a steady income to have good approval odds for an American Express credit card.

Can I get a Discover card with a 600 credit score? ›

The minimum credit score needed to get most Discover credit cards is 700 or above. There are a few Discover cards for which there's no minimum credit score requirement, such as the Discover it® Secured Credit Card which you can get with a bad credit score (below 640).

What does having a 600 credit score mean? According to FICO® Score, 15.5% of the population has a credit score below 600, while the average credit score sits at 716.

With FICO, fair or good credit scores fall within the ranges of 580 to 739, and with VantageScore, fair or good ranges between 601 to 780. Many personal loan lenders offer amounts starting around $3,000 to $5,000, but with Upgrade, you can apply for as little as $1,000 (and as much as $50,000).

Maria Adams, Credit Cards Moderator

No, you cannot get an American Express credit card with a 600 credit score, which is considered bad credit. Most Amex credit cards require a credit score of 700 or better for high chances of approval. This means you need to have at least good credit to get an Amex credit card.

Where does the data on American Express^® MyCredit Guide come from? The data on your MyCredit Guide is based on your Experian^® credit report. Your FICO^® Score is calculated based on information in that credit report.

Although American Express doesn't specify any minimum credit score requirements, you'll need good credit (or better) to qualify, which means a FICO score of at least 670. A premium Amex card — say, the American Express Gold Card — likely requires a “very good” FICO score, somewhere in the range of 740 and above.

WalletHub's Take: The USAA® Secured American Express® Card is a good option for rebuilding damaged credit if you're a USAA member or you're eligible to join.

It is hard to get an American Express credit card because all cards offered by American Express require good credit or better for approval, which may be out of reach for the average consumer. Applicants need a 700 credit score and a steady income to have good approval odds for an American Express credit card.

The minimum credit limit is different for every American Express card and usually falls between $1000 and $3000. American Express explains that every credit card comes with a minimum credit limit and a maximum credit limit.