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Reading recently online I have discovered many people talking about Amex "Backdating".

Apparently when you open a new card with American Express, they report the age of the account as the same age as your FIRST card with them. This would potentially be a FICO booster if you open a new card with them after having a previous card with them for a while.

Are these "backdating" rumors true? Also, if I open a card today with them, and then in 10 years I open another card with them, will my credit report show TWO cards with age of 10 years or do both my AMEX cards consolidate into one age for my credit report?

It seems to me that I should just open up a no annual fee card with them today and keep it in a drawer if backdating works successfully.

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  • For the record Amex had ended this practice. Cards that reported to the credit bureaus on or before 3/21/2015 were backdated but any cards that reported after that date will now appear with the actual date that the account was opened. RIP Amex.
    – Night Owl
    Commented May 4, 2015 at 3:45

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I was just looking at my credit report on Quizzle the other day and wondered my American Express Blue Cash Preferred card, opened in 2012, showed an account opened date of 2011. That was when I got an American Express Costco TrueEarnings card. So yes, I can confirm the backdating rumors are true, at least for me. And they still show up as two separate accounts on my credit report.

Note that length of credit history is only 10% of your FICO score, but it wouldn't hurt to get a no-fee AMEX card, and it would also lower your credit utilization. Blue Cash Everyday might be a good choice for 3% groceries and 2% gas rewards.

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  • Yeah I am thinking about getting Blue Cash Everyday to just sit in a drawer maybe with a recurring netflix charge. Already have gas/groceries covered with Sallie Mae Mastercard. Thanks for info.
    – Adam Johns
    Commented Jul 9, 2014 at 22:51

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