Does american express report to all three credit bureaus

Chauncey Crail - Forbes Advisor

Banks don’t disclose internal methodologies for determining creditworthiness and American Express is no different. The most reliable way we’ve found to ascertain which credit bureau a bank or financial institution uses to pull reports is by asking those who’ve applied for cards from a bank which of their credit reports showed a hard inquiry following the application. For American Express, the data available currently indicates it pulls from all three bureaus, but primarily uses Experian’s reporting in its decision making.

American Express Credit Cards Overview

American Express offers myriad credit cards for consumers and for businesses. The company offers a wide breadth of options from no-annual fee cards and to luxury premium cards alike. Amex has also partnered with a variety of brands—including Delta and Marriott—to offer credit cards designed to earn loyalty rewards with airlines, hotels and more. The range of cards available make it likely you can find an American Express card to suit your needs.

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American Express appears to primarily pull credit reports from Experian, but this doesn’t mean it doesn’t occasionally pull from one or both of the other major consumer credit bureaus as well. Though all evidence is limited to anecdotal data, it appears TransUnion may be the second most-likely bureau Amex will pull from. American Express’ free credit report guide—the Amex MyCredit Guide—pulls its reports from TransUnion. We reached out to American Express for more specifics, but as of publishing time haven’t received a response.

Credit Bureau Used by State

No matter what state you live in, American Express appears to be most likely to pull your report from Experian. It may, for some products or as an additional check in some cases, also pull from TransUnion

When Does American Express Report to Credit Bureaus

American Express reports to all three major credit bureaus once per month, typically at the same time as your monthly billing statement. In some cases, changes may be reflected right away in your credit report; in others, it may take more than a month to update. If, for example, you pay your bill before you receive the billing statement, you will see a change on your credit report sooner than if you paid the bill just after receiving the statement—since American Express only reports once a month.

Which Credit Bureau Is Most Accurate?

There are three major credit bureaus in the U.S.: Equifax, TransUnion and Experian. These companies are responsible for providing consumer credit reports to organizations, authorities and other companies who then use the information to predict risk. The industry turns a hefty profit each year from selling credit information, which has been voluntarily provided to them by banks, lenders and other data furnishers.

No credit bureau collects the exact same information on a consumer. A report drawn from one credit bureau may have slightly different information compared to one drawn from another, for a variety of reasons. This makes it impossible to determine which credit bureau is the most accurate. Most credit bureaus will rate your credit based on a standardized system, called your FICO credit score. Major U.S. lenders are most likely to check this score when assessing your credit and to base their decision on your rating.

Though credit bureaus may differ slightly on the exact number of your FICO credit score, since each score falls within a range (for example, a score between 670 and 739 is considered good credit), extreme differences between FICO scores issued by credit bureaus are unlikely.

How to Get a Credit Report

Consumers can obtain a free copy of a credit report via AnnualCreditReport.com, the only website officially authorized to generate free reports. AnnualCreditReport.com can also be reached at 1-877-322-8228.

Each consumer is entitled to at least one free credit report per year from each of the three major agencies—this is the law. Through the end of 2022 everyone with a report is permitted one free report weekly.

Reports also don’t need to be requested all together. Someone interested to see an Equifax report in May can request a TransUnion report in July and an Experian report in December. While no one is obligated to request reports, consumers may ask for them whenever they desire.

Credit bureaus often provide subscription services to consumers to help track scores and other report information, but these services often charge fees and do not provide access to reports from other bureaus.

How to Dispute Information on Your Credit Report

If you find an error, you can and should dispute information on your credit report. This requires preparing personal information and sufficient documentation of the error before contacting the error-reporting bureau(s) online, by mail or by phone. Credit bureaus will investigate claims and release findings in 30 to 45 days.

When the results of an investigation cause a change in your credit report, you will receive a free, updated copy of your report (though this may take another 45 days). If you’re unhappy with the results of the dispute, you may resubmit a complaint or error report with additional information to support your case—but expect this to open another investigation and take even more time.

Bottom Line

If you are concerned about your FICO credit score while applying for an American Express credit card, pull your free Experian credit report to see what data Amex will be most likely to base its final decision on.

If you’re not certain your score is good enough to be approved, you can also try checking with TransUnion and Equifax, since American Express may choose to double-check the Experian report with them. In some rarer cases, it seems American Express does pull TransUnion instead. If you have a strong reason for concern, it may be a better option in the long run to focus on re-building and strengthening your credit score across all bureaus—it’s never guaranteed American Express will pull from any specific credit bureau.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

Does American Express report authorized users to credit bureaus?

Yes, American Express reports authorized users to all three of the major credit bureaus (Experian, Equifax and TransUnion). Authorized users are only reported if they are at least 18 years old and if the account in question is not delinquent.

Which credit bureau is used the most?

There is not necessarily one credit bureau lenders use the most. Instead, lenders will typically look at a consumer’s FICO credit score, which all three major credit bureaus provide. This being said, individual lenders—like American Express—will often have a specific credit bureau and scoring model they use more often. If you are unsure about your credit standing, research which reports a lender will most likely base its decision on in order to focus on strengthening those reports and maximizing your chances of approval.

How To Improve Payment History on Your Credit Report

If you want to improve your payment history on your credit report, the answer is straightforward: pay your bills, in full, on time. Late or underpaid payments have an impact on your credit score, so the less that you have, the better your score will be. You should also pull and check your free credit reports throughout the year in order to catch and dispute any misreported payments or errors negatively impacting your credit score.

Does Amex make a hard inquiry?

When you apply for an American Express credit card, the bank will typically perform a hard inquiry of your credit report. However if your application is denied, it won’t show as a hard pull on your credit report. There is some anecdotal evidence of applying for a second or third Amex and those applications only resulting in a soft pull. This is not an official Amex policy so know that your results may vary when it comes to applying for a card with the issuer.

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