Approval Odds for Chase Sapphire Preferred and Alaska Air Signature VISA

[Anonymous]

I want to apply for the Chase Sapphire Preferred and the Alaska Airline Signature VISA in the near future to dip my toes into the world of rewards points, travel rewards, and premium credit cards. I want to get a sense for what the myFICO community think my approval odds are for these cards and any advice on when I should apply. I was curious if I should apply at the same time, waiting a little between the two, which one should I do first?

I currently bank at Bank of America, BECU, and Navy Federal. I’ve also spent the last year trying to bring down my debt where I was at 70% utilization. Since then I have been able to pay down my debt and I also took out a personal loan that has put me on a plan to pay off some of the higher interest debt. I have managed to bring down my credit card utilization to about 20%.

I’ve managed to raise my FICO from around 640 – 680 in December of 2016 to currently July 2017 720 – 737. I’ve had 2 HP on my report: one for the personal loan from Goldman Sachs (June 2017) and another for a CL increase (April 2017). I know I’ve read about 5/24 being the cut off for cards from Chase, but would like advice on how long should I wait after having recent pulls before applying.

I live in Seattle and am able to fly Alaska a lot, my preferred airlines, but I would also like a card that can get me points on travel and dining for when I’m not buying Alaska/Virgin airfare. I plan on taking two big trips in the coming year (one international) that I want to be able to utilize while traveling.

[Anonymous]

I would say your odds are pretty favorable, but I'd suggest looking at the credit pulls database and searching for the 2 cards you're interested in to see what score/profile data those that were approved/denied for them possessed.

[germese1975]

I can only speak for the Chase Sapphire....

Your scores are better than mine. I definitely had more than 2 HP. In fact, I've opened 7 revolving CL, bought a $48k RV, and refinanced my truck in the past 4 months.... I saw an offer for Slate and Sapphire Preferred in my Chase Freedom Unlimited account and applied for them both 2 days apart... First the Slate was approved after a phone call from Chase to make sure it wasn't a fraudulent app.... $6300 SL. The Sapphire went to a 30 day letter, so I assumed it was denied for 5/24. I logged into the account this morning to pay the bill on the Freedom, and saw the Sapphire had been approved....$20k SL.

I'd say, based on the info your've shared, your odds are pretty decent at getting a Sapphire Preferred.

[Anonymous]

A $20k SL from Chase when your EX and EQ scores were in the mid-upper 600's is pretty impressive.

[Anonymous]

Thanks for the credit pulls database suggestion! I didn't know about that until you mentioned it and saw that you had started a thread on this topic previously in the forum. 

[Anonymous]

I went ahead and applied for both cards. I applied online for the Chase Sapphire Preferred and got a 30 day notice, so we'll see. I went into Bank of America yesterday and was able to get approved for the Alaska Airlines VISA Signature with a $7,000 SL! Hopefully I get good news with the Chase card soon! Keep you posted.

[Anonymous]

I just called Chase's customer service line and was able to get status information on my application. Glad to say that I have been approved for the Chase Sapphire Preferred with a SL of $13,000! Whew. 

[sjt]

Check out the Chase Prequal. They are pretty much on target. Also, I believe B of A has a prequal site as well.

[germese1975]

@BrutalBodyShots...

Yeah. I was completely surprised when I saw it!

[germese1975]

@ronnyv...

Congratulations! That's awesome! Nothing to worry about..... Those are great SL!