slug: approved-premium-credit-cards-average-credit

title: "How to Get Approved for Premium Credit Cards With Average Credit"

description: "Think you need perfect credit for a premium travel card? Here's how to strategically build toward approval for the best cards — even from a 680 score."

category: Money

tags: ["credit cards", "credit score", "travel rewards", "approval tips"]

author_slug: faroway-team

cluster: credit-cards

reading_time: 8 min

Your credit score is 680. Maybe 700. You've done the research, you know the Chase Sapphire Preferred earns 3x on dining and 2x on travel, and you want in. But every premium card application feels like a gamble you're not sure you'll win.

Here's the thing: you don't need a perfect 800 to get approved for premium travel credit cards. What you need is a strategy.

What "Average Credit" Actually Means

Credit score terminology is a mess. Here's a practical breakdown:

Score Range	Category	Realistic Options
800–850	Exceptional	Everything, best terms
740–799	Very Good	All premium cards
670–739	Good (average)	Most mid-tier cards, some premium
580–669	Fair	Secured cards, starter cards
Below 580	Poor	Secured or credit-builder only

The "average" American credit score sits around 715. If you're in the 670–739 range, you're not locked out of premium cards — but your approach matters a lot.

Premium cards like the Chase Sapphire Reserve, Amex Gold, or Capital One Venture X technically "recommend" scores of 700+, but card issuers look at your entire credit profile, not just your score.

What Issuers Actually Look At

Your FICO score is one input. Underwriters also weigh:

Credit utilization — Keeping balances below 30% of your limit (ideally under 10%) has enormous positive impact. Someone with a 690 score and 8% utilization will beat a 730 with 40% utilization every time.

Account age — How long you've had credit matters. A 5-year average account age with a 680 score looks much better than a 720 with 18 months of history.

Payment history — A single late payment in the last two years can kill a premium card application. 100% on-time payment history, even on a secured card, is powerful.

Number of recent inquiries — Too many hard pulls in a short window signals risk. Chase's famous "5/24 rule" (denies applicants who've opened 5+ cards in 24 months) is the most well-known example of this logic.

Income — Most applications ask for annual income. A strong income relative to your requested credit limit improves your odds significantly.

The Strategic Ladder: How to Work Up to Premium Cards

Step 1: Build Your Foundation (0–12 months)

If you're starting from fair credit, don't apply for a Sapphire Reserve right now. You'll get denied, take a hard inquiry hit, and set yourself back.

Instead, get a no-annual-fee starter card or secured card:

Discover it Secured — matches your cash back first year, graduates to unsecured
Capital One Platinum — designed for fair credit, soft pull pre-qualification available
Chase Freedom Flex — requires good credit but worth a try at 670+; strong earning rates and no annual fee

Use the card for small recurring charges (Netflix, groceries), pay it in full every month, and never miss a payment.

Step 2: Lower Your Utilization Aggressively

Request credit limit increases after 6 months of on-time payments. Both Discover and Capital One allow this without a hard pull. Higher limits → lower utilization → faster score improvement.

If you carry balances, pay them down to under 10% before any premium card application. A $500 balance on a $600 limit is reporting as 83% utilization — that's devastating even if you plan to pay it off.

Step 3: Time Your Applications Strategically

Most premium card issuers have their own approval quirks:

Chase 5/24 Rule — If you've opened 5+ personal cards in the last 24 months, Chase will auto-deny regardless of credit score. This makes Chase cards the highest priority to apply for early in your card-building journey. Start with Chase Freedom Flex → Chase Sapphire Preferred before opening cards from other issuers.

Amex Soft Pull Pre-Qualification — Amex shows personalized offers at americanexpress.com/en-us/credit-cards/credit-intel/pre-qualified-offers/. This uses a soft inquiry, so checking won't affect your score. If the Amex Gold shows up, your odds of approval are very high.

Capital One Pre-Approval — Capital One's pre-qualification tool on their website is similarly reliable. The Venture X sometimes shows up for applicants in the 700+ range.

Citi Velocity Rule — Citi limits applications: no more than 1 card per 8 days, 2 cards per 65 days. Space out Citi applications carefully.

Step 4: The "Reconsideration Call" Trick

Got denied? Don't accept it as final. Call the issuer's reconsideration line within 30 days:

Chase: 1-888-270-2127
Amex: 1-877-399-3083
Capital One: 1-800-625-7866

Be polite and ask them to manually review your application. Come prepared with:

Your income (be specific — include freelance, investment income, household income)
Why you want this specific card
Your positive credit history details

Chase in particular is known to approve borderline applications after a reconsideration call, sometimes moving credit from an existing Chase card to fund the new one.

The Best Premium Cards to Target at 670–720

Chase Sapphire Preferred ($95/year)

The best starter premium card. Lower approval bar than the Reserve, still earns 3x dining, 3x streaming, 2x travel, and 60,000-point welcome bonuses regularly hit. With a 700+ score and no late payments, approval rates are solid.

Capital One Venture Rewards ($95/year)

Capital One tends to be more forgiving with mid-tier scores than Chase or Amex. The Venture earns 2x miles on everything and has a generous sign-up bonus. Many applicants with 680–700 scores report approval.

American Express Gold ($250/year)

Higher annual fee but the $120 dining credit and $120 Uber Cash largely offset it. Amex's pre-qualification tool is your best friend here — if you're pre-qualified, approval is nearly certain even at 690.

Bank of America Travel Rewards (no fee)

If you have existing Bank of America accounts, their "Preferred Rewards" program gives bonus earning rates and higher approval likelihood. Zero-fee, 1.5x everywhere, worth having as a step toward their premium cards.

What to Avoid

Don't apply for multiple cards in one day. Each hard inquiry drops your score by 5–10 points temporarily. Multiple applications spike your risk profile even if the individual drops are small.

Don't close old accounts when you get new ones. Account age matters. Your oldest card should stay open, even if you barely use it. Put a small subscription on it to keep it active.

Don't maximize new limits. Getting approved for a $10,000 credit limit and immediately charging $4,000 shoots your utilization up. Keep new card balances under 10% from day one.

The Timeline Realistically Looks Like This

Most people can get from a 680 FICO to premium-card-ready within 12–18 months:

Months 1–6: Get a no-fee card, pay in full, request CLI after 6 months
Month 7–9: Score typically climbs to 700–720 range if utilization is low
Month 9–12: Apply for Chase Sapphire Preferred or Capital One Venture
Month 12–18: Continue building history; Amex Gold and higher-tier cards become realistic

The Faroway AI trip planner at faroway.ai can help you figure out which destinations you're saving toward — sometimes knowing exactly what trip you're planning makes the discipline to build your credit score feel much more tangible. Plan your dream itinerary, then earn the points to pay for it.

The Bottom Line

Premium credit cards aren't exclusively for people with 800 credit scores. They're for people who've demonstrated responsible credit behavior — and that's achievable from almost any starting point.

The sequence matters: build utilization discipline → maximize account age → apply for Chase first (before the 5/24 clock starts on non-Chase cards) → use pre-qualification tools to reduce hard pull risk → call reconsideration if denied.

Start planning the trip you want, then build the credit profile to fund it. Your future self traveling on points will thank you.

Ready to start planning the trip you're saving for? Faroway.ai builds a full personalized itinerary in minutes — flights, hotels, activities, day by day. Know exactly what you're working toward.

How to Get Approved for Premium Credit Cards With Average Credit